Turkish delight as Lille fight to 3-3 draw in Ligue 1 thriller

Paris (AFP) – Talsmanic Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz grabbed a last gasp goal as Lille fought back to a 3-3 draw at Metz as the French champions opened their title defence on Sunday.

The surprise champions, who also beat Paris Saint-Germain in the French Super Cup last week, were trailing 3-1 before late goals from Nanitamo Ikone and Yilmaz gave them a hard earned away point.

It was a cautionary tale for Metz who foolishly gave the ball away with a shot on goal deep into injury time.

Yilmaz then rampaged the full length of the pitch with the seconds running down to dribble into the area from the left wing and squeeze a shot home from a tight angle.

Christophe Galtier led Lille to the title last season but quit and joined ambitious south-coast outfit Nice.

However, there was to be no champagne reception in his first game as the Ineos-bankrolled side were held 0-0 at home by Reims.

In Brittany 18,000 fans were on hand to see Rennes draw 1-1 with promoted Lens, where teenage winger Kamaldeen Sulemana from Ghana opened the scores with a snap-shot before Lens drew level late on after a goalmouth mix-up.

Promoted Clermont got off to a flyer beating Bordeaux 2-0 away thanks to late goals from top scorer in Ligue 2 last season Mohamed Bayo, and Jodel Dossou with the last kick of the game.

Strasbourg also suffered a 2-0 home defeat as Ismaël Traoré and Stéphane Bahoken bagged second half goals for visitors Angers.

Lorient took the lead with a Vincent Le Goff strike in a tight game at Saint-Etienne, who levelled from the spot with a Wahbi Khazri penalty.

Paris Saint-Germain might be closing in on signing Lionel Messi but another Argentinian was their match-winner on Saturday as Mauro Icardi’s goal secured a 2-1 victory against newly-promoted Troyes.

Lyon were held to a 1-1 draw by Brest in their opening game of the campaign.