Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti marked his return to competitive action after nearly a month out injured with a 15-minute cameo against Reims in which he helped set up his side's goal and was then dismissed for a crude challenge.
Verratti was sent on after the pause at the Parc des Princes following a lacklustre first-half in which the hosts mustered one shot on goal despite fielding the fabled troika of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
Reims came to the Parc des Princes unbeaten in 11 Ligue 1 matches - a run that had taken them to mid table.
And they played with the attendant confidence allowing their illustrious opponents little space and themselves looking dangerous in possession especially with Folarin Balogun at the focal point.
With Reims obdurate, PSG tried to play intricately around the sides. And when that failed to yield fruits, they tried through the middle.
That too was a barren land.
In the hope of more guile from midfield, PSG boss Christophe Galtier sent on Verratti.
And his surge from the central zone six minutes into the second-half brought the luck that appeared to have deserted the side.
From Verratti, the ball found its way to Messi. His shot at goal hit his teammate Achraf Hakimi and in the slapstick the ball fell to Neymar who rounded the Reims goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf to open the score.
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But within minutes, PSG were down to 10 men. Verratti was initially given a yellow card for scything down Junya Ito on the right wing.
Referee Ruddy Buquet was urged to consult the video monitors and after reviewing the lunge, he brandished red.
Reims pushed forward for the leveller and began to leave the room they had guarded so valiantly.
Mbappé recaptured his menace and tested Diouf. Messi should have sealed the game seven minutes from time but the Argentine sliced his shot wide of Diouf's right hand post.
The lack of ruthlessness was punished in stoppage time. Kamory Doumbia slid the ball through to Balogun who swept past PSG defender Sergio Ramos before taking the ball past the goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma and thrashing it into the net.
Champagne stuff.
The strike brought the entire Reims bench onto the field to celebrate. Buquet blew the whistle for the restart and before that sound had vanished, he signalled the end of the encounter.
The Reims players continued their merriment with their bank of fans in a corner of the stadium. PSG trudged off to the sounds of jeers.
"The goal we conceded was annoying," Reims boss Will Still told Prime Video.
"But we held on and we didn't lose hope. And by doing that we were rewarded at the end."
The draw leaves Reims in mid table on 26 points after 20 games and PSG three points ahead of second placed Lens who drew 1-1 at Troyes on Saturday.
Galtier lamented his side's failure to close out the game. "We have lots of experienced players," he told Prime Video. "We're not happy with the results and performances since the players came back from the World Cup.
"There will be decisions to make to find the best organisation of the team and a much stronger team that has the capacity to operate at the top level."
