<p>Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to score the winning goal as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Nice 2-1 on Saturday to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1.</p>.<p>French international Mbappe was left out of the starting line-up by coach Christophe Galtier with one eye on Wednesday's Champions League clash at Benfica.</p>.<p>That is one of 11 fixtures the French champions face in the six weeks leading up to the World Cup.</p>.<p>Mbappe was replaced by 20-year-old Hugo Ekitike, who was making his first start for PSG but struggled to make an impact.</p>.<p>However, it was fellow superstar Lionel Messi who grabbed the attention when he gave PSG a 29th-minute lead with a sumptuous, curling free-kick from the edge of the box which sailed over the Nice wall and past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/lewandowski-goal-helps-barcelona-to-a-narrow-win-over-mallorca-1150134.html" target="_blank">Lewandowski goal helps Barcelona to a narrow win over Mallorca</a></strong></p>.<p>"I'm incredibly lucky to see him every morning in training," said Galtier.</p>.<p>It was Messi's 60th career goal from free-kicks but first in a PSG shirt.</p>.<p>"We are not playing less well than we were, but our opponents are starting to know us," said PSG defender Marquinhos after a disjointed display by the champions.</p>.<p>"We are not going to have an exceptional match every time or win 5-0. It's important to know how to win 1-0 or 2-1 with a goal at the end, like tonight.</p>.<p>"It was complicated in the first half, we couldn't find any space to create chances. Nice blocked us but a superb free-kick Leo Messi unblocked the situation."</p>.<p>Gaetan Laborde levelled for Nice, who were coached by Galtier until this season, in the 47th minute after PSG got into a terrible defensive tangle.</p>.<p>Mbappe was summoned from the bench on the hour mark and struck the winner with seven minutes left after Nice attempted and failed to play the ball out of defence.</p>.<p>The goal was Mbappe's eighth of the league season and took him level with teammate Neymar at the top of the scoring charts.</p>.<p>"You play the best game of your season, but at the end, you lose," said Nice coach Lucien Favre after his team's fifth Ligue 1 defeat of the season.</p>.<p>"We played a good match, so it's disappointing and cruel. We didn't give PSG a lot of chances to score. They didn't have many chances."</p>.<p>PSG have a two-point lead over Marseille who defeated Angers 3-0 on Friday.</p>
<p>Kylian Mbappe came off the bench to score the winning goal as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Nice 2-1 on Saturday to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1.</p>.<p>French international Mbappe was left out of the starting line-up by coach Christophe Galtier with one eye on Wednesday's Champions League clash at Benfica.</p>.<p>That is one of 11 fixtures the French champions face in the six weeks leading up to the World Cup.</p>.<p>Mbappe was replaced by 20-year-old Hugo Ekitike, who was making his first start for PSG but struggled to make an impact.</p>.<p>However, it was fellow superstar Lionel Messi who grabbed the attention when he gave PSG a 29th-minute lead with a sumptuous, curling free-kick from the edge of the box which sailed over the Nice wall and past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/lewandowski-goal-helps-barcelona-to-a-narrow-win-over-mallorca-1150134.html" target="_blank">Lewandowski goal helps Barcelona to a narrow win over Mallorca</a></strong></p>.<p>"I'm incredibly lucky to see him every morning in training," said Galtier.</p>.<p>It was Messi's 60th career goal from free-kicks but first in a PSG shirt.</p>.<p>"We are not playing less well than we were, but our opponents are starting to know us," said PSG defender Marquinhos after a disjointed display by the champions.</p>.<p>"We are not going to have an exceptional match every time or win 5-0. It's important to know how to win 1-0 or 2-1 with a goal at the end, like tonight.</p>.<p>"It was complicated in the first half, we couldn't find any space to create chances. Nice blocked us but a superb free-kick Leo Messi unblocked the situation."</p>.<p>Gaetan Laborde levelled for Nice, who were coached by Galtier until this season, in the 47th minute after PSG got into a terrible defensive tangle.</p>.<p>Mbappe was summoned from the bench on the hour mark and struck the winner with seven minutes left after Nice attempted and failed to play the ball out of defence.</p>.<p>The goal was Mbappe's eighth of the league season and took him level with teammate Neymar at the top of the scoring charts.</p>.<p>"You play the best game of your season, but at the end, you lose," said Nice coach Lucien Favre after his team's fifth Ligue 1 defeat of the season.</p>.<p>"We played a good match, so it's disappointing and cruel. We didn't give PSG a lot of chances to score. They didn't have many chances."</p>.<p>PSG have a two-point lead over Marseille who defeated Angers 3-0 on Friday.</p>