Paris Saint-Germain prevailed 2-1 over Nice in their Ligue 1 Round 9 clash at the Parc des Princes on Saturday, the capital club confirming their status as league leaders. A look back at the match!
After an international break spent all around the world, Paris Saint-Germain's stars were back on domestic duty at the Parc des Princes. The visit of Nice marked the beginning of a new marathon, which will put a real pace on our Les Rouge et Bleu for the next month and a half. It was therefore totally logical that Christophe Galtier had reshaped his starting eleven, handing a first start to the young Hugo Ekitike alongside Leo Messi and Neymar Jr on the front line. Nordi Mukiele, Juan Bernat and Fabian Ruiz were also present at kick-off.
Of course, after this short break for the clubs, we expected to see two teams hungry to mark their return to action with victory. But, after a few minutes of mano a mano, it was the Parisians who took control of the game, pushing Les Aiglons back into their own half and waiting for the first break. And what better way to find it than via the magic left boot of Lionel Messi? The diminutive genius took care of every aspect: winning the free-kick after a superb breakthrough in the middle of the field and also converting it with a delicious curved shot (1-0, 29'). A fifth league goal for the Argentine this season!
With a great application - some nice dribbles from Neymar Jr and a final near miss from Messi before the break - our Rouge et Bleu worked to ensure this advantage until half-time. Les Aiglons came back hungry after the break and Laborde managed to equalise with a close-range tackle (1-1, 47'). But Christophe Galtier's men were not discouraged, and they took the measure of the situation before putting their foot on the gas pedal again as an influx of pace from hour-mark substitutes Kylian Mbappé and Nuno Mendes unsettled the Nice defence.
Reunited, the "MNM" started to rain shots on the visitors' goal, and before you knew it, Kylian Mbappé hit the mark to get his team back in front! After Nordi Mukiele won the ball in an advanced position, he worked a perfect cross for the world champion to fire clinically home (2-1, 83').
As the minutes ticked down, the team made a final push and the coach made his final changes, bringing on Pablo Sarabia and Danilo Pereira to hand around some game time and keep everyone fresh. The rousing win keeps Paris on top of the Ligue 1 standings and stretches their undefeated run this season to 12 matches! A successful return to action before Wednesday's Champions League trip to Lisbon.