Paris Saint-Germain and FC Nantes were playing big this evening at the Parc des Princes, for this late match of the 26th day of Ligue 1. First in the standings with a single point ahead of RC Lens, the capital club had a new chance to overtake the Sang-et-Or after their failure last Sunday against OL (1-2). The victory was therefore vital for Luis Enrique’s men who, in the event of success against the Canaries, would have an opportunity to relegate Lens to seven lengths on May 13. To do this, the Spaniard decided to line up a starting eleven less reworked than on Sunday. While Chevalier was hoping for a bit of rotation, it was Safonov who was chosen. The Russian was protected by a defense made up of Hakimi, Marquinhos, Zabarnyi and Zaire-Emery. In the middle, Dro Fernandez made his comeback, alongside Beraldo and Neves. Finally, Luis Enrique had lined up an attack by DembĂ©lĂ©, Kvaratskhelia, DouĂ© to force the Nantes coffer. For its part, the FCN had to cope without Vahid Halilhodzic, suspended, for one of its last last chance matches. Seventeenth in the standings, the club from the banks of the Erdre is five points behind Auxerre. Suffice to say that a miracle at the Park would allow them to believe again in their chances of survival. And to try to shake PSG, Eric Blahic lined up the following eleven: Lopes, Almustrati, Cozza, Acapandie, Guilbert, Machado, Lepenant, Sissoko, Leroux, Abline, Mohamed.
If the presence of Zaire-Emery on the left flank of the defense and that of Beraldo in the middle was the little surprise of the day concocted by Luis Enrique, the appearance of the first period was indeed what was expected. Paris had to face Nantes playing low and counting only on a counter-blitz from Abline to trap the Rouge et Bleu. The match started at a rather leisurely pace when the Canaries experienced a new twist of fate in their battle to remain when the VAR called Clément Turpin to report a contentious action between Marquinhos and Leroux. On a header from the Brazilian defender, the young Nantes player involuntarily deflected the ball with his arm. A timely penalty for PSG who were able to start their match thanks to the precision of Kvaratskhelia (1-0, 13th). Paris did not need that against a poorly ranked team, but Leroux thought he would do himself justice by equalizing on a poorly returned free kick by a Parisian defense that was too wait-and-see (22nd). But we must believe that all the winds are against FC Nantes at the end of the season since after many minutes, the VAR finally decided to cancel the goal, probably for offside.
Paris assures, Nantes continues to sink
The Canaries were not varnished, but Abline still had a few rare opportunities to worry Safonov with his first shot on target of the match (35th) and with a direct free kick (43rd). For its part, PSG accentuated its domination as the minutes passed and more and more quickly recovered the leather from the combative, but powerless Nantes. And what was supposed to happen happened. Perfectly served by Achraf Hakimi on the right side, Désiré Doué scored the knockout goal by unleashing an XXL cross shot that landed in the top corner of Anthony Lopes (2-0, 38th). At half-time, Paris provided the essentials and regained a four-point lead over RC Lens. When you return from the locker room, there’s no time to hang out. Determined to avoid any headaches in the event of a Canaries goal, the Parisians folded the match in the 50th minute. And once again, “Kvaradona” showed off all his technique. Arriving launched on the edge of the area, the Georgian was ideally served full axis by Dembélé before making a double contact and an impeccable strike in stride to deceive Lopes (3-0, 50th). A treat for football lovers.
Guaranteed to leave Porte d’Auteuil with a 19th defeat in 30 L1 matches, Nantes spent the end of the match playing sparring partners, namely absorbing blows without being able to return them. An ordeal for the Canaries whose main objective was to avoid worsening their goal difference. A detail that could count in his fight for maintenance. It was almost impossible for the bill to increase after a long shot from Hakimi (55th), a header from Kvaratskhelia from a corner pushed back by Lopes (61st) and an attempt from Ruiz which ended up on the left post of the Nantes goalkeeper (69th). Thanks to this easy success (3-0), PSG regains some air in the standings and can consider its trip to Angers with peace of mind before its C1 semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich. For its part, Nantes sees its chances of remaining reduced. With four matches remaining, the Canaries are still five points behind the play-off (Auxerre) and will have to win the Breton derby in Rennes next Sunday if they want to avoid almost giving up on their survival among the elite.
(Relive the PSG-Nantes matcvh film)()
