Twitter erupts as Messi cannot inspire wasteful PSG to victory over Nantes

Despite starting Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were handed a shock 3-1 loss by Nantes in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Mauricio Pochettino named an extremely strong starting XI for the game. Marco Verratti, Giorgino Wijnaldum and Idrissa Gueye started in midfield. Achraf Hakimi, however, had to be content with a place on the bench.

Both sides were quick to come out of the blocks, but Nantes stunned PSG in the fifth minute after Randal Kolo Muani latched onto Moses Simon's through ball and poked the ball underneath an on-rushing Keylor Navas to make it 1-0.

The hosts didn't let up on the pressure there and continued to look dangerous during the opening stages of the game. Their efforts were rewarded once again, as in the 16th minute, Quentin Merlin blasted in a goal from the edge of the box, after some good work by Osman Bukari down the right flank.

Pochettino's side just could not seem to be able to handle Nantes on the counter attack, looking vulnerable every time the hosts broke forward. However, the Parisians were also guilty of wasting chances, with Gueye and Neymar both having huge opportunities to reduce the deficit.

This would come to haunt them at the end of the half as Nantes were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute of stoppage time after Wijnaldum was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box. Ludovic Blas stepped up and smashed the penalty past Navas, despite the goalkeeper getting a hand on it. The French giants were completely outplayed in the first-half and went into half-time 3-0 down.

However, PSG came out much the stronger side in the second-half, as Neymar scored in the 47th minute. The Brazilian ran onto Lionel Messi's through ball and calmly dispatched the ball past Alban Lafont in goal. However, the forward would turn from hero to villain in the 59th minute, after his side were awarded a penalty. Neymar stepped up to take the spot-kick but nonchalantly lofted the ball straight into Lafont's hands. The Frenchman did not make an easier save all game.

Mbappe was then guilty of missing a chance of similar difficulty after Draxler's through ball found the Frenchman one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the box. However, the forward inexplicably blazed his shot over the bar from close range. PSG did not make any more significant chances in the second half despite having the majority of the ball.

The loss means that the French side could see their lead at the top of the table cut down to 10 points if Marseille manage to win their game this weekend.

Lionel Messi was PSG's best player on the night

Lionel Messi looked dangerous throughout the game but was oftentimes let down by his teammates. The Argentine started on the right side of the attack for PSG and was the source of most of their good play.

Lionel Messi set up Neymar with a smart through ball to get PSG on the scoresheet. However, things just did not seem to come off for the French giants on the night, as the Brazilian and Kylian Mbappe were uncharacteristically wasteful.

The Argentine now has four assists and one goal in his last six games across all competitions.

With that being said, here are the best Twitter reactions from PSG's 3-1 loss against Nantes: