Alves earns late victory for runaway leaders PSG

Paris, March 18: Dani Alves' late header snatched a hard-fought victory for runaway Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain as they came from behind to beat Nice 2-1.

FINAL: PSG grind out a 2-1 win at Nice to earn three hard-fought points! #OGCNPSG pic.twitter.com/XMMOQciPx8
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 18, 2018

Winning is the best way to recover from Real Madrid defeat - Emery

In a frenetic encounter at Allianz Riviera, Alves' first Ligue 1 goal proved the difference in the 82nd minute, with Angel Di Maria having cancelled out Allan Saint-Maximin's 17th-minute opener.

Having stepped into the void left by the injured Neymar, Di Maria has been excellent for Unai Emery's side in recent weeks, and netted his 11th goal of the campaign in spectacular fashion 21 minutes in.

Hunting a fourth consecutive away win, PSG stepped up the pressure after the interval, with Kylian Mbappe seeing a goal correctly disallowed for offside.

82' GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLL PSG!!! @DaniAlvesD2 nods in the header to give Paris the lead!!! #OGCNPSG pic.twitter.com/wPY3geOmE2
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) March 18, 2018

Nice still presented a threat on the counter, though - Balotelli heading against the crossbar with 15 minutes remaining.

But PSG would not be denied a ninth successive league victory as Alves had the final say, the Parisians near certainties to regain the title with a 17-point lead over Monaco at the top.

Source: OPTA