Nene shines as PSG retain Ligue 1 lead
Reuters - Saturday 04 February 2012, 22:15
Nene delivered yet another
man-of-the-match performance to help Paris Saint-Germain secure a
3-1 comeback win against visitors Evian Thonon Gaillard on
Saturday as they maintained a three-point lead at the top of
Ligue 1.
The Brazilian attacking midfielder cancelled out Cedric
Cambon's first-half opener and netted a penalty before Kevin
Gameiro added the third one minute from time to give PSG 49
points from 22 games.
"We really fought after the break because our first half was
bad," Nene told French TV channel Foot Plus.
"I'm happy to score, but just because it helps the team."
Second-placed Montpellier kept pace after Geoffrey Dernis
gave them a 1-0 home victory against Stade Brest.
The Saint-Etienne v Lorient game was abandoned after only 10
minutes because of a frozen pitch.
It was also below freezing at the Parc des Princes but the
game went ahead, although it took more than 45 minutes for PSG
to warm up with Italy midfielder Thiago Motta making his debut.
Evian took a 1-0 lead into the break after Cambon headed
home from close range but PSG, who have won their three league
games under new coach Carlo Ancelotti, piled on the pressure in
the second half.
Nene was set up by Jeremy Menez just outside the box and
slalomed through the defence before beating Stephan Andersen.
With 11 minutes left, Menez was tripped in the box and Nene
converted the resulting penalty, with Gameiro putting the result
beyond doubt in the 89th minute with his first league goal in
almost two months.
Montpellier still trail PSG by three points after edging
past Brest.
Remy Cabella's shot took a deflection off Dernis's back into
the net six minutes before the break and it was all Montpellier
needed to secure their third successive Ligue 1 win.
Stade Rennes remained sixth on 36 points after a goalless
draw at Nancy while Toulouse, in seventh, lost 2-0 at Girondins
Bordeaux.
The hosts took a first minute lead through Brazilian
Jussie and added a second five minutes before the break courtesy
of Ludovic Obraniak. Toulouse were reduced to 10 men three
minutes before the break when midfielder Moussa Sissoko was sent
off.