A year ago
Paris Saint-Germain completed the Ligue 1 season with a 3-2 loss to Clermont, blowing a two-goal lead, and failing to give Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos a winning send-off.
The champions had an early lead at Parc des Princes thanks to goals from the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe, but the visitors rallied with goals from Grejohn Kyei, Johan Gastien, and Mehdi Zeffane.
Messi and Ramos, two-time league champions but without having won fans' hearts, left Paris on a somber note. Messi was jeered before the game even started.
It might also be a somber ending for coach Christophe Galtier, who is expected to leave after having led PSG to a record 11th Ligue 1 championship.
After Kyei poked in an early goal, PSG, who had worn shirts with the name of injured teammate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to save them.
The home team quickly took control, with Ramos scoring a spectacular header off a cross from Vitinha before Mbappe doubled their advantage with a superb penalty after Alidu Seidu fouled Achraf Hakimi.
Gastien took advantage of Marco Verratti's error to cut the deficit in half, and Zeffane added a leveler either side of Kyei's missed penalty kick in a frantic first half.
After the break, Messi, who squandered his final opportunity to score, missed a chance to convert Mbappe's square ball before Kyei put the visitors in lead with a close-range goal.
PSG fought valiantly to score an equalizer in the dying minutes, and Messi came close to stealing a point in the final minute of added time when goalkeeper Mory Diaw made an incredible save.
Why does that matter? PSG's season comes to a whimper.
This season at Parc des Princes, it's been the same old story with another league victory already secured and European success still eluding the stadium's occupants.
Even if Messi and Ramos, two prominent figures frequently criticized by a divisive fanbase, are leaving, they deserved a better send-off than this.
Mbappe keeps the scoring title.
In the French capital, two of the game's greatest players are retiring, while one other is extending his legacy.
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