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Paris Saint-Germain 1 Nice 1: Cavani misses late penalty after Neymar´s milestone goal

SoccerNews in General Soccer News 4 May 2019

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Neymar scored his 50th Paris Saint-Germain goal and Edinson Cavani missed a late VAR-assisted penalty as the Ligue 1 champions’ underwhelming end to the season continued with a 1-1 draw against Nice.

Having brought up his milestone PSG goal from the spot on the hour to cancel out Ignatius Ganago’s fine 46th-minute strike, Neymar won a penalty in the closing stages when referee Frank Schneider used VAR to deem that Dante had fouled his compatriot.

However, with Neymar off the pitch having received treatment, Cavani failed to beat Walter Benitez, and the Uruguay striker was fortunate to escape with just a booking when his temper boiled over in stoppage time.

Thomas Tuchel’s side had the title wrapped up on April 21, but have now won just one of their last six Ligue 1 outings.

Patrick Burner’s slack header almost provided Cavani with a tap-in early on, but it was Neymar who went closest to capping a bright PSG start when his wicked volley was kept out by Benitez.

Cavani should have done better after latching onto Julian Draxler’s deflected pass, and his profligacy proved costly after the restart – Ganago hammering home from a tight angle.

Allan Saint-Maximin should have made matters worse for PSG in the 58th minute, only to hit the bar when faced with an open goal following superb work from the impressive Youcef Atal.

And that miss was punished two minutes later; Neymar sending Benitez the wrong way from 12 yards after Burner’s foul on Angel Di Maria.

Cavani had a goal ruled out for offside, but PSG were handed a golden chance to seal victory when Dante’s late tackle on Neymar was punished by VAR.

In Neymar’s absence, Cavani stepped up, yet his spot-kick was a poor one, Benitez diving to his left to make a comfortable save and earn Nice a deserved point.

Frustrated by his miss, Cavani then reacted badly to Christophe Herelle’s challenge, and could easily have seen red had his team-mates not dragged him away from trouble.

 

What does it mean? Tuchel’s defensive frailties coming to the fore

Tuchel enjoyed a stellar start to his maiden campaign at PSG, but as the season has gone on, defensive issues similar to those that plagued his time at Borussia Dortmund have returned, and Nice were able to open up their opponents far too easily on the counter.

PSG’s season is ending with a whimper and Tuchel must aim to fix his side’s issues heading into the next campaign, or his position could well be under threat.

Atal steals the show

Following Atal’s hat-trick against Guingamp, Patrick Vieira insisted that Nice are not open to selling the Algerian, but it may well be out of their hands should the 22-year-old – a full-back by trade – continue this form.

Atal was a constant threat to PSG’s defence, and had the beating of the experienced Juan Bernat. His impressive display should have been capped with an assist at the culmination of a fantastic run, but Saint-Maximin wasted the chance to double Nice’s lead.

Cavani flops in Mbappe’s absence

Serving a suspension following his red card in the Coupe de France final, Kylian Mbappe was a big miss for PSG, and the club’s record scorer Cavani – who has been out injured – failed to live up to the standard set by his fellow striker. A dismal display culminated with Cavani squandering the chance to snatch three points.

What’s next?

With three Ligue 1 games remaining, PSG travel to Angers in their next outing, while Nice host Nantes.

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