Metz's Late Heist: Two Goals in Nine Minutes Salvage Sinking Season

Pásalo Puntuación Futmetrix: 30/100. At Stade de la Beaujoire, Metz snatched a lifeline from the jaws of another defeat, turning a balanced contest into a nightmare for Nantes with a devastating late surge that exposed the fragility of both relegation-battlers.

Intensity Without Purpose

Thirty shots. Eleven on target. Nine saves shared between the keepers. This was not football; it was a shooting gallery masquerading as a match. Nantes controlled the **intensity** with 52% possession and dominated the expected goals race (0.81 xG), yet lacked the ruthlessness to finish. Metz arrived without fanfare, trailing in xG (1.34) but armed with a hunger that only desperation breeds. Both teams, marooned in the bottom three, played like the season depended on this single Sunday.

The Turning Point: Minute 82

Then came the seismic shift. At 82 minutes, substitute Giorgi Abuashvili—introduced just four minutes earlier—struck without warning. Seven minutes later, Habib Diallo doubled the lead, finishing a move orchestrated by Cheick Tidiane Sabaly, whose three key passes were the thread connecting Metz's chaos into purpose. Nantes' **balance** collapsed entirely. The **stakes** shifted from "who survives?" to "who crumbles first?"

The Data Story: Efficiency vs. Dominance

Nantes' 16 shots yielded only four on target—a damning indictment of a side without conviction. Metz's 14 shots generated seven on target, a conversion rate born of clinical desperation. The three yellow cards accumulated by Metz in the final period told a story of a team willing to break rules to break resistance. This wasn't a performance; it was a mugging.

Aftermath: Two Trajectories

For Nantes (15th, 9 points), this is catastrophic. For Metz (17th, 8 points), it's a reprieve. Both remain in the relegation fight, but only one leaves Stade de la Beaujoire with hope.