Paris defeats Saint-Etienne, in the match that marks the debut of Spanish Sergio Ramos at PSG
Paris Saint-Germain canceled an initial deficit to beat 10-man Saint-Etienne 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Sunday, with Lionel Messi setting up all three goals. The match featured the debut of Spanish defender Sergio Ramos with PSG.
Lionel Messi set up all three goals for PSG to increase their Ligue 1 lead to 14 points with a 3-1 comeback against 10-man St Etienne, as Neymar suffered a possible ankle injury and was removed on a stretcher on Sunday.
The result put the capital’s team with 40 points from 15 games, and Rennes, third, had a chance to jump Nice to second place when traveling to Lorient later on Sunday.
St Etienne, who mounted a decent challenge despite being one man down when the snow fell at the Geoffroy Guichard Stadium, is now at the bottom of the standings with 12 points.
Ramos’ persistent calf injury
Ramos, 35, joined the club in July but has since suffered a persistent calf injury.
Ramos came to PSG with a shining resume, having won the 2010 World Cup and two European Championships with Spain and four Champions with Real Madrid.
“He has been with the first-team squad for two weeks, he needs games and he needs to adapt to a new league,” PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Saturday.
Pochettino was expected to name Ramos to his squad for the midweek Champions League away game at Manchester City, which ended with PSG suffering a tame 2-1 defeat.
But with PSG on track to claim the Ligue 1 crown with an 11-point lead at the top of the French top flight, Ramos will enter the fray in a less hostile environment on Sunday.
Second-place Saint-Etienne should be a more forgiving opponent than City, although Les Verts are on a four-game unbeaten streak after consecutive victories.
( Jowharwith AFP, REUTERS)
