Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - OGC Nice v Paris St Germain - Allianz Riviera, Nice, France - October 6, 2024 Paris St Germain's Bradley Barcola in action with OGC Nice's Jonathan Clauss REUTERS/Manon Cruz
NICE, France (Reuters) -Paris St Germain lost out on first place in Ligue 1 after a dramatic 1-1 draw at Nice on Sunday, with Luis Enrique's side now two points behind leaders AS Monaco.
Nice started brightly and created several chances as PSG struggled to find their rhythm. Home defender Ali Al-Abdi opened the scoring six minutes before halftime with a powerful shot after a Jonathan Clauss corner that beat goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The visitors found their stride when Ousmane Dembele, who returned to the side after being dropped for PSG's Champions League defeat at Arsenal in midweek, crossed for Nuno Mendes to equalise seven minutes after the break.
However, the capital side failed to find a winner as Nice held firm despite coming under late pressure, with efforts from Vitinha and Dembele kept out by goalkeeper Marcin Bulka.
"We didn't really get going in the first half, then we woke up in the second. It's a shame we didn't take our chances," said striker Bradley Barcola.
"What's missing? I don't know, more desire maybe... There are games like this, it's always difficult to play here. We should have played like we did in the second half and it would have been a lot better."
Defending champions PSG remain unbeaten with 17 points from seven games, while Monaco moved to the top on 19 points after a 2-1 win over Stade Rennais on Saturday.
(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar)
