Nantes, February 20 (BNA): Nantes stormed their lead at the end of the first half with three goals, then took advantage of his luck by winning 3-1 at home and handing leaders Paris Saint-Germain their second loss in the French Ligue 1 this season.
Nantes saw little to no possession, a player was sent off only to see a red card canceled in the VAR review, then watched Neymar miss a penalty in a thrilling one-minute match at Stade La Beaujoire.
But they came away with a full set of points in a surprising reversal for the star-studded Paris Saint-Germain, according to Reuters.
Randall Colo put Nantes ahead within four minutes after storming into Moses Simon’s left flank, and they went 2-0 up after about 12 minutes when teenager Quentin Merlin scored his first goal for his hometown club with his left foot. shooting.
Nantes defender Denis Appiah was sent off two minutes before the end of the first half after Kylian Mbappe stumbled with his header towards the goal. But the VAR asked the referee to review his decision and change it to a yellow card when replays showed the clash was not as sarcastic as it had initially been assumed.
Then the VAR intervened again in stoppage time before the break when Jorginho Wijnaldum touched the ball in his penalty area and awarded Nantes a penalty that Ludovic Blass converted to make a stunning first-half lead.
Paris Saint-Germain, who started the match 13 points behind second-placed Olympique de Marseille, reduced the difference one minute after the start of the second half to lead Lionel Messi and Neymar to end the match.
The Brazilian, who returned to the starting line-up for the first time since November, had a chance to cut the difference again when Appiah dropped Mbappe again, but Neymar’s penalty kick was a poor direct attempt on Alban Lafont.
Then Mbappe missed an unusual error from close range in the last 20 minutes as PSG kept pressing but was unable to capitalize on his many chances.
The victory saw Nantes jump from tenth to fifth in the Ligue 1 standings, as it seeks a place in the European club competition next season.
Earlier on Saturday, Olympique Lyonnais came from behind to give Racing Lens a 1-1 draw, with striker Tino Kadiweri scoring his first goal since March.
Lens took the lead in the 13th minute through Jonathan Klaus and hit the ball into the net again in the 37th minute, but Seko Fofana’s attempt was canceled after the VAR check. Kadewere’s goal came in the first half.