Clinical Nice hand champions PSG first Ligue 1 defeat of the season

OGC Nice’s Morgan Sanson celebrates scoring their second goal during the Ligue ! match between Paris St. Germain and Nice at Parc des Princes Friday. (Reuters)
OGC Nice’s Morgan Sanson celebrates scoring their second goal during the Ligue ! match between Paris St. Germain and Nice at Parc des Princes Friday. (Reuters)
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Updated 26 April 2025

Clinical Nice hand champions PSG first Ligue 1 defeat of the season

Clinical Nice hand champions PSG first Ligue 1 defeat of the season
  • Having already secured the title earlier this month, PSG still top the Ligue 1 standings on 78 points
  • The Parisians continued to pour forward but Nice defended doggedly and held on to give their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League a considerable lift

PARIS: Paris St. Germain’s hopes of becoming the first side to complete a Ligue 1 season unbeaten came crashing down at the Parc des Princes on Friday when Nice handed them their first defeat of the league campaign, winning 3-1 to boost their own Champions League ambitions.

Having already secured the title earlier this month, PSG still top the Ligue 1 standings on 78 points, while Nice move up to fourth on 54.

The home side dominated the opening half-hour and created chance after chance but it was the visitors who took the lead through Morgan Sanson as he marked his first start of the season by applying a clinical first-time finish to Badredine Bouanani’s through-ball in the 35th minute.

The lead lasted just six minutes as Fabian Ruiz scored with a sumptuous half-volley to level but any thoughts the PSG fans might have had of their side going on to dominate were extinguished 22 seconds into the second half when Sanson scored his second, volleying the ball into the net from close range.

Having scored from their only two shots on target up to that point, the visitors went 3-1 up when Youssouf Ndayishimiye headed home a free kick in the 70th minute

PSG, who face Premier League side Arsenal away in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday, enjoyed 75 percent of possession and managed to create twice as many goal-scoring opportunities but they were left frustrated by their own wayward finishing and some inspired goalkeeping from Marcin Bulka.

With the clock ticking past 90 minutes and seven minutes added on for stoppages, Bulka pulled off a superb reflex save to deny Goncalo Ramos and he followed up with another top-drawer stop of Vitinha’s shot from the edge of the box, celebrating each save loudly.

The Parisians continued to pour forward but Nice defended doggedly and held on to give their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League a considerable lift.

PSG coach Luis Enrique said before the game that he would be content to lose to Nice if it meant making the Champions League final, and he was sanguine after his side’s 30-game unbeaten run in the league came to an end.

“We attacked in many different ways, they defended incredibly well... we would love to play the same kind of match against Arsenal and have 30 chances but we have to congratulate Nice and we will do our best to support each other,” he told broadcaster DAZN.


Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge

Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge
Updated 59 min 57 sec ago

Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge

Battling Barcelona earn 3-3 draw in thriller against Brugge
  • Barcelona found their equalizer in the 77th minute when Yamal lifted a cross into the box and defender Seys headed the ball into his own net when trying to clear

BRUGES, Belgium: Barcelona fought back three times to snatch a 3-3 draw at Club Brugge in the Champions League on Wednesday, equalising for the final time late in the game with an own goal from 20-year-old Belgium defender Joaquin Seys.
Barcelona are now 11th in the standings on seven points from four matches while Club Brugge sit 22nd on four points, with both teams still in the hunt for qualification.
In a thriller at Brugge’s Jan Breydel Stadium, the home side opened the scoring through Nicolo Tresoldi in the sixth minute, after a quick counter by Carlos Forbs that exposed the vulnerability of Barcelona’s high defense.
The 21-year-old jet-heeled Portuguese forward controlled a long ball in his stride to beat the offside trap up the right channel before bursting into the box and crossing low for Tresoldi to score with a tidy finish past the goalkeeper.
Barcelona hit right back with Ferran Torres from close range two minutes later but Brugge regained the lead in the 17th minute with Forbs scoring after another quick counter.
In an end-to-end encounter with both sides creating several chances, Jules Kounde struck the crossbar in the 27th minute as Barcelona tried to find the equalizer, while Ferran Torres missed from close range right before the break.

FRANTIC FINALE
Barcelona keeper Wojciech Szczesny made a stunning save early in the second half when Seys entered the penalty box in a counter-attack and struck a bullet shot from close range that the veteran Polish keeper blocked away brilliantly.
Barca defender Eric Garcia almost scored in the 59th minute with a thunderous strike from long range that exploded off the crossbar but it was teenager Lamine Yamal who scored a brilliant individual goal one minute later to level the match again. However, it took Club Brugge only two minutes to get back the lead, with Forbs scoring from another counter-attack, beating Barcelona’s high defense again for the umpteenth time before chipping a tidy finish round Szczesny into the net.
Barcelona found their equalizer in the 77th minute when Yamal lifted a cross into the box and defender Seys headed the ball into his own net when trying to clear.
There was more drama as Brugge thought they had scored the winner in added time through Romeo Vermant, thanks to what looked to have been a massive blunder by Szczesny. But the VAR video review ruled out the goal as the forward fouled the keeper in his effort to recover the ball, helping Barca rescue a point.
“They have created a lot of danger on the counter-attack and we should have done much better everywhere,” a visibly frustrated Ferran Torres told Movistar Plus.
“It seemed like that with two passes they were already in our box. We have to find ways to improve. The team reacted well, we had a lot of chances. But when you’re behind... It’s tough.”