NANTES: Paris St Germain had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Nantes in a rearranged Ligue 1 game on Tuesday, keeping the champions on course to become the first team to go unbeaten through an entire season in the French top flight.

The stalemate stretched PSG’s unbeaten away league run to 39 matches, beating the long-standing record across Europe’s top five leagues set by AC Milan between 1991 and 1993, with the Champions League semi-final against Arsenal on the horizon.

“It’s important to talk about this record and the players from that era. We are at Milan’s level. We’re talking about the record for unbeaten away games,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “A team of our calibre can’t afford to make mistakes. We can still improve and do even better. We should have won the match, and one small detail made all the difference.”

In a slow first half the hosts were content to sit back and play on the counter, but Vitinha struck a low half-volley off a Lee Kang-in pass to put PSG ahead after 33 minutes.

Nantes looked more aggressive after the break as Jean-Charles Castelletto drew a fine save from PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on the hour mark.

Douglas Augusto finally found the equaliser seven minutes from time with a great shot from the edge of the box following an excellent run from Matthis Abline.

Goncalo Ramos went agonisingly close to netting a winner for the visitors, but his stoppage-time header hit the crossbar.

PSG, who wrapped up the title earlier this month, hold a 23-point advantage over second-placed Olympique de Marseille, while Nantes are 14th on 31 points, four points above the drop zone.

“I am proud because I didn’t expect such a performance from my players. We didn’t just defend well but we also played good football and created chances,” said Nantes coach Antoine Kombouare.

“We never let our heads go down. It is a really well-deserved point,” added Kombouare, who described PSG’s unbeaten away record as “monstrous”.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2025