Les Parisiens make it three in three

After two victories in their two opening matches, including a magical evening at the Parc des Princes, Les Parisiens were back on the road with a trip to Finistère to get Matchday 3 of Ligue 1 underway. To take on Stade Brestois, Mauricio Pochettino selected a previously unseen starting eleven, both in terms of the system and his players, with a diamond 4-4-2. Marco Verratti and Idrissa Gueye made their returns to the side alongside Georginio Wijnaldum and Ander Herrera, behind the attacking duo of Mbappé and Icardi. 

Getting underway in a very convincing manner, Paris Saint-Germain quickly imposed an intense press to unsettle the opposition. After a superb team move, Kylian Mbappé called Marco Bizot into action early on (3'). From the dazzling output from the World Champion to Marco Verratti's delightful passing, Les Parisiens moved into second gear as they tried to break through the Brest defence. After the little Italian went close (15'), it was Ander Herrera who unlocked the match. Some excellent play saw the Spaniard pick up the second ball on the edge of the box and let rip with a volley that flew into the back of the net, with a little help from the post (0-1, 23').

Patience, technical accuracy, tactical intelligence: Mauricio Pochettino's side brought everything needed to succeed in the match. And it was this attitude that saw them double their lead before the break through Kylian Mbappé! The French forward made the most of a poor clearance to find the back of the net with a powerful header (0-2, 36'). Up against them, a brave and audacious Brest side got themselves back into the game thanks to Franck Honorat (1-2, 42'). But our Rouge et Bleu were in the lead at half-time. 

After the break, Mauricio Pochettino's side didn't let up and continued to attack, with a focus on one particular tactic: shots from distance. As impressive in attack as ever, Achraf Hakimi came close (47'), but it was Idrissa Gueye with a powerful strike from over 30 metres out (1-3, 73') that allowed Paris Saint-Germain to extend their lead. A goal before an extraordinary end to the match - because Brest once again pulled one back, this time through Steve Mounié (2-3, 85'). It was Paris who had the final word, however, thanks to Angel Di Maria, who brought the match to a close with a marvellous lob just minutes after coming on (2-4, 90').

Paris Saint-Germain made it three in three to continue a faultless start to the campaign. An excellent performance that allows Les Parisiens to climb temporarily to top spot in the league table, with eight days to go before another away trip to Reims.