Russia (bbabo.net), - One of the favorites of the Champions League "Paris Saint-Germain" unexpectedly lost on the road "Nantes" (1:3) in the match of the 25th round of the championship of France. This defeat was the first for the Parisians in the national championship in four months.

In recent years, everyone has become accustomed to the fact that PSG has practically no problems in the domestic championship. The exception was last year's Ligue 1 draw, in which Lille won the title. Now everything is moving towards the next championship of the Parisians, but Mauricio Pochettino's team is constantly facing criticism. And quite fair.

Under the Argentine specialist, PSG taught its fans to be unstable: sometimes the capitals alternate bright and successful matches with failures. So last week, Lionel Messi and the company first beat Real Madrid (1:0) in the first meeting of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, and then embarrassed in Nantes. Interestingly, the Parisians conceded three goals from the “canaries” before the break.

In fairness, PSG could have pulled out the match against Nantes. At the very beginning of the second half, Neymar retook one ball. The Brazilian could return the intrigue, but in the 59th minute he did not convert a penalty. As a result - defeat.

- We are very upset. The disappointment is even greater, because the guys played well at times, creating a threat at the gates of others. "PSG" lost because of a few episodes, and "Nantes" was very effective. My duty is to find the positives in our football and try to solve the problems that we had. I do not think that the players are tired after the match with Real Madrid - this is a different match, a different tournament, - said the head coach of the Parisians Mauricio Pochettino.

The jubilee, 800th, match with Nantes in his career was for Lionel Messi. The game of the Argentine is one of the main topics of discussion in the French sports media. The performances of the seven-time winner of the Golden Ball are assessed in two ways. Judging by the number of goals scored, Messi is having the worst season of his career: in 22 matches for the new club, he scored only seven times. But if you look at the numbers as a whole, taking into account assists, then here the picture is completely different - Lionel scored 11 (3 + 8) points for PSG in the goal + pass system in the last 12 meetings.

- Messi is the best player in the world. Messi is football. I don't think missing a penalty against Real Madrid will affect his confidence in any way. If someone says so, then he does not understand our sport, Pochettino believes.

The Parisians, with Messi and Neymar, lost 1-3 to Nantes, conceding three goals before the break

Despite the defeat in Nantes, PSG lead the league by a wide margin - 59 points to Marseille's 46. At the same time, the “Provencals” could close the gap yesterday with the leader in the home match with “Clermont”, which ended after signing the issue to print.

A striking duel took place over the weekend in England: Premier League leader Manchester City hosted Tottenham. The Londoners approached this confrontation with a series of three defeats, while the “citizens” lost for the last time at the end of October. The teams scored five goals for two, two of them in stoppage time. The decisive goal was scored by Tottenham's scorer Harry Kane, who brought the Spurs an unexpected victory - 3:2. Losing at home, City have let Liverpool get even closer: the Reds are now only six points behind the club from Manchester, with a match in hand.

Eurocups

Zenit St. Petersburg lost at home to Spanish Betis with a score of 2:3 in the first match of the 1/16 finals of the Europa League. Interestingly, all five goals in this meeting were scored before the break. Correct the situation "blue-white-blue" can this Thursday, when the second leg will take place.

- The first official matches are always quite difficult. But I will not hide the fact that we could have shown ourselves better. Badly entered the game both in defense and in attack. Defensive errors led to three goals before the break. It is not easy to win back in such a situation, but the guys turned the tide of the meeting, there was hope. I think the dangerous episodes at the gates of others, “Zenith” has not lost to the opponent. How much will the removal of the away goals rule affect our chances? This is a positive thing. "Betis" attacks a lot, scores. The same can be said about the “Zenith”, – said at a press conference St. Petersburg helmsman Sergei Semak.

Recall: Spartak Moscow, which won its group, directly got into the 1/8 finals of the LE. The Red-Whites will recognize their opponent in the playoffs by the results of the draw on February 25. It is also worth adding that the Russian Premier League resumes this Saturday with four matches of the 19th round. The central event will be a fundamental derby between Spartak and CSKA, which will be held at the home arena of Spartak.

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