Christophe Galtier admits Paris Saint-Germain are lacking balance and cannot rely on their superstar forwards to bail them out after scraping a 4-3 victory over Troyes.
The reigning Ligue 1 champions twice trailed to goals from Mama Balde, either side of Carlos Soler's leveller, in Saturday's clash at the Parc des Princes.
But Lionel Messi scored a superb equaliser and then played in Neymar to put PSG ahead for the first time, before Kylian Mbappe emphatically converted from the penalty spot.
There was still time for Ante Palaversa to pull one back, making Troyes the first side to score three or more goals at PSG in the league since Bordeaux in February 2020.
Rather than showing pride in PSG's ability to fight back and move five points clear at the summit, Galtier criticised the defensive performance of his side.
"The team was very unbalanced from the start," Galtier told Amazon Prime. "Some players had trouble finding their levels.
"We won very few balls high up the pitch and lost too many duels. On a defensive level, we made far too many mistakes and again conceded from a set-piece.
"This is something we have to spend time on to fix, something we have to make work. If we have to score four goals to win each time, it's going to be complicated.
"We got ahead of ourselves because we succeeded on the offensive level, but we left ourselves completely open."
PSG have scored 54 goals in 19 games in all competitions this season, a tally only Bayern Munich (69 in 20) can better among teams across Europe's top five leagues.
However, having defeated Maccabi Haifa 7-2 in the Champions League in midweek, they have now conceded five goals in their past two matches.
Midfielder Marco Verratti accepts the Parisians have to tighten up at the back if they are to challenge for trophies on multiple fronts this season.
"We didn't defend well today. We cannot concede three goals at home," he said. "We have to find a better balance to our game."
The past 25 goals netted by PSG in all competitions have been either scored or assisted by Messi, Neymar and Mbappe in a run stretching back to September 3.
Galtier fielded all three of his superstar trio for the full match against Troyes – a decision the Frenchman defended after his side's 19th game without defeat since he took over.
"They had to stay on until the end if we were going to get the win," he said. "If the score had been different, with the team a few goals ahead, we could have managed it more.
"Plus, we know Neymar will not play on Wednesday [against Juventus] because of suspension. We knew today we would have to keep our attacking power to score goals."
Rennes make top four, Nantes survive and Auxerre relegated on Ligue 1 final day
Rennes edged out Lille and Monaco to secure a top-four finish while Nantes' first league win since February saw them stay up at Auxerre's expense on a dramatic final day of Ligue 1 action.
Rennes clinched a 2-1 victory against Brest thanks to a Benjamin Bourigeaud brace, seizing on Lille's 1-1 draw with relegated Troyes and Monaco's 2-1 reverse against Toulouse to take fourth.
Bruno Genesio's side thus secured Europa League football for next season, while Paulo Fonseca's Lille must settle for a Europa Conference League spot and Monaco missed out entirely.
Champions Paris Saint-Germain squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Clermont, meaning they finished just one point clear of runners-up Lens, who ended the season with a 3-1 win at Auxerre.
That victory allowed Nantes to finalise a great escape in their final game, vaulting Auxerre to secure safety with a 1-0 win over relegated Angers.
Nantes therefore secured top-flight football for another year, evading the expanded four-team relegation zone by a single point ahead of the division being cut to 18 teams.
Auxerre, Ajaccio, Troyes and Angers will play in Ligue 2 next season, with Le Havre and either Metz or Bordeaux coming up from the second tier.
Lionel Messi’s final game for Paris St Germain ends in defeat to Clermont
Lionel Messi ended his Paris St Germain career with a 3-2 defeat to Clermont.
The Argentinian World Cup winner will quit Paris this summer having already been linked with a return to Barcelona and Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.
He will leave as a Ligue 1 champion with PSG having already secured the title before blowing a 2-0 lead to lose on the final day of the season.
Sergio Ramos, on his final appearance for the club, and Kylian Mbappe’s penalty gave the hosts control.
Johan Gastien pulled a goal back and Mehdi Zeffane levelled in first-half stoppage time. Grejohn Kyei gave the visitors the lead after 63 minutes and Clermont held out for victory.
At the bottom, Nantes beat the drop by a point on the final day as Auxerre were relegated.
A 1-0 win over rock-bottom Angers, thanks to Ignatius Ganago’s goal, gave Nantes the win they needed as Auxerre lost 3-1 at home to Lens.
Alexis Claude-Maurice’s double gave Lens a 2-0 lead before M’Baye Niang pulled a goal back. Lois Openda made it 3-1 with 12 minutes left to seal Auxerre’s fate.
Rennes won 2-1 at Brest as they clinched fourth ahead of Lille thanks to Benjamin Bourigeaud’s double, with Lille held 1-1 by relegated Troyes to go into the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Monaco missed out on the top five after a 2-1 defeat at home to Toulouse.
Relegated Ajaccio beat third-placed Marseille 1-0, Lorient beat Strasbourg 2-1 and Nice beat Lyon 3-1 with mid-table Montpellier winning 3-1 at Reims, finishing a point behind their hosts.
In Germany, Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring as RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the German Cup final.
The striker broke the deadlock in the 71st minute before Dominik Szoboszlai doubled the lead with five minutes left.
In Italy, Lazio sealed second spot in Serie A after a 2-0 win at Empoli thanks to goals from Alessio Romagnoli and Luis Alberto.
It came after Marcelo Brozovic scored the winner as Inter Milan beat Torino 1-0 to briefly move ahead of them but Inter must now settle for third.
Already relegated Cremonese beat Salernitana 2-0 to finish their season on a high.
Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 Clermont: Messi and Ramos denied winning send-off as visitors fight back
Paris Saint-Germain failed to muster a winning send-off for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended the Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss against Clermont.
Early goals for the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at Parc des Princes, before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback from the visitors.
It was a damp last note for ex-LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions but without having won supporters' hearts – with Messi booed ahead of kick-off.
Likewise, it may prove a dour final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to depart despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts adorned with the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to rescue them after Kyei prodded home an early finish.
The hosts promptly seized control, with Ramos netting a farewell header from Vitinha's delivery before Mbappe doubled their lead with an excellent penalty following Alidu Seidu's foul on Achraf Hakimi.
Clermont refused to fold though, with Gastien capitalising on Marco Verratti's mistake to halve the arrears and Zeffane bundling in a leveller either side of Kyei putting a spot-kick wide in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who misfired on his farewell, spurned a chance to finish Mbappe's square ball after the restart before Kyei nosed the visitors in front with a close-range finish.
PSG continued to toil for an equaliser in the closing stages and Messi almost stole a point in the final minute of injury time, only for goalkeeper Mory Diaw to stop his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
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