December 02, (THEWILL) – At the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain were held to a goalless draw by a tenacious Nice.
In truth, they should consider themselves fortunate not to have lost a game in which they probably controlled but could not convert the best of goal-scoring opportunities.
The opportunities instead were in the visitors’ favour, with Andy Delort and Kasper Dolberg, the former Wigan Athletic striker testing Gianluigi Donnarumma in the home goal with a bullet header from a Hichem Boudaoui cross.
Then, Dolberg also went close when he nodded the ball against the post from two yards with the goal at his mercy, for two guilt-edged, golden opportunities either side of the interval, which the visitors failed to convert.
As Paris struggled to break the deadlock, the dynamic front three of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Angel di Maria carved out their own paths to goal: Mbappe had two good chances cutting in from the left, with Walter Benitez denying him early in the first half, and the starlet missed a more glorious chance midway through the second half.
On 51 minutes, the Argentine goalkeeper of the visitors was called into action to deny compatriot di Maria, and he recovered superbly to divert Nuno Mendes’ ferocious drive around the post for a superb double save.
Marco Verratti was brought on in midfield to try to break down the Nice defence from a deeper position, but Christoph Galtier’s side held firm to deny Mauricio Pochettino his fifth consecutive victory.
The visitors came to the champions’ home with a clear plan; they attacked when they could and defended fiercely, with Dante and Jean-Clair Todibo in central defence putting in incredible performances.
As a result, PSG’s’ famed front three, including Messi fresh off his unprecedented seventh Ballon d’Or, struggled to break through, and when they did, Benitez was there in the away net to deny them, earning Galtier’s side a merited draw.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
