Paris Saint-Germain’s hopes of a first-ever unbeaten league season came to an end on Friday with a defeat to OGC Nice, ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal.
Arsenal’s upcoming Champions League opponents Paris Saint-Germain have already secured the Ligue 1 title in France, sitting over 20 points ahead of second place with just a few games remaining.
But more than that, PSG had the opportunity to make Ligue 1 history by going an entire league season unbeaten. It would be the first time they’d ever done so, and the first time a men’s top-flight team has ever achieved the feat in France.
Yet just days before their trip to face Arsenal, PSG’s 32-game unbeaten league run finally came to an end with a 3-1 defeat to OGC Nice.
Despite a strong start for PSG, Nice took the lead in the 34th minute through Morgan Sanson. PSG equalised through Fabian Ruiz, but another Sanson goal and a header from Youssouf Ndayishimiye ensured victory for the away side in the second half.
Of course, PSG weren’t unbeaten in all competitions. Arsenal fans will be well aware of that, considering the Gunners beat PSG 2-0 in the Champions League’s League Phase back in October.
PSG have also lost to Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Aston Villa in one-off Champions League games this season (they ultimately eliminated Liverpool and Villa anyway). But they hadn’t lost a single time in any domestic competition before this week.
Only 10 teams in the history of Europe’s top-five leagues have ever gone unbeaten, with Arsenal being one of them. PSG had the chance to join that list, but their attentions will now turn to trying to win the Champions League for the first time.
With Arsenal also drawing in the build up to next Tuesday’s match, the two teams each have plenty of motivation to bounce back and perform well in their semi-final clash.