Nantes was in a tough spot. They faced Rennes in the Brittany derby, already having lost three of their first four games. Another defeat at home simply wasn’t an option for coach Luís Castro’s team. Things looked bleak at halftime. The visitors were up 2-0. But Nantes refused to wave the white flag. They pulled off a fantastic comeback, snatching a 2-2 draw right at the very end.
The fight began when Mwanga cut the deficit in the 64th minute. The crowd held its breath. Abline stepped up for a penalty in the 90+2 minute, but he missed. It felt like their chance was gone. Then, veteran El Arabi stepped up. He found the net in the 90+6 minute of stoppage time, making club history. El Arabi, at 38 years and 229 days, became Nantes’ oldest goalscorer in Ligue 1. Even more amazingly, this was his first Ligue 1 goal in over 14 years. His last was on May 1, 2011, for Caen. That’s the longest gap between goals in the competition.
Luís Castro praised his squad’s spirit. “The substitutes were important,” he noted. “Youssef [El Arabi] shows an incredible mentality.” Castro called it a draw born from “courage and heart.” He felt his team “deserved a bit more.” He added they “showed good football and a lot of personality.” This result, he believes, “will give us a bit more confidence.”
Not every team with Portuguese ties had such a dramatic finish. Lille, for example, had a tough day in the Northern derby. Félix Correia started, with André Gomes and Tiago Santos on the bench. They fell 3-0 to Lens. Meanwhile, Nice, with Tiago Gouveia in the starting eleven, suffered a heavy 4-1 loss. They were beaten badly when visiting Brest.