PSG held to a 1-1 draw at Nice despite return of Dembélé

PSG struggles in first half, draws 1-1 with Nice; Monaco leads Ligue 1.

Even with Ousmane Dembélé back in the starting lineup, Paris Saint-Germain had a sleepy first half before being held to a 1-1 draw at Nice on Sunday (October 6, 2024) to leave Monaco alone at the top of the French league.

The defending champion enjoyed much of the possession but was largely unproductive during the first half. Luis Enrique's team played better after the interval and PSG finally created chances as Nuno Mendes leveled the scoring following Nice defender Ali Abdi's first-half opener.

“We were not really into it during the first half,” PSG forward Bradley Barcola said. “We woke up in the second half, it’s a shame we could not take our chances.”

Lagging three points behind unbeaten Monaco before kickoff, PSG was too timid to hope for a better result on the Riviera.

Marquinhos came close to snatching the three points for PSG soon after Mendes' goal but his header ended its course on the left post.

Dembélé started the match after being left out of the squad that lost 2-0 to Arsenal in the Champions League midweek. Luis Enrique, who had blamed Dembélé for a perceived lack of commitment, was criticized after the loss for not selecting the France star, one of the most creative players in the team following the departure of Kylian Mbappé to Real Madrid.

Nice took a deserved lead in the 39th minute when Abdi controlled the ball on the edge of the box and followed up with a left-footed shot that took a slight deflection and went in.