Paris St Germain were left stunned after they were beaten 3-1 by Toulouse on Sunday, with the newly-crowned champions slumping to only their second Ligue 1 defeat this season.
Luis Enrique’s side struggled for form after their midweek Champions League semi-final loss to Borussia Dortmund and remain on 70 points from 32 games, six clear of second-placed AS Monaco with two games remaining.
“This defeat spoils the party a bit. It’s always frustrating, even if you’re champion, to lose like that in front of your home crowd,” PSG forward Ousmane Dembele told Canal+.
“We need to rethink things after a defeat and not lose like that at home, even if we are champions.”
Kylian Mbappe, who confirmed on Friday that he will leave PSG at the end of the season, opened the scoring after eight minutes with a fine finish into an open goal following a pinpoint clearance from goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.
“He gave so much to the club, he did so much,” Dembele said referring to Mbappe.
“We’re happy with everything he’s done, he’s grown up well at PSG, he’s achieved so much, he’s a PSG legend. We’re proud of him.”
Toulouse equalised five minutes later through Thijs Dalling, who coolly slotted home from close range before Yann Gboho put the visitors ahead with a superb curling effort into the top right corner in the 68th minute.
Frank Magri’s stoppage-time strike sealed the win for Toulouse, who are 10th in the standings with 43 points.
PSG visit Nice on Wednesday before their final league game against Metz and the French Cup final on May 25.
“There’s still the Cup final, a big match against Nice. We have to give 100% in every match and show a good image of Paris St Germain,” Dembele added.
Elsewhere, second-half goals from Kassoum Ouattara and Youssouf Fofana earned Monaco a 2-0 away win over Montpellier to secure second place and a return to the Champions League.
They will return to the group stage of the Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Ligue 1’s second-top scorer Jonathan David scored a first-half brace to earn Lille a 2-1 win at Nantes to close in a Champions League spot as they climbed to third place, ahead of Brest on goal difference. They are level on 58 points with Brest, who drew 1-1 with Reims on Friday.
(REUTERS)