A victory aids PSG in recovering from back-to-back home losses.
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Nice 2-0 on Saturday, gaining a lead of 6 points at the top of the Ligue 1 table and relieving coach Christophe Galtier of some of the burden. Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos were the driving forces behind the victory.
PSG returned from two straight losses at home. Putting pressure on Galtier amid rumours that he would not finish the season.
Victory assists PSG in recovering from back-to-back home losses.
Gianluigi Donnarumma made a few key saves. And Dante was stopped by the post. As PSG’s goalkeeper, he had a good time on the Cote d’Azur. Messi scored in the 26th minute when he headed in a cross from Nuno Mendes.
With 14 minutes remaining, Ramos headed in a corner from Messi to guarantee the outcome.
Galtier, who oversaw Nice last season, voiced his unhappiness at a banner the home fans had directed at his mother, showing how important the outcome was to him.
“My 83-year-old mother just had cancer. Just that. And because of the work I did last season, these spectators may have been watching games in Europe this season “Galtier, who helped Nice finish fifth in his lone season at the club, added.
Before this match and the top two teams meeting in Paris the following weekend, PSG’s lead at the top of the table had been reduced to only three points by Lens’ victory on Friday.
Galtier told broadcaster Canal Plus, “We knew we had a lot of burden on our shoulders both because of our terrible performances and because Lens won, especially since Nice are a really excellent team who have been on a wonderful run.”
“It was undoubtedly not our season’s greatest performance, but the players fought for one another and it is obviously three vital points,” the players said.
The coach said, “We realize we have a very crucial encounter next weekend, but it is better to have a six-point lead than to be chasing after a six-point disadvantage.”
Nice has not lost in 15 games across all competitions since Didier Digard, a former PSG midfielder, took over as coach in January. The club owned by Ineos is still sixth in the standings.
Messi’s first goal for Donnarumma players, his 14th in Ligue 1, came after a week that saw the news that he would probably depart In the summer when his contract is up, he will move to Paris.
Before it, Renato Sanches, an injury-prone midfielder for the visitors, came off injured. Danilo Pereira had also previously hit the woodwork for them.
At halftime, Donnarumma made some excellent saves on shots from Terem Moffi and Nicolas Pepe. Six minutes into the second half, Dante fired a shot that hit the bottom of the bar. And the ball bounced down onto the line before hitting the post.
Ramos made it 2-0, but Danilo still had time to head late against his crossbar.
With a victory against Lorient on Sunday, Marseille can rejoin Lens and return within six points of PSG.
Before that, Ligue 1’s bottom team Angers defeated European contenders Lille 1-0 to record their first victory since September.
With six minutes remaining, substitute Halid Sabanovic scrambled in the game’s lone goal to help Angers snap a streak of 21 games without a victory.
They won’t be able to beat Arles-23-match Avignon’s winning streak from the 2010–11 season, which holds the record for the most games without a win in a single season in the French top division.
Despite this, they are still 12 points from safety and seven points back at the bottom of the table with only eight games remaining.
