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PSG vs Nantes | LIGUE 1 HIGHLIGHTS | 11/20/2021 | beIN SPORTS USA

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Lionel Messi finally found the net in Ligue 1, and PSG needed every bit of it to survive a wild finish against Nantes.

Paris Saint-Germain beat FC Nantes 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on November 20, 2021, in a match that swung from a two-minute blitz to a red card to a nervy finish. Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé started together up front under manager Mauricio Pochettino, but it was a matter of survival by the closing stretch after Nantes clawed level with a man advantage. Messi settled it late, curling in his first Ligue 1 goal on a Mbappé assist in the 87th minute.

• Mbappé scored the fastest goal of his career, redirecting a long-range Leandro Paredes strike past Alban Lafont inside two minutes.
• Keylor Navas was shown a straight red card in the 65th minute for a reckless foul on Ludovic Blas outside the box, forcing Sergio Rico into the PSG goal.
• Nantes equalized 1-1 through Randal Kolo Muani’s 76th-minute backheel before Dennis Appiah’s own goal and Messi’s 87th-minute strike put the game away 3-1.

A Blistering Start

PSG needed barely 120 seconds to get on the board. Paredes fired from distance, Mbappé got a touch to redirect it past Lafont, and the Parc des Princes was already celebrating before most fans had settled into their seats. It was the fastest goal of Mbappé’s career, and it set the tone for a first half in which PSG’s attack looked unstoppable on paper but couldn’t add to the lead.

Lafont turned into the story of the opening 45 minutes. The Nantes goalkeeper produced save after save to keep the scoreline at 1-0, denying Messi, Neymar and Mbappé in turn. Despite the pressure, PSG went into the break with only that early Mbappé goal to show for a half of near-total territorial control.

Navas Sees Red

The match tipped on its head in the 65th minute. Keylor Navas came flying out of his box and clattered into Ludovic Blas well outside the penalty area, and the referee had no choice but to show a straight red card. Sergio Rico came on to replace him, and PSG suddenly had to see out more than 25 minutes a man down while protecting a one-goal lead.

Nantes made the numbers count. In the 76th minute, Kolo Muani pounced on a rebound and backheeled it over the line to level the score at 1-1, sending a jolt of belief through the visitors and putting PSG’s unbeaten domestic form in real jeopardy for the first time all night.

Messi Breaks Through

PSG answered five minutes later when a Messi pass took a cruel deflection off Nantes defender Dennis Appiah and looped over Lafont for an own goal, restoring the hosts’ lead at 2-1. Then came the moment Ligue 1 had been waiting for since Messi’s summer arrival from Barcelona: in the 87th minute, Mbappé sprung a counterattack and slid the ball to Messi, who cut inside and curled a trademark left-footed finish past Lafont for his first league goal in a PSG shirt.

Mbappé’s opener came inside two minutes — the fastest goal of his career — and Messi closed the show in the 87th with his first Ligue 1 goal.

The 3-1 final score extended PSG’s cushion at the top of the Ligue 1 table, a result that mattered more given they played the final half-hour with ten men. For a club that built its attacking trio around Messi, Neymar and Mbappé specifically for nights like this, seeing all three directly involved in the scoring — a goal, an assist, and a game-sealing finish — was exactly the kind of highlight reel PSG’s front office had in mind when Messi signed. Fans looking for more full-match breakdowns from a big night can find a similar highlights treatment in this CFP National Championship recap, and for a wider look back at how 2021 played out across sports and entertainment, there’s this rundown of the year’s biggest moments.

Messi’s wait for a Ligue 1 goal had stretched across his first several months in France, and it took a red card, an own goal and a Mbappé assist to finally get it done. PSG will take it — a 3-1 win, ten men surviving the final half hour, and their star signing finally on the scoresheet in a league he’s now chasing hard atop the standings.