Ligue 1: PSG Suffer Sixth Defeat To Mid-Table Lorient, Hakimi Sees Red

Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain endured another setback on Sunday as they were defeated 3-1 at home by mid-table Lorient.

PSG's Achraf Hakimi was sent off in the first half, and despite Kylian Mbappe's equalizer, Lorient managed to score twice more to secure a deserved win.

The defeat was PSG's sixth in 2023, and the team's coach, Christophe Galtier, admitted that the second half of the season has been "very, very average."

Despite the loss, PSG remains eight points clear at the top of the table from Marseille and is on course to seal a French record 11th league title.

"Everyone in the dressing room is disappointed, and what I expect now is a reaction from everyone, from the players, the staff and everyone who works for the club," Luis Campos, who is effectively PSG's sporting director in his role of football advisor, told broadcaster Canal Plus.

"There must be a reaction and we have to win the title. I am sure we will do it but we need to make sure we don't lose our heads.

"We need to be conscious of the fact we can do better and must do better."

However, Marseille can reduce the gap to five points with a win at home to Auxerre, while Lens will be six points off the top if they beat Toulouse away in midweek.

PSG's next four games are against clubs fighting to avoid the drop, and it remains highly unlikely that they will fail to retain their league crown.

Meanwhile, Monaco's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League suffered another blow as they were defeated 4-0 at home by Montpellier.

Arnaud Nordin scored twice for Montpellier, with Faitout Maouassa and Stephy Mavididi also on target.

The loss was Monaco's second successive heavy defeat after they went down 3-0 away at Lens last weekend.

They remain fourth in the table, five points behind third-placed Lens, who do not play until Tuesday.

In other results, Rennes beat bottom side Angers 4-2, with Belgium's Jeremy Doku scoring twice, and Toulouse won the French Cup with a crushing 5-1 victory over holders Nantes in the final watched by more than 78,000 at the Stade de France.

The result officially condemned Angers to relegation as they are 18 points from safety with five games to play.