PARIS —
Paris Saint-Germain
lost 1-0 at Nice in Ligue 1 on Saturday ahead of next week's trip to Real
Madrid in the second leg of their blockbuster Champions League last-16 tie.
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Substitute Andy Delort struck two
minutes from the end as Nice won for just the second time in 18 league meetings
with PSG, who struggled to create chances without suspended top scorer
Kylian Mbappe.
Nice bolstered their chances of
qualifying directly for a first appearance in the Champions League group stage,
climbing into second place and moving two points above Marseille.
PSG remain 13 points clear at the
top but the loss serves as a warning that
Mauricio Pochettino's side must
sharpen up considerably to keep their European dreams intact on Wednesday.
"We were a little bit unlucky.
In the end maybe we didn't deserve to win, but we didn't deserve to lose,"
Pochettino told broadcaster Canal Plus.
"We didn't find the solutions
in the last 20 meters but we have to think about the next game against Madrid.
It's very important for us but we are very disappointed with the defeat."
Mbappe's 24 goals this season are
more than
Lionel Messi, Neymar,
Angel Di Maria and Mauro Icardi combined, and
his absence at the Allianz Riviera further underlined just how he important he
is to the French champions.
"They have (Marco) Verratti,
Neymar, Di Maria, Messi... they go well with other players but there's a PSG
with Kylian and one without," said Nice coach Christophe Galtier.
"To beat Paris you need to have
everyone on the same wavelength. We've taken four points against them. That
doesn't happen often and it makes up for silly points dropped here and
there."
Crunch time in Madrid
Mbappe, out of contract in July and
strongly linked with a move to Madrid, will return well rested in Spain as PSG
try to defend their 1-0 lead the France star secured with an injury-time goal
last month.
Gianluigi Donnarumma and
Presnel Kimpembe are also likely to be recalled after being given the night off at the
Allianz Riviera, while Idrissa Gana Gueye only made a brief appearance.
Nice twice threatened early on
through
Amine Gouiri, who led the club to a first French Cup final since 1997
in midweek following a 2-0 victory over fourth-tier Versailles.
The former Lyon forward forced
Keylor Navas into a save low to his right before bending another shot just wide
as Nice's quick ball movement troubled the visitors.
Neymar released Di Maria in behind
the Nice defence but the Argentine's attempted scoop was flicked behind by the
fingertips of Walter Benitez, while Messi was kept quiet.
A repeat of the 0-0 draw when the
clubs met in December looked on the cards before Delort grabbed the winner
minutes after
Justin Kluivert wasted a glorious chance for Nice.
Calvin Stengs whipped over a cross
that Delort met on the half-volley and slammed in via the underside of the
crossbar to condemn PSG to a third defeat in Ligue 1 this term.
Marseille could reclaim second on
Sunday when they host a Monaco side wounded by their midweek penalty shootout
loss to Nantes in the French Cup semi-finals.
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