Ligue 1
Result: Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Nantes
Date: 22 December 2018
Venue: Parc di Princes
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten run in Ligue 1 with a 1-0 victory over Nantes on Saturday night. PSG came into the game having been held to two draws in each of their last two league games and were looking to return to winning ways. Angel Di Maria came close to opening the scoring for the Parisians in the tenth minute after squeezing a left shot from just outside the box that sailed narrowly wide. Nantes were able to push forward after 20 minutes and they managed to create a couple chances, but they lacked the quality to put them away. The visitors were dealing well with the threat posed by speedy forward Kylian Mbappe and bustling striker Edinson Cavani as chances were hard to come by for the host. Thomas Tuchel's charges were getting frustrated by a reinforced defence of Nantes and needed to come up with new ideas to break them down in the second stanza as the sides went into the break goalless. Di Maria came close to breaking the deadlock for the hosts ten minutes into the second stanza after being left free in the the box but his shot sailed slightly wide of the target. PSG thought they had found the breakthrough on the hour-mark after Julian Draxler had fired home, but the goal was ruled out after the Video Assistant Referee revealed the ball had gone out in the build-up/ Mbappe finally broke the deadlock for Tuchel's troops 22 minutes before time with a close range strike at the back post following a curling corner from Di Maria, 1-0. Nantes made all their three substitutions within three minutes from the 74th minute, making their desperation clear of getting back into the game. PSG made a double substitution nine minutes before time, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting replacing Cavani while Thilo Kehrer camfor Thomas Meunier. The Parisians used their experience in the closing minutes of the game to hold off Nantes and clinch a 1-0 victory that extended their lead at the top to 13 points. 
