With a season-defining Champions League tie to come in midweek against Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain were looking to put on a frills-free, statement performance as they welcomed Nantes to the Parc des Princes.
The visitors, meanwhile were in the early stages of a mid-season revival under newly-arrived manager Jocelyn Gourvennec – the former Bordeaux and Lille manager had already ended Nice’s unbeaten start to the campaign in his first match in charge last week.
Predictably enough, the hosts dominated the early exchanges – Bradley Barcola playing incisively, as he looked to make amends for his miss-strewn performance against Newcastle. The compact Nantes lines held out, though, with the league leaders barely carving out a single clear-cut chance – making for a decidedly tame first half.
PSG eventually broke through just before the break, as Barcola played a one-two with Vitinha, breaking away down the left before curling it inside the far post. A goal reminiscent of his strike partner’s trademark finishes.
But Luis Enrique’s men were not afforded the straightforward evening they would have hoped for before heading out to Germany, as Mostafa Mohamed headed it in from a Florent Mollet corner shortly before the hour mark.
As was the case in the first half, the hosts then struggled to pull apart the Nantes defence, with Barcola’s darting runs down the left the only time that Les Canaris looked potentially destabilised. The breakthrough would eventually come from his direct replacement, as Randal Kolo Muani turned in from close range after a goalmouth scramble from a free-kick. The French international, who had only come on five minutes beforehand, did not celebrate against his formative club.
Jocelyn Gourvennec’s resilient Nantes side would, in the end, pose a worthy pre-Europe challenge to the league leaders. While Mbappé was kept mostly quiet, two much-criticised summer signings in Barcola and Kolo Muani proved to be the matchwinners. Hardly a convincing showing – although neither was Dortmund’s against Leipzig earlier on – but PSG did just about enough to secure an eighth consecutive league win.
PSG player ratings
Arnau Tenas, 6 – Deputising for the suspended Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Catalan was rarely tested, but managed to keep out a late flurry of Nantes chances – the equalising header was beyond his reach.
Achraf Hakimi, 5
Danilo Pereira, 6
Marquinhos, 6 – On his return from injury, the captain put in an assured performance. Replaced by Milan Škriniar on the hour mark.
Lucas Hernandez, 5
Carlos Soler, 6
Manuel Ugarte, 4 – The Uruguayan has struggled to continue his impressive start to the campaign, and has been somewhat hesitant and error-prone of late – he lost six duels tonight before being replaced by the returning Warren Zaïre-Emery with thirty minutes to go.
Vitinha, 5
Kang-in Lee, 6
Kylian Mbappé, 5 – Spearheaded the attack in his new central role but – as has been the case with PSG’s other number nines – did not get much service, and was at his most effective when drifting wide.
Bradley Barcola, 7 – The much-maligned summer signing finally announced himself to his new fans – after a barrage of criticisms for his misses against Newcastle, the former Lyon man scored his first goal for the club, and was at his incisive best down the left wing. Replaced by Randal Kolo Muani, who made an instant impact by scoring the winner from close range.
Nantes player ratings
Alban Lafont, 5
Marcus Coco, 4
Eray Cömert, 5
Jean-Charles Castelletto, 5
Jean-Kévin Duverne, 4
Douglas Augusto, 6
Samuel Moutoussamy, 4
Florent Mollet, 6
Moussa Sissoko, 5
Moses Simon, 6 – The Nigerian managed to slalom past defenders and break through several times – but was never able to find a teammate in the box to make the chance count.
Mostafa Mohamed, 5 – Had little to work with in the first half, but a well-taken header in the second drew the visitors level. Struggled to link up with his teammates in open play, but did keep the PSG defence busy.
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