Paris Saint-Germain began their defence of the Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 victory away to Nantes on Sunday. Vitinha’s deflected strike in the second half proved decisive, beating goalkeeper Anthony Lopes
with the help of a deflection off Nantes defender Chidozie Awaziem.
PSG had to work hard for their win as coach Luis Enrique made seven changes to his starting lineup following the UEFA Super Cup win on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek. This was the first game of the new season for last season’s Champions League winners, who started pre-season training on August 6 after reaching the Club World Cup final in the United States in mid-July.
Having not played any friendly matches prior, PSG will likely need several weeks to reach last season’s performance level. Nonetheless, they managed to secure victory against a determined but ineffective Nantes side, playing under new Portuguese coach Luis Castro.
Luis Enrique expressed his satisfaction, stating, “I am very happy because the first objective in these matches is the victory and I think we deserved the three points. We were in control throughout, playing away from home. In the first half we didn’t create much but that is normal because it is difficult against a team defending so deep.”
Addressing the team’s lack of preparation for the new season, Enrique added, “Today we saw that our players are ready and wanted to show the level they can perform at. They all need time which I think is normal but we will look more comfortable with the ball once we have a few more games under our belts.”
Ukraine defender Illia Zabarnyi played 90 minutes on his PSG debut after arriving from Bournemouth in a reported 66 million-euro (£57m, $76.7m) deal. Lucas Chevalier also started, having immediately replaced Gianluigi Donnarumma as PSG’s first-choice goalkeeper following his arrival from Lille.
Zabarnyi debut, Giroud goal
Luis Enrique praised Zabarnyi’s debut, noting, “The physical and technical abilities of Zabarnyi are perfect for the style of football I like. He is comfortable on the ball which is important for us, and without the ball he usually wins his duels. I think he played very well.”
Substitutes Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia contributed to the goal in the 67th minute. Dembele played a short corner to Mendes, whose square pass was controlled by Vitinha before he scored.
Enrique emphasized the importance of having fit substitutes, saying, “At the moment with the physical condition of the team it is important to have players who can come on towards the end of games in an optimal condition. That happened in the last game against Tottenham too.”
Despite Goncalo Ramos hitting the bar in the first half and having an effort disallowed for offside late on, and Bradley Barcola narrowly missing a shot, one goal was enough for PSG. Their next game will be at home to Angers next Friday evening.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for Lille in their 3-3 draw at Brest. Giroud, who left Montpellier after helping them win the title in 2012 and has played for Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan, and Los Angeles FC, said, “It is a real pleasure to be back in Ligue 1.”
Angers beat newly-promoted Paris FC 1-0 with Esteban Lepaul scoring early on, holding on despite playing most of the second half with 10 men. Strasbourg won 1-0 at Metz thanks to a late strike by Joaquin Panichelli, and Auxerre beat Lorient 1-0. Monaco emerged as the first league leaders in France this season with a 3-1 win over Le Havre on Saturday.
With AFP Inputs
