Gianluigi Donnarumma made several crucial saves and Dante was denied by the woodwork as PSG’s goal enjoyed a charmed life on the Cote d’Azur after Messi finished a Nuno Mendes cross in the 26th minute.
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With 14 minutes left, Ramos put an end to any lingering doubts about the result by directing in a corner from Messi, helping PSG recover from two straight losses at home.
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With eight losses in 18 games following those defeats, the Qatar-owned team was under pressure to finish the season, and there were even rumors that Galtier might not.
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Prior to this match and before the top two teams meet in Paris the following weekend, PSG’s lead at the top of the table had been reduced to only three points by Lens’ victory on Friday.
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“That was a challenging game. Because of our poor performances, Lens’ victory, and especially because Nice is a really excellent team that has been on a wonderful run, we were aware that we were under a lot of pressure “Galtier spoke with Canal Plus.
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“It was definitely not our best performance of the season but the players fought for each other and it is obviously three important points.” the players said.
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The coach continued, “It is better to have a six-point lead than be chasing after a six-point deficit but we know we have a very important match next weekend.”
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It was Nice’s first loss in 15 games in all competitions since former PSG midfielder Didier Digard took over as manager in January. They continue to be ranked eighth.
Galtier received some jeers from the home crowd in Nice, the team he left last year to join PSG, but Messi’s early goal quieted them.
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At the conclusion of a week in which it became clear that the Argentinean was most likely to depart Paris when his contract ends in the summer, the player scored his 14th goal in Ligue 1 of the season.
Prior to that, Renato Sanches, an injury-prone midfielder for the visitors, came off injured. Danilo Pereira had also previously hit the woodwork for them.
Before halftime, Donnarumma made some excellent saves on shots from Terem Moffi and Nicolas Pepe. Six minutes into the second half, Dante sent a shot off the underside of the bar, and the ball bounced down onto the line before hitting the post.
The league leaders were extremely relieved, and they expressed their gratitude to Donnarumma once more as he made more visits at Pepe and Youssouf Ndayishimiye.
Ramos made it 2-0, but Danilo still had time to head late against his own crossbar.
With a victory against Lorient on Sunday, Marseille can rejoin Lens and get back to within six points of PSG.
