PSG fans unfurl banner aimed at Arsenal before suffering shock loss as Enrique admits ‘the players are clearly affected’
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN fans unfurled a banner aimed at Arsenal before losing their first Ligue 1 game of the season.
The French giants were on course to match the Gunners’ invincible achievement this campaign.
PSG have already wrapped up the Ligue 1 title with a massive 23-point advantage over second-placed Marseille.
Ahead of Friday night’s clash against Nice at the Parc de Princes the club’s supporters had other things on their mind.
The club are set to take on Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday.
Supporters showed off a banner in the crowd that targeted Mikel Arteta‘s side.
It read: “Eliminate Arsenal, bring us to the final”.
However, the performance on the pitch may have dented their ambitions ahead of the tie.
Former Aston Villa ace Morgan Sanson netted a brace on either side of a goal from Fabian Ruiz to put the visitors ahead.
The result was wrapped up for Franck Haise’s men when Youssouf Ndayishimiye netted his side’s third in the 70th minute.
PSG lost the game with all three of Nice’s shots on target finding the net.
Manager Luis Enrique admitted that his players were left “affected” by the result.
However, he did insist that they deserved to win and that he would be “signing up” for the matches against Arsenal.
He said: “Based on what I saw, I’m signing up straight away for Tuesday in London and the return leg.
“Not for the result, obviously, but I saw a team that had 30 chances to score. I’m not worried at all.
“We attacked, didn’t calculate, and we came up against a goalkeeper who made some incredible saves.
“We are the best team in France, by far, we proved it. We have to be brave now and think about winning the Champions League.
“Right now, the players are clearly affected. We deserved to win, no doubt about it.
“But if the opponent is 100 per cent efficient and you’re not as efficient as usual, things turn around. It’s as simple as that.”
The former Barcelona boss fielded a full-strength side against Nice, which included stars such as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Desire Doue
He was quizzed on why he made that decision and quipped that he did not want to help Arteta.
He said: “Draw whatever conclusions you want from that.
“I’m not going to give any clues to Arteta.”