Paris Saint-Germain were given a timely reminder on Sunday night that the Ligue 1 title is not wrapped up yet, as a spirited Brest side came back from two goals down to clinch a point at the Parc des Princes.
Few will have been surprised by Brest’s assured start – on their way to third place mid-campaign, Eric Roy’s men had only conceded one more goal this season than tonight’s opponents. While Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola managed the occasional breakthrough, the Ty-Zefs were largely able to contain the hosts’ pushes forward. Led by the electric Romain Del Castillo, they were also able to take some jabs of their own at a makeshift PSG defence.
Marco Asensio’s opener on 40 minutes would come against the run of play – the Bretons had strung together a marathon passing move just before. As was often the case in the first half, the Parisians countered down Bradley Barcola’s left wing, the forward finding the onrushing Asensio over the top, and the Spaniard found the far post from a tight angle with a first-time hit.
Barcola was once again involved when the hosts doubled their lead just before half-time, finding Asensio in a similar position – this time, the midfielder’s shot was parried away by Bizot – but straight into the path of Randal Kolo Muani for an open-goal finish.
The visitors would find their footing again at the start of the second half, though. They were eventually rewarded for pushing forward, as Del Castillo drove through the defence before finding Mahdi Camara, whose mistimed close-range shot was deflected in by Danilo – the ball trickling past Donnarumma to halve the lead.
PSG’s second-performance would be a far cry from their five-minute purple patch at the end of the first half, with Bizot left mostly untroubled. Luis Enrique’s men would be punished for their insipid showing as an adventurous Brest claimed the equaliser ten minutes from time – substitute Pereira Lage scoring with a sensational Rabah Madjer-style backheel at the front post.
The league leaders scarcely looked like regaining their composure to find a winner – they even went down to ten men in stoppage time, as the frustrated Barcola picked up two yellow cards in quick succession.
While PSG’s lacklustre attacking approach will have cost them two points, the main takeaway from tonight is that Brest’s unlikely run at a Champions League berth is no fluke. Eric Roy’s men are now unbeaten in all competitions since November – and are showing a collective strength that can stand up to any opponent.
Paris Saint-Germain player ratings:
Gianluigi Donnarumma, 5
Danilo, 5
Lucas Beraldo, 5
Lucas Hernandez, 6
Vitinha, 4
Warren Zaïre-Emery, 5
Fabián Ruiz, 4
Randal Kolo Muani, 4 – The Frenchman was rarely involved, although he showed good positioning to get to a rebound first to double the lead before the break, for his fifth goal of the campaign. Replaced by Ousmane Dembélé with 20 minutes to go.
Marco Asensio, 6 – Combined impressively with Barcola down the left wing to create both first-half goals. Carlos Soler came on in his place for the last 15 minutes.
Kylian Mbappé, 3 – A misfiring performance from the league’s top scorer, even if he did break through several times in the first half.
Bradley Barcola, 6 – The forward his impressive run of form, gliding past Brest defenders and playing a key role in both goals in the first half. Like the rest of the team, he somewhat faded away after the break, and had fewer opportunities to strike on the counter against an airtight defence. He eventually let out his frustration with two needless fouls in stoppage time, which saw him sent off.
Brest player ratings
Marco Bizot, 4
Kenny Lala, 6
Brendan Chardonnet, 6
Lilian Brassier, 5
Bradley Locko, 5
Mahdi Camara, 6
Hugo Magnetti, 5
Pierre Lees-Melou, 6 – Another all-action display from the midfielder, whose driving runs forward are often the catalyst for Brest’s counters. Picked up an unnecessary yellow card for a tackle on Asensio in the first half, though.
Romain Del Castillo, 6
Steve Mounié, 4
Jérémy Le Douaron, 4 – The winger ventured into some promising positions, but was too wasteful on the ball to make anything of them – in stark contrast to his teammate on the right side of the attack. Came close to scoring from a header early in the first half. Replaced on the hour mark by Martín Satriano, who set up Pereira Lage’s equaliser.