Metz ended their miserable season on a high with victory over giants Paris St Germain.
The bottom-placed club have been destined for Ligue 2 for some time, but they at least bid farewell to the top flight in style, beating the Parisians when Szavbolcs Huszti snatched a last-minute winner.
Metz will not mind that it was largely a second-string PSG side as they look to take positives from a disappointing season.
Victory came as a reward for a strong second-half in which Metz belied the gulf between the two sides in the table.
The only decent opening in the first-half had gone to PSG, but they did not seriously threaten to take the lead.
It was in the seventh minute when Edouard Cisse had room to shoot inside the penalty area but could only send it straight at Metz goalkeeper Christophe Marichez.
Metz coach Joel Muller - delivering his final team-talk before moving upstairs to become technical director - seemed to find the right words at half-time and Metz dominated the second 45 minutes.
Only two minutes after the interval they had a strong case for a penalty when PSG defender David Rozenhal appeared to handle the ball in the area. However, their appeals were waved away as the referee ruled that the infringement was accidental.
Two minutes later Souleymane Youla had a good chance but his close-range shot from a tight angle was well saved by Jerome Alonzo in the PSG goal.
The game looked to be heading for a draw when Huszti's free-kick left Alonzo flat-footed and whistled into the net. |