On Saturday, Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to help Paris Saint-Germain to a late 2-1 win against Nice in Ligue 1.
Former Nice coach Christophe Galtier chose not to start Mbappe, but it didn’t seem to matter when Lionel Messi opened the goal with a free kick he had won himself.
Messi’s first straight free-kick goal for PSG, and his 60th of his career, was canceled out by Nice’s Gaetan Laborde two minutes later.
Although Mbappe’s entrance on the hour made little difference at first, the France forward’s talent showed as he swept home an 83rd-minute winner at Parc des Princes.
PSG failed to score in all three meetings with Nice last season, but Messi broke that record with 28 minutes remaining in Saturday’s game.
Dante tripped the Argentina international 22 yards from goal, but he recovered to unleash a magnificent free-kick up and over the wall into the top-right corner.
However, in the 47th minute, Laborde converted a cross that Nordi Mukiele, Marquinhos, and Gianluigi Donnarumma were unable to cope with.
Despite the arrival of Mbappe, PSG struggled, but the prolific forward had the ultimate say when he fired home after being picked out by a Mukiele cutback.
What does it imply? PSG, despite their shortcomings, found a way to win.
Nice defeated PSG by four points in Ligue 1 last season and also eliminated the Parisians on penalties in the Coupe de France in the last-16 stage.
Galtier, now in the opposing dugout, almost got a taste of his own medicine as his new charges were held back and frustrated by his old side.
But Mbappe’s eighth goal in eight league games this season meant PSG overtook Nice and surpassed Marseille at the top of the standings.
Messi’s expertise in free-kicks
Messi continued his strong start to his second season in the French city, scoring five goals and assisting seven more.
His strike kept Kasper Schmeichel anchored to the spot, adding to his 50 direct free kicks for Barcelona and nine for Argentina.
Not so pleasant defending
Mbappe had only had one training session prior to this match, but Galtier had no reservations about throwing him on with half an hour remaining.
That winner came from Mbappe’s sole shot of the game, and it was absolutely avoidable from Nice’s perspective, as Marvin Bard threw the ball away in the buildup after Schmeichel’s awful pass.
Important Opta Facts
- This is the third time in Ligue 1 history that PSG has accumulated at least 25 points after nine games (also 25 in 2017-18, 27 in 2018-19), which is more than all other teams combined in the competition’s history when three points are awarded for a win (Bordeaux in 1953-54, St Etienne in 1956-57 and Lyon in 2006-07).
- PSG scored their first Ligue 1 goal from a straight free-kick since April 2021. (Leandro Paredes against Strasbourg).
- Mbappe scored his ninth goal for PSG as a substitute in Ligue 1; no player has scored more for the club in the top level (Amara Simba also had nine).
- Sergio Ramos is unbeaten in 21 Ligue 1 games (W17 D4), matching Juan Pablo Sorin as the player with the most appearances without a loss since Opta began collecting this data (1947-48).
- Marquinhos completed all 75 of his passes against Nice, the most successful passes in a game for PSG in all competitions since Presnel Kimpembe against St Etienne in Ligue 1 in May 2017 (87/87).
What comes next?
In midweek, both teams return to European action, with PSG visiting Benfica in the Champions League and Nice visiting Slovacko in the Europa Conference League.