PSG v Nîmes Live Commentary & Result, 03/02/2021, Ligue 1

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	PTS	Form
1	LIL Lille	32	20	9	3	53	19	+34	69	W W L D W
2	PSG PSG	32	21	3	8	71	23	+48	66	W L W L W
3	ASM Monaco	32	20	5	7	67	38	+29	65	W W W D L
4	OL Olympique Lyonnais	32	18	10	4	63	31	+32	64	W D L D W
5	RCL Lens	32	14	10	8	51	44	+7	52	W D W D W
6	OM Olympique Marseille	32	13	10	9	43	39	+4	49	D W L W W
7	REN Rennes	32	13	9	10	40	35	+5	48	W D W W L
8	MON Montpellier	32	12	10	10	52	53	-1	46	D D W D D
9	NIC Nice	32	12	7	13	41	42	-1	43	D W W D W
10	MET Metz	32	11	9	12	36	38	-2	42	L L L D L
11	SCO Angers SCO	32	11	8	13	34	47	-13	41	L D D L W
12	SR Reims	32	9	13	10	38	38	0	40	D D W D W
13	ASS Saint-Étienne	32	10	9	13	36	47	-11	39	W W L W L
14	STR Strasbourg	32	10	6	16	41	50	-9	36	L W L L W
15	GIR Bordeaux	32	10	6	16	35	45	-10	36	L L L W L
16	BRE Brest	32	10	6	16	44	55	-11	36	D L D L W
17	FCL Lorient	32	8	8	16	38	58	-20	32	L W D D D
18	NIM Nîmes	32	8	6	18	31	59	-28	30	D L W D L
19	NAN Nantes	32	5	13	14	32	49	-17	28	L L D W L
20	DIJ Dijon	32	2	9	21	20	56	-36	15	L L L L L

That's all from us today folks, we hope you enjoyed the game!

This win keeps PSG in third, just two points behind Lyon and three off Lille at the top and next up for PSG is a trip to Marseille. Meanwhile Nimes remain bottom and they face Monaco next time out.

PSG get back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Nimes, thanks to first half goals from Di Maria and Sarabia, before Mbappe made sure of the win on 68 minutes. The visitors pressed in the opening 20 minutes of the second half, going close through Duljevic and they tested the PSG defence, but couldn’t pull one back and they were punished by a superb Mbappe strike.

90' + 3' FULL-TIME: PSG 3-0 NIMES

S. Alakouch

P. Burner

90' + 1' Late Nimes substitution now, with Burner replaced by Alakouch.

90' There will be a minimum of three minutes added time played at the end of the second half.

M. Icardi

K. Mbappé

88' The other change for the hosts sees Mbappe replaced up front by Icardi.

L. Kurzawa

M. Bakker

88' Double PSG substitution late on, with Bakker coming off and he is replaced by Kurzawa.

87' SAVE! Kone does brilliantly to hold off the challenge of Kehrer and get deep into the penalty area, he tries to beat Rico from a tight angle, but the keeper makes himself big and pulls off a terrific stop.

86' There's not long left to play here now, will we see any more goals before the full-time whistle? PSG seem to be getting Icardi ready on the sidelines for a brief cameo.

Y. Benrahou

Z. Ferhat

84' Another substitution by the visitors, with Ferhat the man departing and he has been replaced by Benrahou.

83' PSG have only lost one of their 13 Ligue 1 home games against Nimes (W8 D4), and that was back in October 1992 (2-3).

81' Offside! PSG have the ball in the back of the net again as Sarabia races in behind the Nimes defence and then slots it past Reynet, but the linesman puts his flag up for offside.

Danilo Pereira

L. Paredes

80' Paredes also heads off and he is replaced by Pereira.

J. Draxler

M. Kean

80' PSG now with a double substitution of their own, the first change sees Draxler come on in place of Kean.

M. Koné

R. Ripart

77' The other change by the visitors sees Ripart replaced by Kone.

M. Majouga

H. Duljević

77' Here is the double Nimes substitution, with Duljevic heading off and he has been replaced by Majouga.

76' It looks like the visitors might be about to make a few more changes in an attempt to up the pace again and cause the PSG defence some problems, as they did look good in attack earlier on and tested Rico in goal.

74' The intensity of the game has certainly dropped since the third PSG goal, as Nimes look pretty confident of pulling one back just before that. However, they now seem down and are struggling to get into the final third.

72' Nimes have won 11 points in away Ligue 1 games in 2020/21, this is seven more than in home games (four). They have the second highest differential between points won away and at home in the top-flight this season behind Nice.

Rafinha

Á. Di María

70' PSG have made their first change of the game, with Di Maria the man coming off and he has been replaced by Rafinha.

L. Paredes

Assist

68' PSG have spent the last few minutes defending, but they managed to break away quickly there and Paredes fed Mbappe out to his left and the striker did the rest with an excellent strike.

