A pulsating encounter at the Parc des Princes between two giants of the 2011/12 Ligue Un season ultimately ended up with a split of the points. Montpellier, who were bested by Paris Saint-Germain on home turf earlier this season, knew that a draw would keep them within touching distance at the top of the table. However, a win would see them leapfrog their opponents. They chose to go for broke, demonstrating their intentions by playing excellent attacking football straight out of the blocks.
Paris Saint-Germain Vs. Montpellier, 2012 Ligue 1: 2-2 Draw Sees PSG Remain Top
Despite the impressive start by the visitors, it was PSG who struck first via free kick. Winter import Alex has a reputation for thunderous long-range efforts, and his 35-yard shot was hit with such venom it actually wrong-footed Geoffrey Jourdren in Montpellier’s goal before veering off into the corner for a 1-0 home lead. Having played such positive football all half, Montpellier weren’t about to just back down. Following the opener, they pushed PSG back into their own territory and drew level with virtually the last play of the first half, Vitorino Hilton’s cross finding Younes Belhanda for the equaliser.
The second half started fairly slowly but the introduction of Javier Pastore spiced things up considerably. The Argentinian's been missing for almost a month, and his return gave PSG a cutting edge they'd been lacking for most of the match. Immediately they began to pressure Jourdren's goal, only for Montpellier to get a goal against the run of play. The impressive Olivier Giroud was the creator, finding an inexplicably unmarked John Utaka with a pin-point cross. The 30-year-old almost apologetically headed home to give the visitors a 2-1 82nd minute lead.
The drama wasn't over, however. Pastore was still pulling the strings, and he set Jeremy Menez free on the left to set up a last-minute effort from substitute Guillaume Hoarau. This made it 2-2, with Henri Bedimo just failing to clear off the line. With the match now in stoppage time, there was time for a few more PSG chances as well as a worrying-looking injury which saw right back Milan Bisevac stretchered off. That was virtually the last action of the match, bringing to a close an entertaining 90 minutes of football that both teams will be reasonably pleased with.
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