Paris escape the Nîmes trap

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The context
The reigning French champions knew what to expect from their newly promoted hosts. But with three straight wins already under their belt and averaging three goals a game, PSG headed south looking to claim a fourth successive win from the season's start for the fifth time in the club's history.

Match highlights
There was an electric atmosphere in the Stade des Costières, which gave the Crocodiles of Nîmes extra bite. Still, their ambitions were diminished as Kylian Mbappé and Thomas Meunier gave Neymar Jr the chance to open the scoring (0-1, 36')! Four minutes later, Angel Di Maria's vicious inswinging corner also found its way into the net (0-2, 40')! Two shots on target, two goals - Thomas Tuchel's men were working at maximum efficiency.

Struggling at the break, Nîmes picked up after the restart. Antonin Bobichon made the game interesting by finding the top corner (1-2, 63') before a penalty - awarded with the help of VAR - levelled the scores, Téji Savanier tucking away the spot-kick (2-2, 71'). Sofiane Alakouch then hit the crossbar (74') and Renaud Ripart forced Alphonse Areola into some serious action (77') before Kylian got to work at the opposite end. Sent clear by Presnel Kimpembe, Mbappé raced goalwards before firing fiercely past Paul Bernardoni (2-3, 77')! It was a world champion-made goal that only had some of the shine taken off it by Mbappé's late red card (90+4'). In the meantime, Edinson Cavani had ensured there would be no nail biting finish (2-4, 90+3').

The moment of the match
It was just before the break when Di Maria put the ball down to take a corner (40'). Nothing special? Well, not yet anyway. One exceptional, curling shot later and the Argentina international had left Bernardoni looking foolish having conceded the first goal direct from a corner in Ligue 1 in more than two years (Rachid Ghezzal with Lyon in April 2016 had been the last to do it). El Fideo will remember his first goal of the season for a long time to come. So will we.

The word: Tempo
Catch them if you can...and at this rate, it's quite an 'if'. By opening the scoring, Neymar Jr is the only player to have scored in all four opening games (4 goals total). The Brazilian shares the honour of being the team's leading scorer with Mbappé, while Cavani has now scored against each of the 30 opponents he has faced in Ligue 1. 

What's next? 
Unbeaten in their last ten away games in L1 (7 wins), Paris would now like to keep things going at home against Saint-Etienne after the international break (14 September). A fifth consecutive league triumph would be the ideal way to prepare for the trip to Anfield the following Tuesday.