Paris-Saint-Germain missed the opportunity to take the lead in the championship in Lille. Unrecognizable, the Parisians bowed to Nantes (2 to 1), Sunday March 14, at the Parc des Princes, at the end of the 29e Ligue 1 day.
Paris remains second, three lengths now from Lille and tied with OL, and it will cross its two opponents for the title the next two days, in Lyon and at the Parc against Losc.
Everything was running smoothly at first. Julian Draxler opened the scoring for PSG after a great collective action (42e). Nantes equalized shortly before the hour mark when Kolo Muani, intercepting a back pass from Kylian Mbappé, sanctioned the Parisian defense (59e). Then, Moses Simon closed the mark (71e) and offered a precious victory with a view to maintaining the Canaries.
Kombouaré plunges Paris back into doubt
Qualified for the quarters after their draw against FC Barcelona (1-1) on Wednesday, PSG seemed to have no more influence to reverse the fate.
After the feat of going to Catalonia (4-1), PSG had already been surprised by Monaco (2-0) at the Parc des Princes. But at least the ASM was 4e and in great shape, while Nantes is a relegation in suffering.
And it is a former member of the house, Antoine Kombouaré, who plunged Paris back into doubt. His training club came out on top of the relegation zone by beating the club in its best years as a player. Kanak inflicts a seventh defeat in Ligue 1 on PSG this season, the third in the Mauricio Pochettino era, also beaten in Lorient (3-2).
The Argentine coach will have to quickly revive his team, with an eighth-finals of the Coupe de France against Lille on Wednesday, which sounds like a repetition before the two big shocks in L1.
Burglaries during the match
The homes of two PSG players, including Argentina’s Angel Di Maria, were robbed on Sunday, the club said. Di Maria, who has just extended his contract with Paris SG, left the pitch shortly after the hour mark, replaced by Leandro Paredes.
When he left, the Argentinian exchanged a few words with coach Mauricio Pochettino, then went straight to the locker room.
Burglaries that disrupted the team: “There is the disappointment of having lost three points, but the group was concerned” by burglaries, in particular at Angel Di Maria, while his family was present, according to Canal +, broadcaster of the meeting, which does not cite a source. The Parisian club’s sporting director, Leonardo, even came to speak with the coach, Mauricio Pochettino, to get the Argentina winger off the pitch.
“It’s not an excuse, but there has been an unusual drop in energy”, explained the Argentine coach. “Yes, we spoke with the players, but not about what happened footballistically. “
