Major victory! Paris back on track in Salzburg

In Mozart's hometown, the Parisians had to deliver a perfect score to give themselves some breathing space - and keep on composing until the end of the league phase.

There are still two matches to go, in January, against Manchester City and Stuttgart, both of which take on even greater importance after tonight's result. Luis Enrique decided to field an eleven similar (only Neves came in for Warren Zaire-Emery) to the one that had crushed Auxerre - but without breaking the deadlock - in the league last Friday.

A victory for Les Rouge et Bleu that quickly took shape, with the Parisians controlling the ball and applying pressure from the outset

Schlager pulled off a miraculous save to deny Hakimi, who saw his missile punched clear by the home 'keeper. When Ramos followed up with a header, the Austrian glovesman managed to get a touch to divert the effort over his cross-bar (10'). Lee then took his turn and curled a brilliant left-footed shot just wide of Schlager's top corner a few seconds later (11'). And seconds after that, the same keeper saw Vitinha try his luck with a somewhat scuffed long-range shot (12').

A number of further chances were followed by a strange moment when Ramos failed to score from Hakimi's perfect back-heel just as the Parisians had the opener in sight (24').

But the Portuguese striker was not to be denied, and he duly scored his first goal of the season from a situation fairly similar to the previous one. Barcola crossed to the far post and Hakimi headed the ball past Schlager - and into the path of Ramos, who tackled the ball into the back of the net. Advantage Paris (0-1, 30')!

It was a goal that gave Luis Enrique's men a glimpse of a favourable outcome, which allowed them to look forward to the rest of the game with greater confidence. But they still had to push, score, make the difference and build their self-belief.

In the second half, the Austrians came out swinging, fighting for their survival in the competition. But the Pacho-Marquinhos central defensive pairing was solid, tough to move around and not letting anything slip through. This allowed Nuno Mendes to push forward and put his side even further in front! With 20 minutes left on the clock, Barcola broke through and fed Doué in the box. The Parisian No.14, who had come on a few moments earlier, crossed back to Mendes, who catapulted the ball into Schlager's far corner to double Les Rouge et Bleus' lead (0-2, 72').

The mission seemed accomplished - on the pitch and in the stands, where more than 1,000 Paris fans had come to support their team in Austria, and it was they who got to witness Désiré Doué's very first goal for Les Rouge et Bleu. After providing the assist for Mendes earlier, Doué was perfectly teed up by the tireless Hakimi and sent his shot crashing in off Schlager's cross-bar before exploding with joy (0-3, 85').

Victory, combined with the successful return to competitive action of Lucas Hernandez, who came on as a substitute, means that Paris Saint-Germain's night in Austria was indeed like a symphony - one we hope they will continue to play for a long time to come!