The game: 0-3.
The dream quickly turned into a nightmare for Nantes, this Thursday evening, in the Europa League return play-offs. A week after hooking Juventus Turin at Juventus Stadium (1-1), the Nantes people lost 0-3 at La Beaujoire and failed at the gates of the knockout stages of the C3.
Welcomed by an imposing tifo “A city in fusion, the Beaujoire eruption! » in an incandescent enclosure, the Nantes people tried to set fire to the very start of the match, with this first countered strike from Moussa Sissoko (3rd). But the Canaries’ hopes were quickly extinguished by a brilliant inspiration from Angel Di Maria. Served at the corner of the surface by Nicolo Fagioli taking advantage of a ball lost by Moses Simon, the Argentinian fired a sudden curled shot from the left which stuck in the opposite corner of Alban Laffont, without reaction (5th).
The scenario became catastrophic for Nantes in the 17th minute when the Spanish referee whistled a penalty and expelled Nicolas Pallois, guilty of having repelled a strike from Di Maria with his left arm, who had previously mystified an amorphous Nantes defense. The Argentinian did not tremble and took Lafont on the wrong foot with a cross shot from the left (19th).
On the ropes, the men of Antoine Kombouaré, who had replaced Pedro Chirivella by Charles Traoré (24th) to rebalance the team, failed to concede a third goal before the break, but the cross shot from Filip Kostic hit the amount of Lafont ( 45th+3). In numerical superiority, the Turinese managed their advantage perfectly, monopolizing the ball against Nantes kept afloat by Lafont. Under the eyes of the coach of the Blues Didier Deschamps, seated in the official gallery next to the president of Nantes Waldemar Kita, the doorman intervened in front of Di Maria (51st), Kostic (52nd), Juan Cuadrado (66th) or Danilo (75th). After yet another save in front of Alex Sandro, the Canaries goalkeeper bowed again on a header from the inevitable Di Maria which he pushed back after the ball had crossed the line (78th).
Carried by the Loire Brigade, the Nantes residents offered themselves a last stand but neither Mostafa Mohamed (85th), nor Evann Guessand (89th), nor Ludovic Blas (90th + 3) managed to deceive Wojciech Szczesny.
A man in the match: the recital of Angel Di Maria
The only survivor of the Turin attacking trident of the first leg at kick-off, in the absence of Federico Chiesa (injured) and Dusan Vlahovic (on the bench), Angel Di Maria made Nantes live a torture, at the image of his double in the first period. After his jewel (5th), the Argentinian causes the penalty which he transforms himself (19th). Let’s rewind the action: found by Adrien Rabiot, he easily eliminates Chirivella in the area, before benefiting from a favorable counter on Lafont, author of a timid exit, then seeing his shot pushed back in front of the goal line by his arm left of Pallois.
Constant danger, the 2022 World Champion sent a new floating strike from the left, which was difficult to box by the Nantes goalkeeper (22nd). Elusive, he also sent several dangerous balls, such as this cross for the off-target header from Rabiot (27th) or these shifts for Mattia De Sciglio (31st) or Kostic (44th). In the second half, he gave himself the hat-trick by scoring with a header from a tight angle on a cross from Vlahovic (78th), before giving way, under the whistles, to Leonardo Paredes (82nd).
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In six European knockout matches, FC Nantes has never eliminated an Italian club. The Canaries have twice come up against Inter Milan (C1 1980-81 and C3 1985-86) and Juventus Turin (C1 1995-96 and C3 2022-2023) and once against Torino (C3 1986-87 ) and Perugia (Intertoto Cup 2003-2004).