Although striker Kylian Mbappe played poorly, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) still won a narrow victory over Nantes to firmly secure the top spot in Ligue 1 after round 15.
Despite playing at home at Parc des Princes, PSG faced many difficulties in finding a way into Nantes’ goal when the away team played very tight defense for most of the first half.
However, in the 41st minute, midfielder Vitinha smartly passed the ball to Bradley Barcola to receive the ball before finishing to beat goalkeeper Alban Lafont to open the score for home team PSG. The score 1-0 remained until the end of the first half.
Entering the second half, the away team from Nantes proactively raised their squad in search of an equalizer and created many sharper attacks than in the first half. Minute 55, from a corner kick by Florent Mollet, the Ai striker Egyptian Mostafa Mohamed headed in from close range to equalize 1-1 for Nantes.
This goal helped Nantes create a good position, proactively reduce the pace of the match and concentrate the majority of players on their home field with the goal of gaining at least one point on PSG’s field.
However, in the 83rd minute, from the home team’s free kick, midfielder Lucas Hernandez headed in but could not beat goalkeeper Alban Lafont. However, defender Kolo Muani jumped in and kicked the ball into the net for the away team Nantes.
Efforts in the remaining minutes were not enough to help Nantes find a goal and accepted empty-handed against PSG after more than 90 minutes of play. This victory helped PSG make a strong breakthrough at the top of Ligue 1 with 36 points after 15 rounds, 6 points more than second-placed team Monaco.
In the middle of this week, PSG will have a very important final match with Dortmund in the Champions League group stage to win a place in the 1/8 round.
Although they are ranked second in the table, PSG’s gap with the two teams behind is only 2 points, so a victory over Dortmund will help coach Luis Enrique’s team ensure their place in the knockout round.