Lionel Messi scored his first goal in Ligue 1 as 10-man Paris St-Germain moved 13 points clear at the top with a late rally to beat Nantes.
Messi curled home left-footed from 20 yards three minutes from time.
Kylian Mbappe had given PSG an early lead but the hosts were reduced to 10 men when goalkeeper Keylor Navas raced from his box to foul Ludovic Blas.
Nantes levelled via Randal Kolo Muani’s backheel but Dennis Appiah’s freak own goal and Messi’s measured shot won it.
The victory was Les Parisiens’ 12th in 14 league games and it looked set to be a routine affair after they dominated the first half, buoyed by Mbappe’s second-minute opener.
However, Nantes keeper Albon Lafont kept the visitors in it with a string of saves to thwart Messi and Neymar before his opposite number Navas saw red for a reckless rush of blood.
His replacement Sergio Rico, brought on for Neymar, saved well from Muani’s header but could not keep out the Nantes forward’s improvised rebound.
But Appiah’s interception of a Messi pass looped over Lafont from 20 yards before the former Barcelona playmaker – whose three previous PSG goals had all come in the Champions League – broke his domestic duck in his sixth Ligue 1 game.
Line-ups
PSG
Formation 4-3-3
- 1NavasBooked at 65mins
- 2Hakimi
- 24Kehrer
- 22Diallo
- 14Bernat
- 27Gueye
- 8ParedesSubstituted forDaniloat 89′minutes
- 6VerrattiBooked at 71minsSubstituted forWijnaldumat 75′minutes
- 30Messi
- 7Mbappé
- 10NeymarSubstituted forRicoat 68′minutes
Substitutes
- 9Icardi
- 11Di María
- 15Danilo
- 16Rico
- 17Dagba
- 18Wijnaldum
- 21Herrera
- 25Tavares Mendes
- 28Ebimbe
Nantes
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Lafont
- 24CorchiaSubstituted forAppiahat 42′minutes
- 21Castelletto
- 3Girotto
- 2Pereira da SilvaSubstituted forMerlinat 58′minutes
- 18MoutoussamySubstituted forCyprienat 77′minutes
- 5ChirivellaBooked at 39mins
- 11CocoSubstituted forGeubbelsat 77′minutes
- 10BlasBooked at 83mins
- 23Kolo Muani
- 7CoulibalySubstituted forBukariat 58′minutes
Substitutes
- 8Cyprien
- 12Appiah
- 14Traoré
- 19Geubbels
- 26Bukari
- 29Merlin
- 30Petric
- 31Manvelyan
- 33M’Bemba
- Referee:
- Jeremy Stinat
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Paris Saint Germain 3, Nantes 1.
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Second Half ends, Paris Saint Germain 3, Nantes 1.
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Attempt missed. Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint Germain) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Kylian Mbappé with a cross following a corner.
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Corner, Paris Saint Germain. Conceded by Andrei Girotto.
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Attempt blocked. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
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Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Danilo Pereira replaces Leandro Paredes.
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Goal! Paris Saint Germain 3, Nantes 1. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Kylian Mbappé following a fast break.
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Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint Germain) left footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.
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Lionel Messi (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Andrei Girotto (Nantes).
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Ludovic Blas (Nantes) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Georginio Wijnaldum (Paris Saint Germain) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Ludovic Blas (Nantes).
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Own Goal by Dennis Appiah, Nantes. Paris Saint Germain 2, Nantes 1.
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Substitution, Nantes. Wylan Cyprien replaces Samuel Moutoussamy.
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Substitution, Nantes. Willem Geubbels replaces Marcus Coco.
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Goal! Paris Saint Germain 1, Nantes 1. Randal Kolo Muani (Nantes) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the centre of the goal.
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Attempt saved. Randal Kolo Muani (Nantes) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Quentin Merlin with a cross.
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Substitution, Paris Saint Germain. Georginio Wijnaldum replaces Marco Verratti.
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Corner, Nantes. Conceded by Juan Bernat.
