Four days after dominating Real Madrid in the most high-profile Champions League round of 16 series, you couldn't help but feel some misplaced overconfidence left behind by Paris Saint-Germain when they left for Nantes returned to French Ligue 1 play in February 19.
Perhaps it was the alternate tracking back and off, the desire to confront has disappeared, or there was a general lack of urgency in front of the goal, but it was clear that PSG was unprepared for a fight against a Nantes team that had taken the lead. . only four minutes.
Star trio Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi are no problem for the forward side, right? Well, Nantes was in no mood to show any respect for Ligue 1 leaders and the Champions League flavor of the week: the Canaries took a 3-0 lead at halftime and the deficit could have been greater.
But when Neymar scored just after the break on an elite combination with Messi, there was an air of inevitability about a PSG return - as if they could just score an avalanche of goals. The feeling only grew when PSG earned a penalty kick at the later hour mark and Neymar stepped in to take it.
Then the balloon of applause exploded.
The Brazilian forward, who was making his debut from a long spell with an ankle injury, carelessly passed it on goal and 'seeed' the keeper blocking his weak shot. Watch it below (video of the fine incident):
It was a microcosm of PSG's plight against the Nantes team that showed it was good value for fifth place in the table.
But the tone of PSG's performance was arguably set by the starting XI selected by manager Mauricio Pochettino. He decided not only to rest impressive fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, but also to hold them until just 15 minutes were left.
Pochettino has seen his team come back to death several times, and perhaps he had reason to believe it would be the same again as it did against Real Madrid in midweek.
Like Neymar, Messi also failed to convert a potentially game-changing penalty. But on death a Mbappe golazo saved PSG in another Late Show (video below).
This didn't work very well in Nantes.
Instead of fearing an anticipated display of force when PSG threw the kitchen sink at them, Nantes held firm and its goalkeeper came up with some big stops to stun and disappoint PSG at the end of the match.
PSG season will be decided in Champions League
It was only PSG's second defeat in a domestic league season, but in this high-stakes campaign, a poorly timed defeat could send the Paris Experiment this summer into turmoil. That's because it's a Champions League-or-bust kind of season for PSG, and a little sporting humility on the field and an old-fashioned grin will come in handy in the difficult moments that are just around the corner.
But based on the first six months of the season, this PSG team, and especially its sophisticated attacking trio, plays as if it can drive the ball into the opposition's penalty box and make shots whenever the pressure decides to build up. Is.
The Harlem Globetrotters approach may work against some of their Ligue 1 opponents, but every now and then it can result in a 3-1 draw.
The club's sporting director Leonardo said after the match that he hoped the team would learn from the experience. But the star-studded team they've built can only know one way to win.
They are probably going to win the Ligue 1 domestic title - they have a 13-point lead with 13 matches - and although they have already lost one final (Trophy des Champions) and were knocked out of the French Cup (penalties). Vs) . Nice), they will ultimately be judged by what happens in the Champions League.
PSG's 1-0 first leg win over Real Madrid was a season highlight (outside of Messi's penalty fail), but it wouldn't make sense if they couldn't roll up their sleeves and grind a quarter-final berth at the Santiago Bernabeu . It was here that Real Madrid performed against Deportivo Alves in a Spanish La Liga match, at the same time as PSG losing big in Nantes.