Kolo Muani scores as Nantes lose to PSG

Randal Kolo Muani was on target, nonetheless, Nantes crumbled to a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in Saturday’s Ligue 1 encounter.

Unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, the Parisians welcomed the Canaries to Parc des Princes.

For the visitors, they were hoping to return to winning ways after having lost to Montpellier last time out.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men got off to a flying start by taking the lead after just two minutes as Kylian Mbappe put the ball beyond goalkeeper Alban Lafont.

The Frenchman got on the end of Leandro Daniel Paredes’ shot to fire past Lafont.

Spurred by that, PSG continued to dominate but they were unable to add to their goal tally.

Nantes offered next to nothing as they struggled to match the hosts. Notwithstanding, they were offered a lifeline as goalkeeper Keylor Navas was given his marching orders for a rash challenge on Ludovic Blas.

Benefitting from their numerical advantage, Antoine Kombouare’s men restored parity in the 76th minute as Congo prospect Kolom Muani put the ball past goalkeeper Sergio Rico.

Pochettino’s team retook the lead with eight minutes left to play as Ghana prospect Dennis Appiah deflected Lionel Messi’s shot into his own net.

The Argentina international killed Nantes’ ambitions of at least a draw with a trademark curling strike from outside the box.

Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Senegal duo of Abdou Diallo and Idrissa Gueye were in action from start to finish for the home team.

On the other hand, Cameroon’s Jean-Charles Castelletto played all 90 minutes but Mali’s Kalifa Coulibaly – who was handed a starter’s role – was subbed off for Ghana’s Osman Bukari.

Also, Congo’s Samuel Moutoussamy was named in the starting XI but was replaced by Wylan Cyprien in the second half.

Whereas, Nigeria’s Moses Simon was not dressed for action as he was rested following his involvement in Nigeria’s 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde.

Thanks to this win, PSG remain as leaders of the French top-flight having accrued 34 points from 13 matches. Elsewhere, Nantes slumped to 11th with 18 points from the same number of outings.