The Ligue 1 season saw Paris Saint-Germain suffer their first defeat, despite an outstanding double from Kylian Mbappe. At the Parc des Princes on Friday, Nice won 3-2 thanks to two goals from Terem Moffi.
Less than halfway through the first half, Moffi scored for PSG after a careless error by Mbappe.
Half an hour had passed before the France striker made apologies, but eight minutes later Nice’s advantage was restored by Gaetan Laborde, and Moffi added another, sending the tired hosts reeling.
The defending French champions had hope when Mbappe volleyed home, but Nice held on.
With eight points after five games, Luis Enrique’s PSG fell to third in the early standings, one point behind undefeated Nice. With three points, PSG would have overtaken Monaco at the summit.
After suffering his first defeat as PSG’s coach, Luis Enrique said, “They were fresher than us throughout the match.”
“Obviously, losing hurts, and I have to become better like everyone else does. But I enjoyed the way we were feeling.
Two goals out of the three were deflected. Although Nice played excellent football, I’m not concerned since I witnessed the supporters cheer for their side even after they fell down by two goals.”
With the support of British businessman Jim Ratcliffe, Nice is looking to improve on their dismal Ligue 1 result from the previous season.
Nice coach Francesco Farioli said, “To get a result here, everything must be perfect, the opponents must not be at their level, and we must give a complete performance.”
“What I saw was a team of warriors, beyond the tactical aspects.”
Verratti, good bye.
Marco Verratti said goodbye to the Parc des Princes before to kickoff, having left PSG after 11 years to join Al-Arabi, a club in Qatar.
On the big screen, messages from former colleagues Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were shown, and Verratti was given the opportunity to do a lap of honor around the field.
Despite making 416 appearances for PSG and winning nine Ligue 1 championships as well as six French Cups, the Italian midfielder was unable to lead the team to its first-ever Champions League victory.
As PSG played themselves into difficulties at the back, Nice shocked everyone by grabbing a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute, dampening the festive mood.
Mbappe gained control of the ball after dropping far within his own half, but he gave it up in a hazardous spot. The ball then rebounded well for Moffi, whose shot deflected off Milan Skriniar and into the goal.
Gianluigi Donnarumma of PSG narrowly denied Khephren Thuram’s attempt, allowing the visitors to almost double their lead.
Mbappe made an impact at the right end of the field by scoring his sixth league goal in four games this season. Nice goalie Marcin Bulka failed in his effort to stop a strong shot from Achraf Hakimi’s cut-back.
With the last kick of the first half, Jordan Lotomba missed a great chance that would have put PSG ahead, but they were still in control at the interval.
However, Nice did take the lead again in the 53rd minute when Moffi found a way to sneak past Donnarumma after Laborde’s pass.
Paris kept letting opportunities slip through their fingers at the back, and with 21 minutes remaining, Moffi effectively declared the game over.
The Nigerian striker took his time and took advantage of the PSG defense’s retreat before finishing low and into the bottom corner from beyond the box.
On his debut, Nice’s Mbappe skillfully volleyed into the far corner after some excellent work from replacement Randal Kolo Muani, but Nice handled the remaining minutes with relative ease.
Now, PSG must improve ahead of their Champions League group stage matchup with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.