Paris Saint-Germain extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to five points following a 4-1 win over OGC Nice.
The match was a masterclass from Angel Di Maria. The Argentine recorded a brace in the opening 21 minutes of the match to put the hosts on their back foot and they never fully recovered. His second, a chip over the keeper from a difficult angle, will be played on every end-of-season highlight reel. It was that good.
Mauro Icardi was also outstanding. He assisted Di Maria’s first with a brilliant one-touch pass and then scored PSG’s fourth in stoppage time. Kylian Mbappé made a cameo in the 83rd minute and five minutes later, the Frenchman found his name on the scoresheet as well.
The win was great for a number of reasons. It showed the depth and quality of the team with several notable absences per the club’s official website, including Neymar Jr., Thilo Kehrer, Idrissa Gueye, Julian Draxler, Juan Bernat, and Colin Dagba.
After the match, Thomas Tuchel and several players answered questions from the media about the performance against Nice. Here is what they had to say:
Thomas Meunier on Di Maria’s second goal: I gave him the ball to make a decisive pass. But there weren’t many people in the center. His genius spoke. He is always very free when he takes the game on his own. At one point he misses easy control. Five minutes later, he scores this goal.—L’Equipe
Tuchel on Di Maria’s performance: Di Maria? He stayed with us during the international break and benefitted from some days off, that did him good. He has a lot of qualities and a good mentality. He always thinks about the team, brings his intensity, is reliable, and professional. I’m very happy he’s having such an influence in terms of goals and assists.—PSG.fr
Keylor Navas on how he feels about PSG: Very good. My teammates give me a lot of confidence. I try to help this team every game and we feel that we fulfill the objectives little by little.—Le Parisien
Ander Herrera on the win: We played against a good team, so we’re happy to have won. Four-one is a very good result. We had prepared well for the game. We were compact in midfield. We won, and controlled the game. It’s true that after their goal and before the red cards it was difficult, but we’re happy.—Speaking to Canal+ Sport via PSG.fr
Tuchel on Mbappé and Cavani’s availability against Club Brugge on Tuesday: If they were not ready to start today, they will be very close. I can not say it. It was possible for Kylian to play 20 minutes against Nice, maybe a little more for Edi. It’s difficult, I want to give them minutes, but it’s a Ligue 1 match and the others have also deserved to play. I want to play every game with Kylian and Edi but it’s not possible. They missed a lot of games and we have to juggle the minutes. We have to wait for Kylian’s reaction after a few minutes. Edi is ready to play, but he comes back from seven weeks of absence.—Le Parisien
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