5 PSG players who underperformed against Nice | Ligue 1 2021-22
League leaders Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were held to a goalless draw by a spirited Nice side in gameweek 16 of Ligue 1 on Wednesday night.
The Parisians were without Neymar, Georginio Wijnaldum, Ander Herrera, and Julian Draxler, forcing Mauricio Pochettino to field a much-changed XI. PSG did not necessarily struggle to create clear-cut chances against Nice, but their attempts were wayward, to say the least.
Lionel Messi recovered from gastroenteritis to present his seventh Ballon d’Or at Parc des Princes and take to the field against Nice. The Argentinian did not have much joy thanks to Nice’s special defensive arrangements, but he was still PSG’s best player by a country mile. He made five key passes in the match, but none of them were met with the fate they deserved.
Wednesday's draw handed second-placed Marseille the opportunity to bring PSG’s advantage down to nine points. Mauricio Pochettino’s side still have a considerable lead at the top of the table, but the manager must not be happy about the goalless draw. He needed a couple of convincing results to get over the Champions League defeat to Manchester City. Unfortunately, PSG could not make it happen.
As you would expect, many PSG players failed to live up to the billing against third-placed Nice on Wednesday night.
Here are the five PSG stars who particularly endured a difficult night:
#5 Nuno Mendes
After sitting on the bench against Saint-Etienne on Sunday, Nuno Mendes was given the opportunity to prove himself against Nice.
Needless to say, he could not quite make the impact he was expecting.
A 4th place for @nunomendes_35 in the #TropheeKopa! https://t.co/AhPip5E6um
Mendes’ runs down the left-hand channel were impressive but had no end-product. He lost possession 14 times, completed zero dribbles and only had one tame shot on target in the second half.
#4 Idrissa Gueye
Midfielder Idrissa Gueye played in a more advanced position against Nice on Wednesday. He operated primarily as a left-central midfielder, linking up regularly with Kylian Mbappe.
His passing was decent by his standards, but he did not offer much else.
@Lionel10Team I love Messi but there's no way he's enjoying himself in that PSG team. I wish he never left...as last season was concluding Barcelona played some beautiful football... Man went from Busquets to Gueye.😂
Going forward, Gueye posed little to no threat to Nice’s defenders. He only completed one long ball, could not work the keeper even once, and was dispossessed seven times.
Gueye was even dribbled past once in the match, but Nice could not do much harm from the opportunity.