PSG Overcome RC Lens in Chaotic Ligue 1 Clash: Winners and Losers

Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways with an eventful 3-1 win “away” over RC Lens at the Stade de France in the French capital. After falling behind to an early Adamo Coulibaly effort—that deflected in off makeshift central defender Thiago Motta—the French champions fought back to win an unexpectedly exciting encounter.

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1 - Paris SG have kept only one clean sheet in their last 6 league games (v Caen). Febrile.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 17, 2014"

Yohan Cabaye’s driven effort on 28 minutes put Laurent Blanc’s men back on course, before Maxwell’s sublime long-range lob gave them a 2-1 half-time lead. However, nothing could have prepared the spectators for what was about to unfold in the opening 15 minutes of the second half in Paris.

PSG were awarded a penalty in the 55th minute, with Jean-Philippe Gbamin harshly sent off for his foul on Edinson Cavani and his protests that followed. The Uruguayan converted from the spot, but that's when the madness began.

El Matador was booked for doing his trademark “hunter” celebration but quickly received a second yellow card from referee Nicolas Rainville. Following his dismissal of Gbamin moments before, the Frenchman was now centre stage.

Two minutes after handing Cavani his marching orders, he was at it again. This time it was Lens captain Jerome le Moigne who saw red for two almost simultaneous yellow cards. Those quick-fire red cards mean that the final 30 minutes were relatively low key, but it was terrific entertainment for the neutral up until that point.

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The 3 red cards in 6 min at Lens v PSG is fastest since 4 reds in 4 mins (and 5 in 18 mins) in Corsica derby Bastia-Ajaccio on 2 Mar 2013.

— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 17, 2014"

PSG coach Blanc and Lens counterpart Antoine Kombouare did not share that view, with both wishing not to communicate their thoughts on the standard of refereeing in too much detail. The former, speaking with PSG.fr shortly after the final whistle, expressed his disappointment at the officiating but his satisfaction at his side's victory amid the drama. 

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I'm not going to make any comment about the refereeing this evening," he said. "It's a difficult game to analyse. The second half, even with all the attenuating circumstances didn't please me much. The game lost its interest after everything that happened.

Perhaps we should have been a little more attacking, a little more ambitious in our play to try and score a fourth goal. Unconsciously, I think we wanted to preserve our energy. I'm happy with the win, that's the most important thing, but otherwise, there wasn't a whole lot to take from this match.

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It finished 3-1 with the victory for PSG, who were in the bizarre position of being the away side in their home city. Here are some winners and losers from an enthralling match.

Winner: Yohan Cabaye, Who Finally Made a Positive Contribution

Michel Euler/Associated Press

After plenty of criticism in recent weeks because of his below-par performances, PSG’s French international Cabaye finally delivered. Scoring his first Ligue 1 goal since 2011—when he was still playing for Lille OSC—to drag Les Parisiens level, the midfielder provided Coach Blanc with a timely boost.

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1 - Yohan Cabaye has scored his first Ligue 1 goal since April 2011, with Lille v Arles-Avignon. Eased.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 17, 2014"

With Blaise Matuidi exiting the pitch injured early on, the 28-year-old needs to build on this performance and justify his recent grumblings about a lack of opportunities. Cabaye will receive plenty of chances in the next few weeks, and he must seize each and every one. Despite his goal, it was a fairly average performance from the PSG No. 4, so there is plenty of room for improvement.

Winner: Maxwell, Who Led a First Half Fightback

Michel Euler/Associated Press

After going 1-0 down against the run of play, PSG had to show grit to fight their way back into the match. Blanc’s men did just that, being led by Maxwell, who provided an assist for Cabaye’s leveller before scoring a sublime long-range lobbed effort to make it 2-1.

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PSG left back Maxwell has scored both his Ligue 1 goals with his 'wrong' right foot. Today's goal a brilliant effort from 25 metres out.

— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 17, 2014"

Although it has been a slow start to the season for the 33-year-old Brazilian, he has shown his worth for PSG in recent weeks with a handful of assists both domestically and in Europe. Despite his advancing years, Maxwell is still an important part of Blanc’s plans in Paris.

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4 – Only Ibrahimovic (5 goals) is involved in more league goals for PSG this season than Maxwell (4 – 1 goal, 3 assists). Lob.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 17, 2014"

Loser: Antoine Kombouare, Who Was Up Against It from the Start

Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press

Unfortunately for Kombouare, the only way he was ever going to emerge from this match a winner was by engineering a miraculous victory over a far stronger team. With all due respect to the 50-year-old and his Lens side, that was never realistically going to happen against his former club no matter what their injury worries were.

Through no real fault of his own, Kombouare ends up a particular loser on the night because he will have desperately wanted to prove a point to the PSG hierarchy. They harshly fired him in late 2011, with the team top of Ligue 1, making room for Carlo Ancelotti to arrive and quickly undo his hard work.

Kombouare’s Lens players were just not good enough to defend their early one-goal lead on the night, with this result again demonstrating the size of the task facing the coach and his team. Having two men sent off did little to help the mood of the former PSG man, visibly livid as referee Rainville completely lost the plot in the second half.

Loser: Nicolas Rainville, Who Lost Control in the Second Half

Michel Euler/Associated Press

The performance of French referees came in for considerable scrutiny when it was revealed that no representatives from France would officiate at this summer’s FIFA World Cup. However, Rainville’s inept showing on Friday night justified that decision.

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Since Nicolas Rainville is refereeing in L1 (2010/11), he has sent off 29 players (67 games), equal most with Clement Turpin (74 games).

— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 17, 2014"

A crazy six-minute spell in the second half saw the Frenchman dismiss three players—Lens’ Gbamin and Le Moigne either side of PSG’s Cavani—as he inexplicably lost control of the encounter. Rainville’s shocking performance was the last thing the already-tarnished reputation of French domestic referring needed.

Loser: Edinson Cavani, Who Broke His Scoring Drought Before Being Sent off

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Just when it appeared the worst was over for the under-fire Cavani, the Uruguayan somehow finds himself in even hotter water. His 55th-minute penalty was his first Ligue 1 goal in four matches, but he followed it with an immediate red card that leaves Blanc in a difficult position ahead of the home clash with high-flying Girondins de Bordeaux.

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Cavani's last 2 minutes: dives, wins penalty, scores, makes shooting gesture, receives yellow, grabs ref, gets 2nd yellow, is sent off.

— Infostrada Sports (@InfostradaLive) October 17, 2014"

Cavani worked hard and actually deserved to come out of the match as a winner—even if he should have had more than one goal by the time he finally found the net—but he has to go down a loser because of the bizarre nature of his ill-timed dismissal.

The pressure is now on Zlatan Ibrahimovic to prove his fitness in time to face Willy Sagnol's Bordeaux at home next week.