Nantes 3-1 PSG: 5 talking points as hosts score thrice in first half to stun league leaders | Ligue 1 2021-22

#3 Lionel Messi marks his 800th club game with an assist

Messi picked up the assist for Neymar's goal.

Lionel Messi seems to be slowly getting into his groove at PSG. He has picked up an assist in four consecutive Ligue 1 games, and operated in a deeper role throughout the match.

It was the Argentine forward's 800th club game, having scored 679 times and assisting on 273 occasions. While it ended in a loss, he marked it with his eighth assist of the season. He is currently only behind Dmitri Payet, Jonathan Clauss and Mbappe in the assists charts in Ligue 1.

While he has not found his goalscoring form in the league, it is good to see him pulling strings from deeper positions. Messi's heatmap indicated that he played in a central position just behind the penalty box. That means he is letting Mbappe and Neymar do all the running, and is happy to sit back.

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#2 Alban Lafont puts in a brilliant display between the sticks

Alban Lafont saved Neymar's penalty.

Alban Lafont added to his growing reputation with an outstanding performance against the capital club. He stood tall between the sticks, and got most of his decisions in the game spot-on.

He had to make a couple of advanced, risky saves, but kept his cool and avoided conceding fouls. While he saved Neymar's penalty in the 58th minute, Lafont was consistent till the very end. He has now saved three of the last four penalties saved in Ligue 1 this season.

Lafont made as many as eight saves in the game. While the attackers gave the team a 3-0 lead in the first half, the custodian's numerous saves helped Nantes secure a memorable win.

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#1 PSG were wasteful in the final third

PSG dominated possession against Nantes.

PSG have only themselves to blame for the second loss of their league campaign. Firstly, they conceded three goals in the first half, which was poor. However, it was a scoreline they should have been able to recover from, considering the firepower at their disposal.

Mbappe had come up clutch in his last two outings, scoring injury-time winners, but missed many chances against Nantes. He powered a shot just over the crossbar in the 73rd minute when in front of the goal, and was bested by Lafont throughout.

Messi also missed a chance from inside the penalty area, while Neymar missed opportunities in either half. It just wasn't PSG's day as the team saw a glaring problem in their game get exposed.

They can dominate possession, but decisiveness in front of goal remains something they need to work on.