Paris beat les Verts and march on forward

The headline act, facing AS Saint-Etienne, at lunch time and in freezing local climes... Only a few days after the trip the Manchester, the Parisians could not afford to be faint-hearted when thinking about a return to national competition.  Mauricio Pochettino didn't hold back when announcing a five-star lineup, offering Sergio Ramos his first start in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt.

You didn't need to wait long to see the 22 players show a bit of appetite. Following a lovely bit of work from Di Maria, Messi and Mbappé, Neymar Jr thought he'd opened the scoring before the goal was ruled out for an offside of merely a few centmetres (4th minute). Despite a few more chances for the Parisians, it was les Verts who first opened their account, Khazri assisting the goal from Bouanga (0-1, 23rd minute).

In the snow, the Parisians went on the attack, with the offensive quartet seeing chances melt away in Etienne Green's box. You have to give the Saint-Etienne goalkeeper credit for his performance, pushing away effort after effort from the likes of Neymar Jr, Messi and a supersonic Mbappé.

As the intensity and tension began to come to a boil, les Verts saw Kolodziejcak sent off for stopping yet another attack from the Frenchman (44th minute). The Rouge et Bleus knew how to make the most of it! An imperious header from our captain Marquinhos from a Leo Messi free-kick saw the two teams equal going into the break (1-1, 45th+2).

A new match had begun. Facing a wounded Saint-Etienne side, the Parisians had to double-up on their creativity in an attempt to break through an even denser, if outnumbered, defensive block. There were opportunities, but none could get past an Etienne Green on form. It required patience, waiting for the opportune moment to catch the stopper out. After another bit of Neymar-Messi genius (67th minute), it was Angel Di Maria's time to score! Through a well-placed Leo Messi attack, Angel Di Maria was able to perfectly open up his body to slot it home (1-2, 79th minute).

Just before full-time, Marquinhos scored again, taking advantage of another chance provided by Lionel Messi, who provided his third assist of the game (1-3, 91st minute). It was with that cherry on top of a fine performance that the Parisians finished the game. Continuing at the top of the table, the club from the capital face Nice, currently second, at the Parc des Princes this Wednesday.