K. Mbappé

Goal

68' GOAL! Mbappe makes it 3-0! What a superb goal is it as well. Parades finds the striker in space on the edge of the box, he takes a touch and then picks his spot in the top right-hand corner of the net. An excellent finish and one that surely wraps up the victory for the hosts.

66' Decent chance! Another free header in the box for a Nimes man. This time it is Duljevic, after a cross is deflected into his path by Kimpembe, but his header is straight at Rico, who easily gathers.

64' It is the visitors with the possession at the moment, they are frustrating PSG, who are starting to give away a few cheap free-kicks. How long will Pochettino leave it before making some changes?

62' CHANCE! Ripart whips an excellent ball into the PSG penalty area from the left wing and it beats Kimpembe and flies across to Duljevic, who throws himself at it. However, he doesn't quite get the required contact and it flies just wide of the PSG goal. If that was on target it would have certainly been testing Rico.

61' Not too far away! Bakker delivers a superb ball into the box from the left wing, looking for Kean, but it flies dangerously close to the far post and almost sneaks in.

59' Good block! Kimpembe is called into action to stop a good low cross into the six yard box by Ferhat, who had beaten Bakker down the right wing. The resulting corner comes to nothing.

57' Mbappe is perhaps lucky to get away with not receiving a yellow card after he needlessly barges into the back of Briancon as he tries to chase down the defender in the box.

55' The prominent attacking trio of Di Maria, Mbappe and Kean haven't touched the ball as much so far this half, which is a credit to the job that the Nimes defence are doing. Pushing up and limiting the amount of space they have to play into.

53' PSG have already lost five games after 22 matchdays in Ligue this season, their highest tally at this stage under the QSI era (since 2011/12).

51' Decent effort! Briancon does well to get in front of his marker at a corner and he powers a header towards goal, but it is too close to Rico and he makes a comfortable save.

49' This is better from the visitors, as Ripart forces Rico into making a good save from the edge of the penalty area. They are starting to show some more attacking intent.

48' A bit of a slow start to the second half so far, there isn't much pace to the game, with PSG just keeping the ball nicely in midfield and Nimes once against getting everyone back to defend in numbers.

46' The second half is under way!

L. Deaux

M. Ahlinvi

46' The visitors have made a substitution ahead of the second half, with Ahlinvi the man coming off and he has been replaced by Deaux.

The hosts will be confident of seeing the game out now and perhaps extending their lead, with the likes of Di Maria and Kean looking very sharp in the final third.

PSG have a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break, after goals from Di Maria and Sarabia, but they could have scored a few more as Kean and Kimpembe both struck the woodwork. The visitors have had to defend for the majority of the half, but they did force a chance of their own, when Fomba snuck in at a corner and forced Rico into making a superb save.

45' HALF-TIME: PSG 2-0 NIMES

43' There isn’t long left to play before the end of the half now, can PSG extend their lead before the half-time whistle? Or, will the visitors be able to pull one back?

41' PSG have won their last four Ligue 1 home games, the longest current run. They could register five consecutive wins on their home soil without conceding a goal for the first time in the top-flight since January – April 2014 (7).

39' SAVE! What a chance for Nimes to pull one back! They win a corner and a superb ball is whipped into the penalty area from the left and it is met by the unmarked Fomba on the edge of the six yard box. The midfielder powers it towards goal, but Rico shows great reactions to make the save and push it over the bar.

38' Di Maria has been excellent so far for PSG, involved in everything positive going forward and he now has an assist and goal to his name.

Á. Di María

Assist

36' Di Maria played the perfect ball over the top of the Nimes defence for Sarabia, who saw the space in behind and produced a lovely finish.

Pablo Sarabia

Goal

36' GOAL! PSG double their lead, Sarabia makes it 2-0! Di Maria spots the run of Sarabia behind the Nimes defence and lofts a lovely ball over the top to him, who slides in and glances it with his head into the back of the net. Reynet with no chance of stopping that. Great move and finish.

35' Into the sidenetting! Dagba does really well down the right wing to beat his marker, but then drills a shot towards goal, rather than crossing to Kean in the box and it flies wide, striking the sidenetting.

33' Decent chance! Nimes with their first attack of the game, after a corner is only half cleared by PSG and it falls to Meling on the edge of the box. However, his volleyed effort flies well over the crossbar.

31' We’re past the half an hour mark here and it remains PSG who lead 1-0, thanks to Di Maria's goal on 18 minutes.

29' Free-kick to PSG in a good position down the right wing after Di Maria is brought down and he looks like he is going to whip the ball into the box. However, it comes to nothing.

27' Nimes have won only one of their last 10 Ligue 1 games (D1 L8), it was against Marseille on 16th January 2021 (2-1).

