Paris Saint-Germain had a night to forget after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Nantes in Ligue 1 action on Saturday night.
Result: Nantes 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Date: 19 February 2022
Venue: Stade de la Beaujoire
Neymar was restored to the line-up after coming off the bench against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, while Ander Herrera, Idrissa Gueye and Georginio Wijnaldum were also given starts.
While all the focus was on PSG's front-three reuniting, the hosts got off to the perfect start as Moses Simon teed up Randal Kolo Muani for the close-range finish after catching PSG on the break.
Nantes then went on to double their lead in the 16th minute. Osman Bukari took advantage of some slack defending and picked out Quentin Merlin, who sent a superb effort past Keylor Navas from the edge of the box.
PSG, meanwhile, struggled to find a way back into the contest as the front three of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe were closely monitored by the Nantes defenders.
It got better for the home side as they were awarded a penalty on the stroke of halftime after Wijnaldum's handball, which allowed Ludovic Blas to convert and make it 3-0.
After a horrible first half, Neymar pulled a goal back for the visitors two minutes after the break with a neat finish into the bottom corner after latching onto Messi's pass.
The hosts began to break as PSG were awarded a penalty just before the hour mark after a foul on Mbappe. Neymar took responsibility but sent his effort straight to goalkeeper Alban Lafont.
That proved to be Neymar's final big involvement as he made way for Angel di Maria, while Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes and Mauro Icardi were also introduced for the final 15 minutes.
Even with the influx of chances, PSG were unable to add to the scoreline and succumbed to their second defeat of the Ligue 1 campaign.
