Laurent Koscielny may turn 36 in a matter of weeks but the former Arsenal and France stalwart was in irrepressible form as Girondins de Bordeaux held FC Nantes to a goalless draw despite playing most of the game with 10 men.
New Bordeaux coach Jean-Louis Gasset handed a Ligue 1 Uber Eats debut to Mehdi Zerkane but the 21-year-old midfielder was given his marching orders by referee Benoît Bastien after 20 minutes played when his studs made contact with Nicolas Pallois' calf.
"I had some concerns about the team spirit when I arrived 10 days ago," Gasset said after the game. "But playing 75 minutes with 10 men in this heat, on the first day back after five months off, is a terrific foundation."
Koscielny was partnered by a Paul Baysse in central defence making his first Bordeaux start since April 2018, but the pair looked like they had been playing together week in, week out for months, restricting Nantes to just six shots on goal - only one of them on target.
"They had to play intelligently," continued Gasset. "The central defence was monumental. They ran for an hour and a quarter and at no time did they give up. We were irreproachable."
"We wanted to take all three points," said Koscielny. "The fact is we went down to 10 men but we decided to suffer together. We showed our solidarity, our desire to work hard for each other. We created the better chances and could have won!"
Bordeaux's next chance to ensure that a full points haul reflects their performance comes next Sunday, when they travel to the Stade Raymond Kopa to take on Angers SCO.
