PSG vs. Nantes result: Messi scores first Ligue 1 goal, rescues 10-man PSG

Simon Borg

PSG vs. Nantes result: Messi scores first Ligue 1 goal, rescues 10-man PSG image

Lionel Messi finally scored his first Ligue 1 goal for Paris Saint-Germain as the league leader secured another win, 3-1 over visiting Nantes, to extend its lead to 12 points in the standings. But Messi & Co. did it the hard way.

A deflected Messi shot and a late curling strike by the Argentine star gave 10-man PSG the lead after Nantes equalized in the second half on the heels of a red card to PSG's starting 'keeper.

After a strong first half, powered by a sensational performance by its star attacking trio, PSG cruised into the break with a 1-0 lead on a second-minute Kylian Mbappe goal. Then PSG took its foot off the pedal in the second half. Nantes changed formation, brought in attacking reinforcements and then PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas was sent off for coming off his line and taking out an opposing player for denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.

MORE: Pochettino to continue playing star trio despite struggles

Nantes eventually equalized on a fantastic back heel effort by Kolo Muani and it looked like 10-man PSG would be on its heels for the rest of the match. But Messi and Mbappe worked together to create havoc in the Nantes back line. First it was a Messi shot that was deflected for an own goal that gave PSG the lead, and then Messi put the icing on the cake with three minutes remaining for his first Ligue 1 goal (video below).

PSG vs. Nantes final score

  1H 2H Final
PSG 1 2 3
Nantes 0 1 1

Goals:
PSG — Kylian Mbappe (Leandro Paredes) — 2nd min.
NAN — Kolo Muani — 76th min.
PSG — Dennis Appiah (own goal) — 81st min.
PSG — Lionel Messi — 87th min.

(All times Eastern)

Final: PSG 3, Nantes 1

87th min.: Messi scores! He gets his first PSG goal. Mbappe feeds him wide right and Messi goes right at the defense and curls the ball past Lafont. Spectacular finish. This game's over.

81st min.: PSG finds a goal! It's an own goal on a Messi shot which was deflected by Dennis Appiah past his own 'keeper.

76th min.: Goal Nantes! Kolo Muani heads on goal and PSG 'keeper Sergio Rico makes the initial save, and then Muani follows it up with a backheel which crosses the line and Rico can't keep it out. We're in for some finish at the Parc des Princes.

74th min.: SUB - Gini Wijnaldum comes in for Marco Verratti, who's sitting on a yellow. Ten-man PSG need someone who can cover ground.

70th min.: Reflex save by Sergio Rico! The ball deflects off PSG teammate Diallo and Rico has to prevent the ball from going into his own goal. What at one point was a comfortable match for PSG will now be a battle for the last 20 minutes.

68th min.: SUB - PSG backup goalkeeper Sergio Rico comes in and Neymar is the player sacrificed.

65th min.:  Red card! Things just got interesting in Paris. Keylor Navas was sent off for coming out of the box and taking out Ludovic Blas. It's a questionable decision by Navas, who opted for the risky play.

58th min.: SUBS - Nantes is going to make a run at this. Osman Bukari and Quentin Merlin are on for Fabio and Coulibaly. Change in formation coming.

54th min.: Nantes nearly equalizes with two chances. PSG has taken its foot off the pedal. A cross just misses a wide open Coulibaly in the first instance, and then Coulibaly's shot was blocked by defender Thilo Kehrer in the second instance.

46th min.: Second half is underway.

Halftime: PSG 1, Nantes 0

Halftime: Nantes 22-year-old goalkeeper Alban Lafont is the only reason that the visitors are still in this game. The Neymar-Mbappe-Messi attacking trident is moving and combining well, and Nantes simply can't stay with them. On the other end, PSG has easily handled everything Nantes has thrown its way and the Canaries only have two shots so far. This seems like the best scenario for Messi to finally get his first Ligue 1 goal in the second half. But with a Champions League match in midweek, manager Mauricio Pochettino could decide to rest his stars if they can put the match out of reach.

42nd min.: SUB - Dennis Appiah comes in for Nantes in place of the injured Sebastien Corchia.

