Paris Saint-Germain moved to the top of the table with a 4-0 win at Nîmes as they got back to domestic duties in style on Friday.
After a two-week international break, the capital club were back in L1 action at Nîmes where Thomas Tuchel had to significantly shuffle his pack due to a number of absences, and new signings Rafinha and Moise Kean were handed debuts.
Soir de premières pour Moise Kean et @Rafinha ! #NOPSG
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) October 16, 2020
🔴🔵 #AllezParis pic.twitter.com/NwpAEVRb8g
The tone for an intense encounter was set from the start. While the visitors tried to dominate possession, the hosts were more direct. They were physical too, and Loïck Landre overstepped the mark to see red early on (12') while Paris lost Leandro Paredes to injury.
The visitors pushed and eventually made their extra man tell: Kylian Mbappé raced onto Rafinha's pass, rounded Baptiste Reynet and sidefooted the opening goal into the empty net (0-1, 33').
Reynet was a busy man keeping out Alessandro Florenzi (37'), Moise Kean (39'), Idrissa Gueye (40') and Mbappé (43') before the break.
Florenzi was heavily involved after the interval too, firing against a post (65') and then heading against the other upright before nodding home the second goal from close range (0-2, 77'). Mbappé then claimed his second goal, bending a shot into the far corner (0-3, 83'). Kean headed off the crossbar (87') before Pablo Sarabia wrapped up a commanding win (0-4, 88').
Paris, who shot 19 times at goal, racing to a fifth successive league win to move ahead of Stade Rennais at the top of the table, and set themselves up perfectly for Tuesday's UEFA Champions League group stage opener at home to Manchester United.