Paris beaten in Nantes
In a crazy match, Paris Saint-Germain were shocked by FC Nantes, in matchday 27 of Ligue 1 (3-1). Here is a look back at the match.
Four days after the home game against Real Madrid, the club from the capital were back to league action with a game against FC Nantes. For Mauricio Pochettino, it was also time for rotation, with no less than six changes to the team and Neymar Jr returning to the starting line-up.
Our minds inevitably think back to the first game between the two sides which, despite the Parisian victory, was marked by Alban Lafont's performance in the Nantes goal. And from the beginning to end, the keeper reminded the Parisians of those bad memories.
Early on, he made a great save from a Juan Bernat effort (3'). A save that gave his team a real boost, as Kolo Muani opened the scoring for the Canaries from a quick counter-attack (1-0, 5'). But it was the home side's realism, encouraged by the Beaujoire crowd, that made the difference, from a strike by Merlin (2-0, 16').
It was a very difficult start for the Rouge et Bleu, who tried to turn the tide, but all came up against a terrific performance by Lafont. Mbappé (19’), Neymar Jr (26'), and Gueye (22’) were all denied by the Nantes goalkeeper in this end to end game. The two teams traded blows both literally and figuratively, with Kylian Mbappé receiving two extremely contentious fouls on the edge of the area, both of which were sanctioned very leniently by Mr Lesage. And it was finally at the other end of the pitch, after a handball by Wijnaldum, that the refereeing and the penalty awarded to the Canaries put the nail in the coffin, with Blas scoring the third goal before the break (3-0, 45+4').
Our Parisians were not about to give up. Mauricio Pochettino's men came back with a vengeance after the break and Neymar Jr reduced the deficit with an impressive finish (3-1, 46'). The chances continued to come thick and fast. Kylian Mbappé was clipped in the box and was awarded a penalty, but Lafont - once more - saved Neymar Jr's attempt (58'). Paris gave it their all but luck wasn’t on their side this Saturday night, as shown once more by this crazy chance by Mbappé (72').
Mauricio Pochettino tried to force the issue by sending Draxler, Di Maria, Mendes and Icardi on to the pitch to increase the Parisians' pressure, but Lafont once more denied them as he did with the nine shots on target he faced... And the score remained unchanged. Some nights are like that, when passes don’t turn into assists, when the opposition keeper is on fire and decisions go against you. This Saturday was not to be for Paris.