PARIS (AP) — Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain recovered from its Ligue 1 loss to Lyon with a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nantes on Wednesday.
PSG’s home win – in a game postponed from mid-March to allow the team to better prepare for its Champions League last-16 clash with Chelsea – keeps it four points above Lens with four rounds of the French league remaining.
Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 13th minute. It was awarded after a VAR check penalized Nantes defender Frédéric Guilbert for handball because Marquinhos’ header brushed against his arm.
Louis Leroux thought he’d equalized when he fired in a loose ball after PSG failed to deal with a free kick, but the next VAR decision also went against the visitors. After a lengthy delay, the goal was ruled out for offside.
There was nothing wrong with Desiré Doué’s brilliant goal in the 37th, when Achraf Hakimi played him through before he left fly with a fierce strike from a difficult angle inside the far corner.
Kvaratskhelia grabbed his second after the break, shimmying past two defenders and poking the ball past Anthony Lopes in the Nantes goal.
Guilbert caught Doué with a bad challenge late on but the winger was able to continue.
PSG, the title holder, faces Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals with the first leg in Paris on Tuesday.
Crowd disturbances
There were clashes during the match between Nantes supporters and stewards, who intervened to remove huge banners the fans unfurled that were critical of PSG-backer Qatar and the French league.
“Qatar demands, the LFP obeys, French football suffers, we’re sick of you,” the banners read in big yellow capital letters before they were taken down. Some fans lit flares while others fought with the stewards.
French Cup
Elye Wahi scored twice – the second a penalty – to steer Strasbourg into the French Cup final with a 2-0 win over visiting Nice.
Strasbourg will play Lens in the May 22 decider in the Stade de France, after Lens defeated Toulouse 4-1 in the first semifinal on Tuesday.
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