38th min.: No mercy from PSG, and Lafont has to come up with another save on Messi. And after the play recirculates, there are appeals for a penalty on Neymar. Good no call by the referee.

30th min.: In the 30th minute, the PSG supporters celebrate their 30th birthday:

29th min.: And now it's Neymar's turn to be denied by Lafont. PSG is dominating. And it's always down the left channel. It's a carbon copy play of the earlier Messi chance. Nantes looks intimidated.

22nd min.: The PSG front three is clicking and it's another save by Lafont. This time it was Messi finding Mbappe in the box. Good movement by the star players.

20th min.: Before the ensuing corner kick, Mbappe has to be tended to. He received a stomp on the play and a piece of his cleat came off. He has to change shoes on the sideline.

18th min.: What a chance for Messi! Neymar finds him in the box, but Messi's shot is saved by Nantes 'keeper Alban Lafont. It was essentially a 1-on-1. Messi still looking for his first Ligue 1 goal.

16th min.: First real threat by Nantes on a shot by Marcus Coco from outside the box that goes high of the target. The visitors haven't really threatened the PSG makeshift backline.

10th min.: PSG is targeting that wide left attacking flank (the right side for Nantes). That's also where the play on the goal started via Neymar.

8th min.: Finally we see a replay of the goal on the match broadcast and it was Lionel Messi who was offside, not Mbappe. The Frenchman's seventh goal of the year stands.

2nd min.: Goal PSG! A long-distance shot by Leandro Paredes is deflected by Mbappe on its way to goal. At first it looked like Mbappe was offside, but the goal stands.

1st min.: We're off. We'll see how the international players look after the break.

10:55 a.m. ET: The tifo on the occasion of the 30-year anniversary of PSG's Virage Auteuil supporters section:

10:24 a.m. ET: A look at the pregame warmups from the Parc des Princes.

PSG vs. Nantes lineups

The good news for Paris Saint-Germain fans is that their star trio is starting up top, and Marco Verratti and Leandro Paredes make their return to midfield.

MORE: Sergio Ramos really is close to a return

But starting center backs Presnel Kimpembe or Marquinhos are unavailable. Abdou Diallo and Thilo Kehrer will fill in. Julian Draxler and goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma are also not part of the matchday squad.

PSG starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Keylor Navas-GK — 14-Juan Bernat, 22-Abdou Diallo, 24-Thilo Kehrer, 2-Achraf Hakimi — 6-Marco Verratti, 27-Idrissa Gueye, 8-Leandro Paredes — 10-Neymar Jr., 7-Kylian Mbappe, 30-Lionel Messi

PSG subs (9): 16-Sergio Rico-GK, 17-Colin Dagba, 25-Nuno Mendes, 28-Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe, 15-Danilo, 18-Georginio Wijnaldum, 21-Ander Herrera, 11-Angel Di Maria, 9-Mauro Icardi

It'll be interesting to see how the Nantes formation matches up against PSG. The Canaries will be without suspended center back Nicolas Gallois, but they will still be dreaming of an upset win at the Parc des Princes for the second straight season.

Nantes starting lineup (4-2-2-2, left to right): 1-Alban Lafont-GK — 24-Sebastien Corchia, 3-Andrei Girotto, 21-Jean-Charles Castelletto, 2-Fabio — 5-Pedro Chirivella, 18-Samuel Moutoussamy — 11-Marcus Coco, 10-Ludovic Blas  — 23-Randal Kolo Muani, 7-Kalifa Coulibaly

Nantes subs (9): 30-Denis Petric-GK, 12-Dennis Appiah, 33-Yannis M'Bemba, 14-Charles Traore, 8-Wylan Cyprien, 31-Gor Manvelyan, 19-William Geubbels, 26-Osman Bukari, 29-Quentin Merlin 

How to watch PSG vs. Nantes

  • Date: Sat, Nov. 20
  • Time: 11 a.m. ET
  • TV Channel: beIN Sports, beIN Sports en Espanol
  • Streaming: fuboTV, beIN Sports Connect

MORE: Why did Messi leave Barcelona?

The match will be carried by Ligue 1 rightsholder beIN Sports in both English and Spanish. Both those beIN Channels are available to be streamed via fuboTV , which offers new users a  free 7-day trial .

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.