Strasbourg 1-1 PSG: Player ratings as Les Parisiens clinch Ligue 1 title
By Sean Walsh
Paris Saint-Germain won a record 11th Ligue 1 title after drawing 1-1 at Strasbourg on Saturday night.
Les Parisiens now have an unassailable four-point lead over Lens - who have now secured qualification to the group stages of the Champions League - heading into the final matchday of the season next week.
The visitors looked to beat their hosts with balls over the top for Kylian Mbappe early on but they nearly fell behind when Habibou Diallo managed to beautifully bring a high ball down and dance past Danilo Pereira, only to be denied by a smart save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Mbappe's first actual chance saw him skip and prance away from a slieu of Strasbourg defenders, only to be denied a near-certain goal by a challenge from Ismael Doukoure.
From the resulting corner, Lionel Messi pulled the ball back for Renato Sanches to volley, with Matz Sels coming up with an instinctive save.
PSG were struggling to deal with Strasbourg's bombardment, with Diallo thundering a shot against the post via a hand from Donnarumma after Mouhamadou Diarra beat Sergio Ramos in an aerial duel.
But the visitors took the lead on the hour mark. Danilo's long ball over the top was expertly brought under control by Mbappe, and he teed up Lionel Messi to fire home.
Mbappe should have doubled PSG's lead when Messi returned the favour minutes later, but he somehow fired wide from a few yards out.
With ten minutes to go, the Ligue 1 leaders were pegged back by a familiar face. Morgan Sanson's strike was palmed away by Donnarumma, and Kevin Gameiro nipped in front of Danilo to tap into an empty net.
Once more, Mbappe was released on goal by Messi but this time was denied by Sels as the game entered the closing stages.
With Strasbourg's safety secured with a point, both sides were happy to play out for the draw in two minutes of stoppage time, with PSG's title confirmed at the final whistle.
Strasbourg player ratings (3-4-3)
GK: Matz Sels (6); CB: Ismael Doukoure (6), CB: Gerzino Nyamsi (6), CB: Lucas Perrin (5); RM: Colin Dagba (5), CM: Ibrahima Sissoko (6), CM: Morgan Sanson (5), LM: Frederic Guilbert (5); RF: Mouhamadou Diarra (6), LF: Jean-Richer Bellegarde (5), CF: Habibou Diallo (6)
SUBS: Dimitri Lienard (5), Kevin Gameiro (7)
PSG player ratings (3-5-2)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 7/10 - Kept PSG in the game with some stunning stops in the first half.
CB: Danilo Pereira - 5/10 - Looked a little ropey throughout, though his pinpoint pass led to Messi's opener.
CB: Sergio Ramos - 5/10 - Thrown around by Diarra and Diallo in physical duels.
CB: El Chadaille Bitshiabu - 6/10 - Up for the fight physically but Gameiro was able to ghost in on his side to score the equaliser.
RM: Warren Zaire-Emery - 7/10 - Played with a maturity and fearlessness beyond his 17 years of age.
CM: Vitinha - 5/10 - Did not stand out in the midfield battle, again.
CM: Marco Verratti - 6/10 - Played at a lower intensity than usual but given the circumstances that was understandable.
CM: Renato Sanches - 6/10 - Made more inroads than compatriot Vitinha, but that wasn't a particularly high bar to clear.
LM: Juan Bernat - 6/10 - Stretched play but like many of his teammates wasn't outstanding in his efforts.
CF: Lionel Messi - 9/10 - Picked apart Strasbourg at will. Now the all-time record scorer in Europe's top five leagues and he overtook Cristiano Ronaldo in style.
CF: Kylian Mbappe - 8/10 - Twisted and contorted himself to flee trailing Strasbourg's legs. Major criticism is his finishing was a tad off but it didn't really prove crucial.
Substitutes
Carlos Soler (84' for Vitinha) - N/A
Manager
Christophe Galtier - 6/10 - PSG didn't really need to win and they didn't spare any effort that was otherwise needed.