Item 1 of 4 Soccer Football – Ligue 1 – Nantes v Paris St Germain – The Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau, Nantes, France – April 22, 2025 Nantes’ Douglas celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Stephane Mahe
[1/4]Soccer Football – Ligue 1 – Nantes v Paris St Germain – The Stade de la Beaujoire – Louis Fonteneau, Nantes, France – April 22, 2025 Nantes’ Douglas celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Stephane Mahe Purchase Licensing Rights
April 22 (Reuters) – Paris St Germain had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Nantes on Tuesday, keeping the Ligue 1 champions on course to become the first team to go unbeaten through an entire season in the French top flight.
The stalemate stretched PSG’s unbeaten away league run to 39 matches, beating the long-standing record across Europe’s top five leagues set by AC Milan between 1991 and 1993.
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“It’s important to talk about this record and the players from that era. We are at Milan’s level. We’re talking about the record for unbeaten away games,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said.
“A team of our calibre can’t afford to make mistakes. We can still improve and do even better. We should have won the match, and one small detail made all the difference.”
In a slow first half the hosts were content to sit back and play on the counter, but Vitinha struck a low half-volley off a Lee Kang-in pass to put PSG ahead after 33 minutes.
Nantes looked more aggressive after the break as Jean-Charles Castelletto drew a fine save from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on the hour mark.
Douglas Augusto finally found the equaliser seven minutes from time with a great shot from the edge of the box following an excellent run from Matthis Abline.
Goncalo Ramos went agonisingly close to netting a winner for the visitors, but his stoppage-time header hit the crossbar.
“I’m very annoyed because conceding a goal is always frustrating for a goalkeeper,” Donnarumma said.
“We need to improve our ball retention so we don’t lose possession. The team played a great game.
“We managed the ball well. We need to keep it up. We need to continue like this on Friday against Nice and then in the Champions League,” the Italian added about their European semi-final tie against Arsenal.
PSG, who wrapped up the title earlier this month, hold a 23-point advantage over second-placed Olympique de Marseille, while Nantes are 14th on 31 points, four points above the drop zone.
Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City Editing by Toby Davis
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