Nantes won a place in the standings after their victory at the Parc on Sunday.

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FRANCK FIFE / AFP

  • FC Nantes have won a place in the standings after their great victory at the Parc des Princes on Sunday evening.

  • The character and the level of play of the Canaries on Sunday suggest that this team has all the cards in hand to save themselves at the end of the season.

  • But for Antoine Kombouaré, this success will only have value if it is enhanced on the occasion of the reception of Lorient on Sunday at La Beaujoire.

At the Parc des Princes,

For all that is question of fights for the maintenance in Ligue 1, Antoine Kombouaré begins to touch his ball a little on the subject.

So when he sees, like Sunday, that his team is led 1-0 at the break against PSG, the Kanak knows from experience that he has more chance of winning an all-expenses-paid weekend on Mars than seeing his team turn things around in the second half.

“It's a real feat that my players have achieved.

In this kind of situation, when you come back to the locker room being led to the score and you're 19th in the standings, you take a big hit on the head, you let go, ”he explained in conf after the match.

Except that for once, the opposite has happened.

Indeed, the Nantes people returned to the lawn of the Park with the same intentions as in the first period, with the desire to run, play and fight.

Kombouaré did not expect so much: “They revolted and did not accept defeat but this result is beyond our expectations.

We were already hoping to equalize and at the finish we leave with the three points!

".

The people of Nantes "not come here to be spectators"

In the first period, already, we felt that they did not lack much to make doubt this PSG of a tearful weakness.

They should also have benefited from a penalty [flagrant for all except for the VAR] after a foul caliber big hoofs Kimpembe on Kolo Muani at the start of the game.

The native of Bondy (no, not that one) made up for it by equalizing after a pass in withdrawal gift from Mbappé and by offering the second on a plateau to Simon.

He savored his return home: “I remember, I used to come to see games at the Park when I was young.

It's nice to come back to where I grew up and to do a great performance.

The coach told us to enter the field with the desire to move forward, not to let them play, we did not come here to be spectators but actors, that's what we managed to do ".

If the Nantes coach made this proactive speech to his players before the match, it is because he knew that PSG tended to relax after European matches.

Kombouaré: “I relied on their stats and their performances after the Champions League matches to tell my players that there was a form of decompression in these cases.

We had to seize this opportunity and we knew how to do it ”.

A victory to improve against Lorient

Can we speak of a click victory for FC Nantes?

“I hope, answers the former Parisian defender.

These are three unexpected points.

It will now be necessary to validate them next weekend.

We will only be happy if we beat Lorient at home.

We won a place in the standings but there are still 27 points at stake. ”For the slightly more euphoric version, it is towards Kolo Muani that we must turn.

"We realized that this team had potential, quality and a very, very strong mind".

Which is not disturbing to have in the luggage rack when approaching the final fight.

This prestigious victory is certainly only a first stone in the race for maintenance, but given what the Canaries showed on Sunday night, there is reason to look to the future with a little more confidence.

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