Randal Kolo Muani returned to haunt former club Nantes with a late winner to send Paris St Germain into their Champions League showdown against Borussia Dortmund on the back of a victory.
The 25-year-old came off the bench at the Parc des Princes to earn PSG an eighth successive Ligue 1 win which left the reigning champions six points clear of second-placed Monaco ahead of Wednesday night’s crucial trip to Germany.
Mostafa Mohamed had earlier cancelled out Bradley Barcola’s fine opener as the visitors threatened to build upon last weekend’s superb 1-0 win over Nice in new head coach Jocelyn Gourvennec’s first game in charge, but ultimately they left on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.
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With first-choice keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma suspended following his red card at Le Havre and potential replacements Keylor Navas and Alexandre Letellier injured, PSG boss Luis Enrique, who had skipper Marquinhos available after injury, handed 22-year-old Arnau Tenas a first senior start
in goal.
Kylian Mbappe underwent treatment on the pitch after feeling discomfort during the warm-up but he showed no ill-effects, forcing a save from Nantes keeper Alban Lafont inside the opening 20 seconds as the hosts flexed their muscles early on.
However, they lacked precision in the final third and with the visitors organised and dogged, genuine chances were at a premium as the half unfolded.
Indeed, it took a fingertip save by Tenas to keep out Florent Mollet’s dipping 15th-minute strike and although defender Eray Comert had to make an important block to deny Mbappe seconds later, Nantes were more than holding their own.
Lee Kang-in curled a 25th-minute shot harmlessly across Lafont’s goal when a cross might have been the better option, but the keeper was a relieved man 14 minutes before the break when he came to punch Lee’s free-kick away and saw Vitinha loop the loose ball over both him and his crossbar as he back-pedalled.
But he was beaten four minutes before the break when Barcola exchanged passes with Vitinha to get in behind defender Marcus Coco and then curled a shot across Lafont and inside the far post.
Achraf Hakimi saw a volley blocked by Jean-Kevin Duverne and Mbappe miskicked with an acrobatic attempt in stoppage time as the home side turned on the style, but with no tangible reward.
Mbappe was appealing in vain for a 54th-minute penalty after exchanging passes with Barcola and surging into the box before going to ground, and his disappointment increased within seconds when Mohamed powered a header past the helpless Tenas from Mollet’s corner.
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Mohamed tested Tenas from distance as Nantes sensed an opportunity, but Barcola might have claimed a second goal of the night when he raced in on goal and chipped the ball over the advancing Lafont, but into the side-netting.
A frustrated Mbappe saw a second penalty claim waved away after colliding with Jean-Charles Castelletto with 22 minutes remaining, but his side regained the lead with seven minutes remaining when Lee picked out Lucas Hernandez at the far post and although Lafont saved his header, Kolo Muani stabbed home the rebound.
Mollet headed straight at Tenas amid a late flurry, but PSG saw out time to claim a hard-fought win.
'Grades are given at the end of the season' – Luis Enrique calm as PSG lose top spot
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique was not disheartened by seeing his side relinquish top spot following Sunday's 1-1 draw at Nice in Ligue 1.
PSG were forced to come from behind to maintain their unbeaten start to 2024-25, with Nuno Mendes cancelling out Ali Abdi's opener early in the second half.
The French champions were unable to find a winner despite enjoying 71.1% of the possession and attempting 19 shots to Nice's eight. Nice's possession share of 28.8% was their lowest in Ligue 1 since December 2011 (28.7% versus Lille).
The result leaves PSG second in the table with 17 points, two adrift of Monaco.
It is the second season in a row that PSG have not led Ligue 1 after seven matchdays, having sat fifth at this stage last term. They topped the table after seven games in five of the previous six campaigns (second in 2020-21).
"We are at the beginning of the season. The start seems promising to me. I like what I see. I think it's a much better start than last season," Luis Enrique told a press conference on Sunday.
"Grades are given at the end of the season. When the season is over we'll see the grade...
"The important thing is to win the league. The most important thing is to be in contention for all the titles."
The Spaniard did add, however, that simple errors had proven costly, saying: "There was a level of inaccuracy from most of the players that was not usual and a lot of very simple technical actions, easy passes, situations that we normally solve, a very high number of unusual mistakes.
He was, though, proud of his players' reaction to falling behind midway through the first half.
"I am especially proud after a bad first half. A really bad one. I'm proud of their spirit. They concentrated on the game, on trying to turn the game around," he said.
PSG face Strasbourg in their next league game on October 19, before taking on PSV in the Champions League three days later.
Nice 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain: Mendes rescues points to keep visitors unbeaten
Paris-Saint-Germain missed out on the chance to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1, with Nuno Mendes saving a point in a dramatic 1-1 draw at Nice on Sunday.
Nice started brightly and caused havoc as PSG struggled to find their rhythm in the early stages. Ali Al-Abdi soon took advantage of their visitors' lacklustre start, opening the scoring six minutes before half-time with a powerful strike from a corner.
Ousmane Dembele, who was dropped in midweek for the Champions League, orchestrated their equaliser, picking out Mendes, whose deflected shot beat the keeper to hit the back of the net seven minutes after the break.
They almost had a second moments later, Marquinhos rising high to meet Lee Kang-in's cross, only to see his powerful header rebound off the post.
Nice held firm despite the late pressure from PSG as goalkeeper Marcin Bulka kept out good efforts by Vitinha and Dembele.
It leaves PSG two points behind leaders Monaco heading into the international break.
Data Debrief: PSG's total dominance does not come to fruition
It has been a fairly disappointing week for PSG, who suffered a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Champions League, and failed to re-close the gap to Monaco at the top of the league by dropping points.
They had 19 shots against Nice, with 14 of those coming in a dominant second half. Seven of those after the break were on target, while Gianluigi Donnarumma did not face a single effort at the other end.
However, they only managed 0.97 expected goals (xG) - Mendes' goal came from a strike worth just 0.05 - and they could not find a late winner despite their best efforts.
Fiorentina 2-1 Milan: Gudmundsson seals win after De Gea penalty heroics
David de Gea saved two penalties for Fiorentina, setting the stage for Albert Gudmundsson to score the winner in a 2-1 victory over Milan.
In a pulsating encounter that saw three missed penalties and two red cards, Fiorentina prevailed to halt Paulo Fonseca's Serie A winning run.
The hosts had the first spot-kick of the game, with Moise Kean's tame effort being kept out by Mike Maignan before the forward had a goal disallowed for offside.
Former Milan midfielder Yacine Adli did break the deadlock soon after, ricocheting a low shot in off the far post from the edge of the box, and De Gea kept them ahead at the break, superbly denying Theo Hernandez from the spot.
Kean had a second goal chalked off for offside in the second half and Milan wasted another golden opportunity from 12 yards, as De Gea got down well to keep out Tammy Abraham this time.
On the hour mark, an in-form Christian Pulisic finally pulled the visitors level with a perfect volley, but the drama was far from over as Gudmundsson drilled his low shot past Maignan to put Fiorentina back in front in the 73rd minute.
Emotions ran high in the final moments as Fiorentina coach Raffaele Palladino was sent off, while Hernandez also received his marching orders for arguing with the referee after the final whistle had gone.
Data Debrief: De Gea's penalty redemption
For all the plaudits De Gea received while at Manchester United, one blip on his record was his struggles against penalties.
However, with his impressive showing against Milan, he became the first goalkeeper to make two penalty saves in a single Serie A match since Federico Marchetti in May 2016.
Since his debut in the top five European leagues (2009-10), the Spaniard has saved 10 of his 52 penalties in the league, including each of the last three, having also saved one against Fulham in May 2023.
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