Paris Saint-Germain strengthened the lead in Ligue 1 on Saturday, partly thanks to Lionel Messi’s first league goal. The team of coach Mauricio Pochettino was 3-1 too strong for Nantes at home, although the victory was more difficult than the result suggests. PSG played from the 65th minute, at a score of 1-0, with ten men due to a red card for Keylor Navas, conceded an equalizer and finally struck twice in the last eight minutes. Georginio Wijnaldum participated in the last fifteen minutes.
A single goal in the first half opened up the class difference between the teams of Pochettino and Antoine Kombouaré, who also made the PSG squad in the past. Kylian Mbappé changed a shot by Leandro Paredes in the second minute and left Alban Lafont without a chance: 1-0. The goalkeeper was responsible for the long absence of Messi’s first league goal on Saturday. Lafont twice did not allow the Argentinian’s name to appear on the scoreboard.
After an assist also a goal for Lionel Messi ?? PSG lead 3-1 against FC Nantes ??#ZiggoSport #Ligue1 #PSGFCN pic.twitter.com/Jfjl55yFMD
— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) Nov 20, 2021
After 65 minutes of play, PSG had to continue with ten men when Navas took down the breakthrough Ludovic Blas. Pochettino chose to sign Neymar and bring in Sergio Rico as a replacement for the Costa Rican. Rico kept PSG going for a long time, but 15 minutes before the end Nantes still scored 1-1. The Spaniard turned a header from Randal Kolo Muani, but the attacker reacted well by finishing the leather with a heel ball.
An unfortunate moment by Dennis Appiah led to PSG’s 2-1. He tried to intercept a pass from Messi, after which the ball disappeared over Lafont in the top corner: 2-1. Messi added to the suffering a few minutes later by curling the ball beautifully into the far corner, finally scoring his first goal in Ligue 1. Wijnaldum had come on the field fifteen minutes before the end as a replacement for Marco Verratti.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | V | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Saint Germain | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 37 |
| 2 | RC Lens | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 24 |
| 3 | OGC Nice | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 23 |
| 4 | Olympique Marseille | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 23 |
| 5 | Stade Rennes | 13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 22 |
| 6 | Montpellier | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 19 |
| 7 | AS Monaco | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 19 |
| 8 | Olympique Lyon | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 19 |
| 9 | Strasbourg | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| 10 | Angers | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| 11 | Nantes | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 18 |
| 12 | Lille OSC | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | -3 | 17 |
| 13 | lorient | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | -7 | 15 |
| 14 | Troyes AC | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -8 | 13 |
| 15 | Clermont | 13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -10 | 13 |
| 16 | Reims | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | -3 | 12 |
| 17 | Stade Brest | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | -5 | 12 |
| 18 | Girondins de Bordeaux | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | -9 | 12 |
| 19 | Saint Etienne | 13 | 1 | 6 | 6 | -13 | 9 |
| 20 | Metz | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -14 | 8 |
Date:Saturday 20 November 2021, 5:00 PM
Stadium:Parc des Princes (Paris)
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