Ancelotti applauds surprise packets Nice

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Carlo Ancelotti has praised Nice for their ‘fantastic season’ ahead of Sunday’s Ligue 1 match.

Ancelotti has revealed he is wary of the threat posed by Nice ahead of his side’s clash with Ligue 1’s fifth-placed club, who are still in the hunt for UEFA Champions League qualification, reserving special praise for their head coach Claude Puel.

Nice are five points behind third-placed Lyon, who hold Ligue 1’s spot in the qualifying stages of next season’s Champions League, while only goal difference separates Puel’s team and fourth-placed Saint-Etienne.

“It’s going to be a great game, Nice is a very well organised team, they have an excellent and experienced manager,” Ancelotti said in his pre-match press conference.

“Together with Saint-Etienne, Nice has been the surprise package of this season.

“They had a fantastic season.

“They’re in contention for a European place from their league position, therefore, we’re expecting a tough game.”

Ancelotti has warned his team against complacency against Nice after being dumped from the Coupe de France by Evian TG in a penalty shootout on Wednesday.

“I hope they will learn their lessons from the game against Evian TG,” Ancelotti said.

“This year, we didn’t have any problem beating the biggest clubs.

“We’ve had fantastic games against them.

“We’ve won against the best clubs in the league; we were excellent in Champions League, yet we’ve had issues against supposedly weak clubs.

“On paper, these games were supposed to be easy. In reality, those games happened to be very hard.”