Nice 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain: Mbappe-less leaders stunned by late goal

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Nice (France), March 6: A Kylian Mbappe-less Paris Saint-Germain misfired in his absence in their table-topping Ligue 1 clash with Nice, as Mauricio Pochettino's side were downed 1-0 by a late Andy Delort strike at Allianz Riviera.

Christophe Galtier's hosts snatched a dramatic late victory over the league leaders in Saturday's contest to move into second place as their visitors struggled to deliver without the France forward leading their ranks.

The attacker, top of the leaderboard for combined goals and assists in Ligue 1 this term, missed out as he served a one-match suspension following his yellow card against Nantes last month.

Results | Points Table | Fixtures

Though Les Parisiens remain comfortably entrenched at the front of the title race, 13 points clear of their opponents, they will hope to rediscover their spark in time for next week's Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

With just two shots on target all night, they would have been hard-pressed to say that they deserved a share of the spoils, as both Lionel Messi and Neymar failed to pick up the slack left behind by the lack of Mbappe's presence.

In a game low on glowing chances, Khephren Thuram was unable to turn a neat flat pass home six yards out for the hosts in the second half, while Thilo Kehrer pushed a soft header straight to Walter Benitez off a Neymar free-kick.

A scintillating Angel Di Maria break suggested PSG would be able to snatch a late winner - but instead, they found themselves on the wrong end of the scoreline when Delort dispatched into the top-right corner in the 88th minute.

The visitors dodged a late penalty call from VAR following a foul on Jordan Lotomba deep into stoppage time, but by then, it was too late to undo the damage, condemning them to a second loss in their last three league games.

What does it mean? Missing Mbappe highlights long-term concern

The absence of Mbappe proved ultimately to be keenly felt as PSG slipped to a third league defeat of the season, and a lack of controlling intelligence in the final third highlighted that they will have to search hard for a suitable replacement if he leaves.

The 23-year-old, whose contract expires this summer, remains strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid, leaving Les Parisiens with the looming headache of how to offset his potential loss.

As for Nice, head coach Galtier has now picked up 17 points from 21 Ligue 1 games against PSG since QSI's takeover in 2011-12, which is more than any other coach.

Delort repays faith with super-sub glory

The Algeria striker may have had to settle for a start off the bench on the Mediterranean coast this weekend, but he will not have any complaints after snatching arguably the biggest goal of his Nice career so far.

With seven finishes in 21 league games this season now, the 30-year-old continues to showcase just why Galtier wanted to bring him in from Montpellier as one of his key buys of the summer last year.

Messi suffers latest off-colour performance

PSG's struggles to deliver at the far end of the pitch meant that the Ballon d'Or holder found himself cut off from much of the action, and unable to imprint his signature control over games.

With a lone offside his key contribution in terms of attacking plays, it was another quiet night for the veteran, who has struggled to convert his Barcelona magic since making the move to Paris.

Key Opta Facts:

- Nice have won against Ligue 1's leader at kick-off in the second half of the season for the first time since March 21, 2015 in Lyon (2-1).

- Nice are the second team to finish three competitive matches without conceding a goal against Paris in a single season, along with Bordeaux in 1986-87 (1-0 in the Champions Trophy then 2-0 and 0-0 in Ligue 1).

- PSG have lost two consecutive away games in the same season in Ligue 1 for the first time since April 2019 (three in a row at Lille, Nantes then Montpellier).

- The visitors started with a team without any France internationals for the fourth time in their history in Ligue 1 after September 22, 2019 (1-0 against Lyon), August 31, 2014 (5-0 against Saint-Etienne) and December 1, 2013 (4-0 against Lyon).

- Nice completed 15 tackles against PSG, their joint-best total this season in Ligue 1, alongside the 15 managed against the same opponents on December 1.

What's next?

PSG will turn their attentions towards booking their spot in the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid on Wednesday (March 9), while Nice will prepare for a trip along the coast to face Montpellier next weekend.