“Yellow Magic” read the headline in L’Équipe following Nantes’ stunning 3-1 win over PSG on Saturday. The fact that the young wing-back, Quentin Merlin, had scored a sensational goal for Nantes – the first of his career – provided much of the grist for that headline, but the words also summed up the job veteran manager, Antoine Kombouaré, is doing in Brittany. Yes, PSG were coming off the undoubted high of beating Real Madrid in a vital Champions League match and Mauricio Pochettino had made a few changes, but Neymar, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Marco Verratti – as well as the team’s first-choice centre-back pairing, Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe – were all on the team sheet. Make no mistake, with the Stade de la Beaujoire full again, this was perhaps the best evidence yet of what Kombouaré has been building slowly despite some challenging circumstances. The raucous atmosphere at kick-off reached boiling point less than four minutes into the match, when a brilliant run by Moses Simon was capped by a sublime ball to Randal Kolo Muani, who finished past Keylor Navas. Merlin hit the second just a few minutes later, arrowing a beautiful finish into the top corner. By the time Ludovic Blas struck a penalty, Nantes were 3-0 up and cruising. A poorly taken penalty from Neymar and the referee’s dubious decision not to send off Dennis Appiah helped, but Nantes gave the league leaders more than they could handle in a way that has only been seen a few times this season. Those with keen memories will remember Nantes’ crucial and unlikely 2-1 win in Paris a year ago. Kolo Muani was also on the scoresheet that day, as was Simon. Pessimists will note that some teams raise their game against Messi and company, and the fact that Kombouaré was dismissed by PSG early in the Qatari era for what the new owners perceived to be underachievement. However, he has been methodically building something in western France that extends far beyond a few spectacular results. Nantes are seventh in the table and have a Coupe de France semi-final against Monaco next week, giving their season echoes of the campaign enjoyed by their Breton rivals, Rennes, in 2018-19. If Nantes were to qualify for Europe or win the Coupe de France, their story would be one of the biggest surprises in French football in some time. Lille’s title win last season was shocking, but it was the culmination of a continuum of progress under Christophe Galtier, whereas Kombouaré was installed as a firefighter just over a year ago, as the team’s third permanent manager of the season, following the disastrous reign of Raymond Domenech. After scraping survival (on away goals, no less) in the relegation play-off, the veteran coach returned for a fresh crack at the league this season in a move that some considered a financial decision on the part of the club’s hierarchy. In his previous jobs, including at PSG, Kombouaré had been lauded as a manager who endeavoured to play attractive, attacking football, while also striking a decent balance between bringing through young players and relying on veterans when needed. This was also true of his spells at Lens (the team’s relegation was more due to a lack of finishing rather than tactical weaknesses), and further back, Valenciennes, and that pattern has continued at Nantes, despite Kombouaré being forced to feed off scraps. Kombouaré has only signed two players in over a year at the club – goalkeeper Alban Lafont and Simon, both of whom were already on loan at Nantes – while a mix of promising young players (Imran Louza) and canny veterans (Mehdi Abeid, Abdoulaye Touré) have departed. The club’s recent signings have been picked off the scrap heap, but Jean-Charles Castelletto looks far sharper than he ever did at Brest, and Pedro Chirivella has replaced the blood-and-thunder of Abeid and Touré in midfield with a far more cultured approach. Chirivella’s partnership with Andrei Girotto has been perhaps Kombouaré’s most impressive wrinkle – with Nantes able to switch nimbly between the 3-5-2 they have used recently and a more standard 4-2-3-1, and Girotto’s dynamism and physicality have made the difference in freeing the Spaniard. Previously used as a centre-back, the 30-year-old looks far more comfortable as a midfielder, and his ability to add goals (five this season) has added heft to the team’s attack. With Blas picking up where he left off after a fine season last year, and Kolo Muani looking increasingly like the standout attacker he has been for France’s youth teams, Nantes’ attack is multivalent and well set up to play on the counterattack, with the midfield’s balance of culture and aggression serving as an ideal platform. The wing-backs, lately Merlin and the young Ghanaian Osman Bukari, have also enjoyed life under Kombouaré, stretching the pitch while allowing the likes of Simon to use his creativity without pressure, in the vein of a Breton Allan Saint-Maximin. The defence in front of Lafont has also performed well. Nicolas Pallois may be best known to casual observers of French football for the class and passion he showed after Emiliano Sala died, the pair having played together at Nantes and Bordeaux, but he is also a gritty, no-nonsense captain, and has maintained a high level despite his advancing years. Kombouaré has gotten plenty out of what looked like a limited squad and should rival Strasbourg’s Julien Stéphan for coach of the year, should the team’s form continue. With Metz, Troyes and Lille to play before the international break, there is every chance their form will continue but, as impressive as Kombouaré’s success has been, it also has a note of fragility about it. Kolo Muani is out of contract in the summer; Pallois is 34; and it is surprising that Blas is still at the club. However, even if they do fall short at the final hurdle, the football Nantes have produced this season has been truly impressive and a testament to the fact that Kombouaré, far from being a French Sam Allardyce, remains as inventive and adept as ever in dealing with challenging circumstances. Talking points Nantes pulled off the shock of the weekend, but Clermont’s win at Marseille was not far behind. With Jim Allevinah and Mohamed Bayo both back on form and scoring after participating in the Africa Cup of Nations, Clermont took full advantage of a busy week for the hosts and won 2-0. After a long dip in form following a bright start to the season, Pascal Gastien’s side have won three of their last four matches and, by sticking to their principles, look to be easing clear of the relegation battle. That relegation battle has only become more fraught. Saint-Étienne, Bordeaux and Metz all drew this weekend, meaning four teams are now joint-bottom of the table with 21 points from 25 matches. The struggle to avoid spending next season in Ligue 2 is likely to go down to the last kick of the season. Finally, Bordeaux have mercifully replaced Vladimir Petkovic with David Guion. Guion left Reims last May, having kept the club in Ligue 1 despite a constant flow of departures. Having guided the club into Europe for the first time since 1963, he had realistically taken them as far as he could have. Avoiding relegation will be his priority at Bordeaux – the club is bottom of the table on goal difference – but one has to wonder what impact he may eventually have on a club whose youth development has been impressive of late (Jules Koundé, Aurélien Tchouameni), provided they stay up. A return to Europe seems far fetched at the moment, but Guion’s achievements with Reims looked equally improbable.