Portuguese starlets João Neves, Afonso Moreira on the scoresheet as PSG beat Lyon 3-2 [video] | OneFootball

Lyon 2-3 Paris Saint-Germain

The big match in France this weekend saw champions Paris Saint-Germain come out on top in a five-goal thriller against Paulo Fonseca’s Lyon, with João Neves scoring the winning goal deep into injury time.

Emerging sensation Afonso Moreira scored another goal for Lyon, who twice came from behind to level the scores, while PSG’s Portuguese midfielder Vitinha was heavily involved on a night that included its fair share of controversy and major calls which went against Fonseca’s men.

PSG, who were without Nuno Mendes after he picked up a minor knee injury, took the lead on 26 minutes when Vitinha’s pinpoint throughball put Warren Zaire-Emery in to crash his finish past Dominik Greif in the Lyon goal. It was Vitinha’s 5th assist of the season in Ligue 1 – more than any other player.

Lyon’s response came just a few minutes later through Afonso Moreira, who continues to be one of the revelations of the season in France. Moreira beat the PSG offside trap to get on the end of Moussa Niakhaté’s pass, before calmly beating Lucas Chevalier. The goal means Moreira, 20, now has three goals and two assists from his last six matches for Lyon.

Vitinha was involved in the controversial second for PSG when he won the ball with a challenge from behind, which Lyon expected to be whistled for a foul. However, the referee played on and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took advantage to put the visitors 2-1 up with 33 minutes on the clock, earning Vitinha his 6th assist in the league. Lyon were incensed by the decision to not award the free-kick, but rallied early in the second half and drew level again on 50 minutes with a brilliant lobbed finish by Englishman Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

Was it a foul by Vitinha?

The match remained at 2-2 heading into injury time, at which point Lyon were reduced to ten men when experienced defender Nicolas Tagliafico was incredulous at being given a second yellow card following a tussle with Lee Kang-In. The dismissal may well have been pivotal, as just moments later Kang-In delivered the corner from which Neves headed in a dramatic winner.

It is the second league match running a Portuguese has stolen a win for PSG during injury time, after Gonçalo Ramos’ late show against Nice last week, For Paulo Fonseca and Lyon, who had just 28% possession on the night, a remarkable third match in succession that they have received a red card at vital moments in Ligue 1.

“There’s a lot of joy today,”  Neves said after the final whistle. “I’m very happy for the team’s victory; that’s the most important thing for me. I think that if we always play like this, with this attitude and this type of football, it’s easier to win. We never stop with our intensity and our style of play; I think that’s the key for us, and for getting a lot of wins in the end. My goal? That’s something we work on in training, that’s why I’m ready for these kinds of plays.”

Lyon slam referee

Lyon were inevitably frustrated, with club official Matthieu Louis-Jean taking the opportunity to criticise referee Benoît Bastien’s performance. “First of all, I want to congratulate the team; we saw a great Lyon side, a courageous, proud team that gave everything,” said Louis-Jean. “The coach had a great game, and so did the players.

“But there's a lot of frustration and incomprehension. There were some significant refereeing errors. In the first half, a penalty for a clear handball, then a foul on Tanner: he clearly touched his knee, we can discuss it, but it's blatant. We tried everything, we talked, we exchanged ideas… but it continues.

“We don't understand anymore. The real problem is the consistency in the refereeing. And it's not just us. At some point, we have to ask ourselves the right questions, sit down together and discuss it seriously. All the Ligue 1 teams are asking themselves the same questions: what needs to be done?

“Tonight again, Mr. Bastien's refereeing was catastrophic. I didn't see him after the match, but anyway, he won't say anything. He never says anything. It's starting to become too much. So, a huge amount of disappointment, and above all, a real sense of incomprehension.”