Reuters, Paris, September 15 – In Ligue 1 action on Friday, Nice attacker Terem Moffi scored twice and provided an assist as his team defeated Paris St. Germain 3-2, handing the hosts their first loss of the year.
PSG, which might have temporarily led the rankings with a win, dropped to third with eight points as they prepare to play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
They are two points off the league-leading AS Monaco, who will visit to Lorient on Sunday, and one point behind second-placed Nice, which is still unbeaten in the 2023–24 season.
Coach Luis Enrique described Nice as “a very difficult team with a very attractive game plan.”
Physically, I believe they were better than us, and they excelled in all counterattack scenarios.
Following Kylian Mbappe’s block inside the box, PSG took control of the first half. Ousmane Dembele took an early shot toward the top right corner but was stopped by Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bulka.
But the game quickly changed as Moffi gave Nice the lead by scoring low inside the near post in the 21st minute.
However, the visitors’ happiness was short-lived as Mbappe scored from the edge of the box to tie the score for PSG just before the half-hour mark. Bulka could only paw at the ball.
When Dembele fired a pass across the face of the goal, the Parisians regained control and had a chance to take the lead before halftime, but Mbappe was too late to tuck it away with a sliding tackle.
Instead, Nice’s forward Gaetan Laborde capitalized on outstanding ball control and a pass from a tight angle by Moffi to retake the lead for Nice after the break.
Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Sofiane Diop’s close-range attempt to give the visitors a quick third goal, but the PSG goalkeeper was helpless when Moffi took advantage of a mistake in the PSG defense to make it 3-1 with a low effort in the 68th minute.
Three minutes from time, Mbappe scored again for PSG with a shot that hit the ground and sailed inside the far post. This gave PSG a new life.
In injury time, the home team assaulted Nice’s box but lacked the time and accuracy to save a draw.
“It was a great Nice team in front of us,” remarked replacement Randal Kolo Muani. “They were able to play their football, remain composed, and then score goals.”
In their previous 13 home games against Nice in all competitions, PSG had never lost.
Along with Rennes, Olympique de Marseille, and Monaco, Nice is one of four teams in the premier division that has yet to lose this year.
