It was the opening round of the First Women's Division and Paris saw off Nantes 2-0 on Saturday afternoon. And here's the thing, you notice these things when you've been going to grounds for fifteen years — how the game unfolds differently from what the programme says it will be. The hosts took the lead through M. Baquerizo in the thirty-sixth minute, before G. Grzybowska turned the screw with an own goal just before the break.
Paris started brightly enough, throwing bodies in the way of Nantes' attempts to settle. The visitors struggled to find rhythm, their attacks numbered just 21 to the hosts' 111. To be fair, Nantes were not without their moments, but they could only manage two shots on target all afternoon. The own goal at forty-five-plus-two was a cruel blow, arriving as the teams went into the interval.
There were plenty of bookings, as you'd expect in a competitive opener. C. Jepsen, C. Hocine, E. Buabadi, J. Mossard and M. Mendy all saw yellow cards. By then, the match had settled into a pattern where Paris controlled territory but Nantes defended in numbers. The hosts registered three shots on target with fourteen attempts overall, while Nantes' accuracy was marginally better at thirty-three percent.
The substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with Paris bringing on M. Vairon and Nantes making four changes at the hour mark. E. Viens, M. N'Dongala, E. Buabadi and G. Grzybowska all left the pitch together. There is no value left at that number, as they say, when teams lose their shape after so many changes — but Paris held firm.
Paris move up to fourth place with three points from one game, while Nantes sit ninth on zero. The hosts have nothing to lose now, having started with a win. They were overrun in midfield according to the numbers, but the result suggests otherwise — three or four moments decided this, and Paris got them.
