Neymar missed a penalty as Paris Saint-Germain succumbed to a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Nantes on Saturday night.
Paris Saint-Germain’s brilliant run of form came to an abrupt end as they slump to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Nantes on Saturday. It was a shocking result that could reduce their 13-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings.
Given the attacking quality present in the PSG attack, it was always going to be an entertaining game. But contrary to expectations, Nantes were the ones to showcase their attacking talents, with Moses Simon and Randal Kolo Muani linking up early to find the opener in the fourth minute. Twelve minutes later, they managed to score the second, thanks to a deflected effort from Quentin Merlin that beat Keylor Navas.
PSG had no shortage of chances of their own, but they lacked the cutting edge in the final third to truly cause trouble. The first half came to a rather controversial end when VAR came into action twice. It initially overturned the red card on Dennis Appiah before giving a penalty to Nantes deep into added time for a handball from Gini Wijnaldum.
Nantes made no mistake in converting the spot-kick, with Ludovic Blas tripling his side’s lead heading into half-time. PSG did have a spirited start to the second half, notably pulling one back in the 47th minute through Neymar. But once again, they were wasteful in the final third, with Neymar himself missing a penalty just before the hour mark.
The miss sabotaged any chances of a potential comeback from Les Parisiens, as Nantes held on for a much-deserved victory.
Keylor Navas: 5.5/10
Keylor Navas had an extremely busy first half, getting beaten thrice by Kolo Muani, Merlin and Blas. One would expect the PSG goalkeeper to save at least one of these efforts, especially the first one. Other than that, the Costa Rican international had a rather pleasant second half as Nantes were more than happy to defend their three-goal advantage.
Thilo Kehrer: 5/10
Starting ahead of Achraf Hakimi, Thilo Kehrer had a difficult night dealing with the threat of Moses Simon. The Nantes winger utilised his pace to cause trouble for the PSG right-back, who also offered very little going forward. His ability to read the game didn’t come to the fore either, leading to his substitution during the final phase of the game.
Lionel Messi , Georginio Wijnaldum and Thilo Kehrer on the right for PSG have been taken apart for a shortcut , the defence has been horrific so unorganised but Moses Simon and Randal Kolo Muani have worked so hard pressed PSG so well ,a stunning first half of Ligue 1 football.
— Josh Bunting (@Buntingfootball) February 19, 2022
Marquinhos: 6/10
Marquinhos was completely exposed during the opening exchanges when Kolo Muani beat him for pace to score the opener. The PSG skipper improved considerably after that moment, but he was really the only one remaining somewhat resolute against the Nantes onslaught in the first half.
Presnel Kimpembe: 6/10
Presnel Kimpembe had a busy first half as he tried to keep a lid on the Nantes attackers, including Kolo Muani and Blas. He certainly wasn’t one of the worst performers for PSG, but the Frenchman failed to impose his authority in the defensive third. He had a much better second half as the opposition barely caused any danger going forward.
Juan Bernat: 5.5/10
Juan Bernat was another key change in Mauricio Pochettino’s rotation policy, as he started ahead of Nuno Mendes. The left-back was more influential with his attacking forays into the opposition half than Kehrer. At the same time, he struggled dealing with the threat of Kolo Munai and Osman Bukari.
Georginio Wijnaldum: 4/10
Georginio Wijnaldum had a disastrous night against Nantes as he found it difficult to influence the game in the middle of the park. He was unable to offer anything on the creative front, and to PSG’s detriment, he conceded a needless penalty just before the half-time whistle. A night to forget for the former Liverpool man, who continues to struggle in the French top-flight.
Would rather employ a 38 year old Yaya Toure than Wijnaldum in 2022
— Galu (@PSGalu) February 19, 2022
Idrissa Gueye: 5/10
Idrissa Gueye acted as the number six for PSG’s midfield three. However, he was way too passive on most occasions, even defensively, as he allowed Merlin the much-needed space to get his shot away. It eventually deflected off him to find the back of the net. Not the best of performances from the midfielder, who recently won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Marco Verratti: 6/10
Marco Verratti was the sole creative spark in the PSG midfield on the night. But he wasn’t as fluid as one would have liked. The Italian did concede multiple turnovers, some of which even led to dangerous counter-attacks. Nevertheless, his ball-carrying abilities remain a key asset to PSG’s offensive play and transition.
Lionel Messi: 6.5/10
Lionel Messi had a fairly decent outing despite missing a couple of excellent goalscoring opportunities. He was willing to create chances for his team, and his skill on the ball often made it difficult for Nantes to keep a lid on him. While it was certainly not the Argentine’s best game, he did create numerous goalscoring opportunities, including the assist for Neymar’s only goal.
There was a massive shortcoming on the goalscoring front as Messi looked too slow to get his shot away at times. It is not a good sign for the player, who has scored only two goals in Ligue 1 since joining PSG last summer.
Lionel Messi has now provided eight assists in his last nine Ligue 1 games:
?️?️?️ vs Saint-Etienne
?️ vs Monaco
?️ vs Reims
?️ vs Lille
?️ vs Rennes
?️ vs NantesAdjusting to life in France. pic.twitter.com/k0BIMVRiRC
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 19, 2022
Kylian Mbappe: 6/10
Kylian Mbappe had a rather difficult outing. The Frenchman was always a threat due to his pace and ability to drift past defenders. But he always failed to beat the final man and was often stopped in his tracks. He would have liked to be a bit more accurate in front of goal.
Neymar: 6/10
Neymar was the focal point of this game against Nantes. Back into the starting eleven after a long absence, the Brazilian linked up extremely well with Messi, finding himself on the end of multiple scoring opportunities. However, he was very wasteful in the final third, struggling to truly test Alban Lafont in goal.
Neymar did have an excellent start to the second half, but his problems were compounded after a penalty miss that effectively killed any hope of a second-half comeback from Les Parisiens.
Neymar with one of the worst penalties you're going to see this season… ? pic.twitter.com/j9Epsuyoor
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 19, 2022
SUBSTITUTES
Julian Draxler: 5.5/10
Julian Draxler replaced Wijnaldum midway through the second half as Pochettino sought more creativity in the final third. He couldn’t make much of a difference other than creating one goalscoring opportunity.
Achraf Hakimi: N/A
A late replacement for Kehrer. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Nuno Mendes: N/A
A late replacement for Bernat. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Angel Di Maria: N/A
A late replacement for Neymar. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
Mauro Icardi: N/A
A late replacement for Gueye. Did not play enough to warrant a rating.
