PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain will have to work harder — much harder — for a record 11th French league title after Lorient stunned the defending champion 3-1 on Sunday.
Second-place Marseille could cut PSG’s lead to five points with a win over Auxerre later Sunday.
“The title is in our hands, we mustn’t let it go like this, especially with such games at home. We must show more than that at home,” PSG defender Marquinhos told Canal Plus television. “We were not good in the duels, we were always late. In the rough moments, we mustn’t concede goals.”
PSG supporters were unhappy with the players’ lack of effort and booed them off the field at halftime and again after the final whistle.
The hosts were down to 10 men after Achraf Hakimi received a second yellow card for a stamp on Darlin Yongwa in the 20th minute. The Morocco right back also got booked for a late tackle on Romain Faivre in the fifth minute.
Lorient capitalized on a spell of possession to take the lead in the 15th with a sliding effort from Enzo Le Fee into the roof of the net.
Kylian Mbappé equalized with a poacher’s goal in the 29th when Yvon Mvogo had a lapse in concentration. The Lorient goalkeeper put the ball on the ground, thinking he had a free kick, but the referee had only waved to play on. Mbappé couldn’t believe his luck and took a touch before tucking into an empty net to consolidate his spot as the top scorer in the league with 23 goals.
Mvogo did well to save Danilo’s close-range header in the 67th.
Faivre exposed the weakness of PSG in the 39th by strolling past Marco Verratti and Juan Bernat to cut the ball back for Yongwa, who slotted home for a 2-1 lead.
Substitute Bamba Dieng sealed the win by converting a rebound after a counterattack in the 88th.
PSG also produced unconvincing team performances in the past couple of games but was saved by the brilliance of Lionel Messi and Mbappé.
Lorient snapped a five-game winless streak to remain in the middle of the table.
HEAVY LOSS FOR MONACO
Arnaud Nordin notched two goals and an assist as Monaco’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League took a hit after a 4-0 loss to Montpellier.
Fourth-place Monaco occupies the Europa League spot, five points behind Lens which has a game in hand, while Montpellier earned three precious points in its fight for safety to move 11 points above the relegation zone with five games remaining.
“We’ve been playing for the podium so far and it’s still possible if we turn things around. But we must act quickly,” Monaco coach Philippe Clement said. “I still have confidence in my players, but we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and get back to basics, to put in some intensity. We have to be dominant with the ball but also without it, and show more aggression.”
Belgium international Jeremy Doku netted the last two goals to give Rennes a 4-2 win over bottom side Angers, officially relegated to the second division. Doku volleyed home in the 54th before dribbling past two defenders to fire into the bottom corner in the 85th. Rennes stayed in the race for European spots, trailing fifth-place Lille by three points.
Forward Grejohn Kyei scored the lone goal in the fourth minute as Clermont edged Reims 1-0 to climb to eighth place. Clermont also officially secured safety with that fifth straight win.
Nice beat relegation-threatened Troyes 1-0 with a goal from Hicham Boudaoui in the second minute to snap a three-game losing streak.
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