Paris, January 24 (BNA): Amine Al-Juweiri scored a penalty kick from Panenka and made a crucial pass for Nice on Sunday to defeat Metz 2-0 and return to second place in the French League behind the unbridled leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who welcomed the return. Lionel Messi in his 4-0 victory over Reims.
PSG got off to a slow start at the Parc des Princes but ended up taking control, scoring goals from Marco Verratti, Sergio Ramos and Danilo Pereira after Reims collapsed and collapsed in the second half, the AP reported.
PSG have an 11-point lead over Nice, extending their winning streak to five league matches.
Messi, who has recovered from a Covid-19 infection, played his first game this year after coming on as a second-half substitute in Paris.
Apart from two chances from Pereira and Kylian Mbappe, who regained their fitness again after suffering from a minor muscle problem, the hosts were largely frustrated throughout the first half by the Reims team who played well but lacked efficiency in exploiting their chances.
PSG finally took the lead just before the break after a shot from Mauro Icardi rebounded the ball into Verratti’s path. The Italian midfielder did not think twice and launched an attempt with his left foot into the net.
Mauricio Pochettino’s players completely dominated in the second half.
Ramos made it 2-0, netting from a rebound from close range after Reims’ header cleared the line. This was Ramos’ first goal in the league with Paris Saint-Germain.
Then Verratti thought that he completed a rare double in the 66th minute from a corner kick that Mbappe scrambled. Angel Di Maria crossed the ball into the penalty area for Verratti, whose shot veered twice and ended in the top corner. It was not clear if the goal would finally be awarded to Verratti as the league said for the first time that it was a special goal from Wet Vice.
Pereira added more sparkle to the win 15 minutes before Mbappe’s decisive pass.
Paris Saint-Germain players wore special commemorative T-shirts written with their names in Mandarin to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
At Metz, the 21-year-old Al-Quwairi started the game in place of striker Andy Delors – who was left out shortly before kick-off due to illness – and put in a superb performance.
Metz goalkeeper Mark O’Reilly Caillard kept the hosts steady in the first half as Guerry tested him several times. The French striker finally scored a breakthrough in the 58th minute with a clever shot over the defense of Khafrin Thuram, who broke the scoring from close range.
El Gouiri, France’s U-21 national team player, believed he doubled Nice’s lead in the 76th minute but Yvan Gisand’s pass was canceled for offside.
Nice got an easy penalty five minutes before the end of the match after a slight friction between Gisand and Vincent Bagot. Al-Quwairi tried the daring and broken kick and beat Kayar, scoring his tenth goal this season, although the goalkeeper hit the ball but could not prevent it from crossing the goal line.
Guerre joins Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe as the only players under the age of 23 to have scored at least 10 goals and scored 5 or more assists in one of the top five European competitions this season.
Nice are two points ahead of third-placed Marseille, who beat Lens 2-0 on Saturday with a game in hand.
The city of Metz fell to the eighteenth place.
Striker Stevie Mavididi scored twice, including a last-gasp winner, as Montpellier secured a hard-fought 3-2 win over Monaco.
After two straight defeats in 2022, the win lifted Montpellier to sixth place, one point behind Monaco.
Montpellier advanced 2-0 after 31 minutes with goals from Elie Wahi and Mavididi, but he could not hold on to his advantage. After Wissam Ben Yedder pulled one back, the visitors pressed hard throughout the second half and were rewarded with Vanderson’s equalizer in the 81st minute.
Then came Jamal Mavididi, after one minute of extra time, at the conclusion of a move ignited by Nicholas Koza. The defender rushed close to the midfield to recover the ball and then stole through the Monaco players towards goal.
Koza fired a pass into the penalty area and Mavididi fired an instant shot into the top corner.
Struggling Bordeaux ended their three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win in a thrilling match against in-form Strasbourg.
Hwang Ui-jo scored a hat-trick for Purdue.
The host country led 3-0 before Kevin Gameiro scored twice. Hwang made it 4-2 in the last minute and Majid Wars scored in seven minutes overtime.
“Hwang had a great game, saving us on several occasions,” said Bordeaux coach Vladimir Petkovic.
Bordeaux left the relegation zone while Strasbourg remained in fourth place.
Angers beat Troyes 2-1, Claremont came back down from Rennes 2-1 and Nantes beat Lorient 4-2.