PSG held to 1-1 draw at Nice despite return of Dembele

Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward #10 Ousmane Dembele (L) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Spanish midfielder #08 Fabian Ruiz (R) take part in a warm up session ahead of the French L1 football match between Nice (OGCN) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, on October 6, 2024. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP)

PARIS — Even with Ousmane Dembélé back in the starting lineup, Paris Saint-Germain had a sleepy first half before being held to a 1-1 draw at Nice on Sunday to leave Monaco alone at the top of the French league.

The defending champion enjoyed much of the possession but was largely unproductive during the first half. Luis Enrique’s team played better after the interval and PSG finally created chances as Nuno Mendes leveled the scoring following Nice defender Ali Abdi’s first-half opener.

“We were not really into it during the first half,” PSG forward Bradley Barcola said. “We woke up in the second half, it’s a shame we could not take our chances.”

READ: PSG begins post-Mbappe era with win at Le Havre 

Lagging three points behind unbeaten Monaco before kickoff, PSG was too timid to hope for a better result on the Riviera.

Marquinhos came close to snatching the three points for PSG soon after Mendes’ goal but his header ended its course on the left post.

Dembélé started the match after being left out of the squad that lost 2-0 to Arsenal in the Champions League midweek. Luis Enrique, who had blamed Dembélé for a perceived lack of commitment, was criticized after the loss for not selecting the France star, one of the most creative players in the team following the departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid.

Nice took a deserved lead in the 39th minute when Abdi controlled the ball on the edge of the box and followed up with a left-footed shot that took a slight deflection and went in.

Luis Enrique replaced the largely inefficient Randal Kolo Muani with Lee Kang-in, who greatly improved the connection between PSG’s midfield and its attack in the second half.

Dembélé’s effort in the 47th was parried away by Nice goalkeeper Marcin Bułka, who was however powerless five minutes later when Nuno Mendes equalized with a deflected shot from outside the box.

Monaco has a two-point lead over PSG, with third-place Marseille five points off the pace.

READ: PSG, French football prepare for challenges of post-Mbappe era

Lyon extends winning run

Seven-time French champion Lyon continued its recovery with a fourth straight win in all competitions by beating Nantes 2-0.

The match was marred by fan violence and Lyon said the clashes that broke out at Groupama Stadium were “unworthy” of the seven-time French champion.

A goal from Nicolas Tagliafico and an own-goal from Nantes defender Nicolas Pallois earned Lyon its third win in seven league matches, giving the club some room to breathe at five points above the relegation playoff spot.

Tagliafico put the hosts in the lead in the 22nd minute from Saïd Benrahma’s cross for his first goal this season.

Nantes wasted several occasions to level and was punished after the interval when Pallois accidentally beat his own goalkeeper as he tried to defend a cross from Corentin Tolisso.

Reims sinks Montpellier

Host Reims moved up to fourth place with a 4-2 win over Montpellier.

The Champagne side took the lead in the sixth minute with a header from captain Marshall Munetsi.

“We all share the same ambition to win the most matches, and enjoy ourselves,” Munetsi said after his team produced a fourth league win.

Keito Nakamura exploited a poor clearance to show his dribbling skills and make it 2-0 with an impressive strike. Oumar Diakité and Teddy Teuma scored Reims’ other goals while Arnaud Nordin had a brace for Montpellier. The southern team remained in the relegation zone with the worst defensive record in the league, having already conceded 21 goals.

In other matches, Brest followed up its 4-0 midweek win over Salzburg in the Champions League with a 2-0 defeat of Le Havre, and Lens drew 2-2 at Strasbourg.