Lionel Messi vindicated after Neymar and Georginio Wijnaldum embarrass PSG

Neymar had an evening to forget on Saturday, as the Brazilian superstar missed an awful penalty in Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 Ligue 1 defeat to Nantes.

PSG's record signing took the spot-kick instead of Lionel Messi, who missed a penalty of his own against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

Neymar tried to roll the ball into the back of the net with minimal power, but his effort was tame and goalkeeper Alban Lafont saved it with ease.

That came in the 59th minute, at which point Nantes were leading 3-1.

The hosts made the breakthrough at Stade de la Beaujoire in the fourth minute, with Liverpool target Randal Kolo Muani finishing off a brilliant counter-attacking move.

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Nantes then doubled their lead moments later, as teenager Quentin Merlin unleashed a wicked left-footed effort to score his maiden Ligue 1 goal.

And the game looked done and dusted on the stroke of half-time after former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum handled in the box.

Ludovic Blas converted from 12 yards, leaving Marco Verratti to complain at the officials.

"Referees need to take on their responsibilities because right now we're being s*** on by referees," said the PSG midfielder in his post-match interview.

The visitors threatened to produce a memorable comeback just after the restart.

Neymar scored thanks to an audacious assist from Messi, threading a pass through a defender's legs and into the box. Trust the little Argentine to deliver a moment of magic.

And PSG could've made it 3-2 had Neymar converted his penalty, yet it wasn't to be.

The defeat leaves Mauricio Pochettino's team 13 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 having played a game more than Marseille in second.

Nantes, meanwhile, move up to fifth, four points behind Nice in third - the final Champions League spot - having played a game more.

Saturday evening's result concludes a mixed week for PSG, who record a famous 1-0 victory against Real in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League tie.

Speaking ahead of the Nantes game, Pochettino said: "The aftermath of a win like that can be tricky to deal with. The game against Real was incredible.

"We won in the very last moment of the match. We have to stay calm because it was only the first leg, we have 90 minutes to play in Madrid.

"We have to keep this state of mind and put the same commitment into the second leg. We are very focused on our objectives.

"But at this moment, we are only focused on Nantes in order for this game to not pass us by."

On their commitment to winning Ligue 1, Pochettino added: "Each competition has to be analysed in a different way but each competition requires a similar commitment.

"We have a plan that we stick to. Both the staff and the players are focused on doing their best in every game."