25' It looks like it is only a matter of time before PSG double their lead here, the chances are starting to come thick and fast as they try and wrap up the victory early on.

23' OFF THE BAR! Almost another for PSG! Kehrer meets a deep corner at the far post, squares it and Kimpembe gets up first and heads the ball towards goal, but it strikes the top of the crossbar, bounces down onto the line and Nimes then clear. Very unlucky as that was so close to crossing the line.

23' CHANCE! PSG take a free-kick short, with Di Maria playing it off to Paredes to his left, rather than whipping it into the box. Paredes drills his shot towards goal, but Reynet makes a superb diving save to deny him.

B. Meling

Yellow Card

21' Meling has had a tough game so far and he is shown the first yellow card, after he gets on the wrong side of Di Maria and the left-back drags him down.

20' It is going to be a tough task for Nimes to get back into this game now, they will have wanted to keep the scoreline 0-0 for as long as possible and perhaps catch PSG out at the back on the counter-attack.

Á. Di María

Goal

18' GOAL! PSG take the lead, it’s 1-0! Di Maria with the opening goal after 18 minutes. The winger cuts inside from the right wing and is fed in behind the visitors defence, before easily slotting the ball past Reynet and into the back of the net.

15' Nimes have barely touched the ball so far, they are struggling to get out of their own half and it looks like they are going to have a lot of defending to do today.

13' PSG have won each of their last five Ligue 1 games against Nimes – keeping a clean sheet in four of these games – their best run against this opponent in their top-flight history.

11' OFF THE POST! Brilliant cross from the right by Dagba, which Kean meets at the near post and tries to flick the ball on into the far left-hand corner of the net. It has Keynet scrambling across his goal in attempt to reach it, but it strikes the bottom of the post and flies wide. So close.

9' Kean does brilliantly to take the ball off Kean down the left and he then tries to feed Mbappe in the box, but his cross is too close to the keeper, who makes a comfortable save.

7' Not too far away! Mbappe is allowed time and space on the edge of the box, he shifts the ball past a couple of players and then fires a shot towards goal, but he drags it wide of the visitors goal.

5' SAVE! First chance of the game for PSG and it falls to Sarabia! They work it well and Sarabia is allowed time and space to get into the penalty area and he drills a low shot towards goal, but it is too close to Reynet and he makes a good save.

4' Nimes try and play the ball out from the back, but PSG press them high and Meling ends up getting stuck near the corner flag. He goes down under pressure from Di Maria, but nothing is given. Di Maria then sprints towards goal, but his cross is poor.

3' As you might expect, it is PSG who are dominating the early posession here, with every PSG player in the visitors half of the pitch, who are sitting deep and soaking up the pressure.

1' We're under way!

The teams are out on the pitch and kick-off is just a few minutes away, stay tuned for all the match action!

Meanwhile the visitors have made four changes to their starting line-up, with Burner, Miguel, Ahlinvi and Duljevic all coming into the team, Alakouch, Deaux, Eliasson and Kone drop out.

Pochettino has made six changes to his side that were beaten by Lorient, with Neymar missing from the squad and Florenzi, Kurzawa, Pereira, and Icardi also dropping out. They have been replaced by Dagba, Bakker, Sarabia, Gueye and Kean.

NIMES SUBS: Marco Majouga, Lucas Deaux, Moussa Kone, Lucas Buades, Amjhad Nazih, Yassine Benrahou, Gaetan Paquiez, Sofiane Alakouch, Niclas Eliasson.

NIMES (4-4-2): Baptiste Reynet; Patrick Burner, Anthony Briancon, Florian Miguel, Birger Meling; Lamine Fomba, Adrian Cubas, Matteo Ahlinvi; Zinedine Ferhat, Haris Duljevic, Renaud Ripart.

PSG SUBS: Xavi Simons, Timothee Pembele, Julian Draxler, Layvin Kurzawa, Alessandro Florenzi, Rafinha, Danilo Pereira, Mauro Icardi, Alexandre Letellier.

PSG (4-3-3): Sergio Rico; Colin Dagba, Thilo Kehrer, Presnel Kimpembe, Mitchel Bakker; Pablo Sarabia, Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Paredes, Kylian Mbappe; Angel Di Maria, Moise Kean.

Meanwhile Nimes are rock bottom of the table with just 15 points so far and they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Angers last time out. However, before that they did manage to beat Marseille 2-1 in a surprise result.

Mauricio Pochettino suffered his first defeat as PSG manager last time out against Lorient, who came from behind to win 3-2. This loss saw PSG drop to third in the Ligue 1 in table, behind Lille and Lyon.

Hello and welcome to our LIVE match commentary of the Ligue 1 clash between Paris Saint-Germain and Nimes at Parc Des Princes.

PSG v Nîmes Live Commentary, 03/02/2021

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