After winning over Real Madrid in the Champions League, PSG were made to suffer by Nantes in the domestic Ligue 1 competition. A trip to Nantes’ headquarters at the Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau, PSG had lost 3 goals in the first half and was only able to reduce the score to 3-1 until the match ended, which made the leaders of the Ligue 1 standings suffer their second defeat in the league competition this season.
A game full of drama, Nantes beat PSG with very little possession, coming close to being down to 10 men at the end of the first half, but Nantes were lucky as the red card was canceled out by the referee after a VAR review. And also watched Neymar squander a goal opportunity from the penalty spot in a thrilling clash at the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Shown with the best squad, with the deadly trident of Neymar, Mbappe, Messi. PSG immediately stepped on the gas, only three minutes running, PSG had a golden opportunity to open the scoring through Juan Bernat. Unfortunately Juan Bernat’s flat kick from inside the penalty box could still be anticipated by Nantes goalkeeper, Alban Lafont.
Randal Kolo Muani put Nantes in front just four minutes after a quick strike from the left flank by Moses Simon, with Randal Kolo Muani’s right-footed strike tore through the PSG net with Keylor Navas.
PSG immediately went into action to avenge the lag, the 8th minute Lionel Messi had a chance to equalize. However, his action still couldn’t beat Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont.
Instead of replying, Les Canaris, nicknamed Nantes, even tore up Navas’ goal in the 16th minute, Nantes youth player Quentin Merlin listed his name on the scoreboard with a left-footed shot after utilizing Osman Bukari’s pass.
Nantes almost played with 10 players. Nantes defender Dennis Appiah was sent off two minutes before the break for tripping Kylian Mbappe as he headed the ball into the net. But the referee was asked to review his decision by VAR and changed it later to a yellow card when replays showed that the clash was not as serious as previously thought.
VAR then intervened again in added time before half-time when Georginio Wijnaldum handsball in his own box, which gave Nantes a penalty that Ludovic Blas converted to give Les Canaris a stunning 3-0 first-half lead.
Entering the second half, PSG, who started the match with a 13-point advantage over the second-placed team Marseille, immediately appeared to press to immediately reply. Only two minutes into the second half, a breakthrough bait from Lionel Messi was maximized by Neymar in the penalty box. Having outwit one player, Neymar immediately fired a shot into the right side of the Nantes goal without being able to be prevented by Lafont.
Neymar, who returned to the starting line-up for the first time since November, had a chance to close the gap when Appiah brought down Mbappe again inside the box, but Neymar, who started the penalty shoot-out, failed to execute, his shot too weak and easy to read. by Alban Lafont who guarded the Nantes goal.
After the failure of the execution of Neymar’s penalty, PSG increasingly aggressively launched attacks towards the Nantes defense. Mbappe then made an unusual mistake from close range in the final 20 minutes as PSG continued to press but could not capitalize on many of their chances.
Entering the final minutes of the match, PSG’s goal was almost broken if only the kick from Blas in the 86th minute was not pushed over by Navas. Until the referee Mikael Lesage sounded the final whistle, Pocchettino’s squad was unable to add a goal, despite controlling the game with 72% possession, 16 attempts with 9 of them on target, meanwhile Nantes played effectively even with only 13 attempts and 7 on target but 3 of them became goals.
Despite losing, Les Parisiens still lead the French Ligue 1 standings with a collection of 59 points from 25 matches. But this defeat is a signal for PSG to immediately improve, regarding their dream to win the Champions Cup. For domestic competition, PSG is still relatively safe, but in the Champions League they will play an away match to the Santiago Bernabeu on March 10 and that could be a nightmare.
Meanwhile for Nantes this victory made them jump from 10th to fifth in the Ligue 1 standings with 38 points from 25 matches. A positive result in their bid for a place in the European club competition next season.
Lineup:
Nantes (3-5-2): 1-Alban Lafont; 21-Jean-Charles Castelletto, 12-Dennis Appiah, 4-Nicolas Pallois; 26-Osman Bukari, 10-Ludovic Blas, 3-Andrei Girotto, 5-Pedro Chirivella, 29-Quentin Merlin; 23-Randal Kolo Muani, 27-Moses Simon.
Coach: Antoine Kombouare
PSG (4-3-3): 1-Keylor Navas; 14-Juan Bernat, 3-Presnel Kimpembe, 5-Marquinhos, 24-Thilo Kehrer; 6-Marco Verratti, 27-Idrissa Gueye, 18-Georginio Wijnaldum; 10-Neymar, 7-Kylian Mbappe, 30-Lionel Messi.
Coach: Mauricio Pochettino
ASL
