Paris Saint-Germain fielded a shadow squad as they drew 1-1 at home to struggling Clermont on Saturday to warm up for their upcoming Champions League showdown with Barcelona. PSG needed an equalizer from Goncalo Ramos with five minutes remaining to avoid a second-place finish in Ligue 1 this season after playing one-two with substitute Kylian Mbappe. failed. Mali midfielder Habib Keita had earlier given bottom side Clermont a first-half lead but they failed to build on last season’s victory in Paris.

Ramos’ goal was his 11th for the club this season, taking Paris Saint-Germain to an unbeaten run in all competitions since losing 2-1 away to AC Milan in the Champions League at the beginning of November. The losing record extended to 27 games.

“The players are professionals. We are in a great dynamic and we will not stop giving everything in the game,” coach Luis Enrique told the media after the game.

PSG’s second draw with Clermont this season was just a minor setback for the Qatari club in its bid for a tenth French league title in 12 years.

They are now 13 points clear at the top of the table and second-placed Brest can close the gap to 10 points if they beat Metz on Sunday.

However, with just six games remaining after this weekend, PSG are likely to confirm the title in their next game at home to Lyon on April 21.

At that time, Paris Saint-Germain will play a two-leg match in the Champions League quarter-finals with Barcelona, ​​​​who will visit the French capital next Wednesday for their first clash.

Marquinhos equals record

The impending date explains why Luis Enrique changed his entire starting XI following last week’s Coupe de France semi-final win over Rennes.

Mbappe started from the bench, meaning he has only played the full 90 minutes of PSG’s past eight Ligue 1 games.

This time, however, it is clear that the France captain is simply resting, rather than the decision to keep him out having anything to do with his plans to leave the club at the end of the season.

Third goalkeeper Arnau Tenas started, 17-year-old Yoram Zague made his debut at left-back, while 17-year-old Senny Mayulu made his first start for a top-flight team.

“My goal is to find a competitive starting XI,” Luis Enrique said.

“There are a lot of international players on the pitch and there is no doubt that the players are very focused.”

PSG right-back Noddy Mukiele came off injured after a collision with Clermont goalkeeper Masamba Ndiaye, his face bleeding, as the home side fell behind after the half-hour mark.

It was a slightly comical goal, with Milan Skriniar making a messy clearance and Tenas failing to cross before Alan Virginius passed Keita.

Mayulu thought he had equalized the score with a wonderful goal in stoppage time in the first half, but after VAR intervened, the goal was invalidated due to Zag’s foul in the attack.

Achraf Hakimi, who will be suspended for the first leg against Barcelona, ​​came on as a substitute for the injured Mukiel and hit the crossbar early in the second half as PSG equalized.

Mbappe joined Marquinhos midway through the second half, with the Brazilian defender equaling Jean-Marc Pilorget’s club record in his 435th appearance.

Ramos hit the crossbar after Hakimi’s shot was blocked, but the Portuguese striker did score and PSG’s pressure eventually paid off.

He pushed forward and exchanged passes with Mbappe before extending their unbeaten run to five months.

Despite Clermont’s performance, they remain bottom of the table, seven points shy of safety.

In Saturday’s other Ligue 1 match, Lens suffered a blow in their bid for European qualification as they drew 1-1 at home to Le Havre.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)