Paris make strong start in Le Havre!
In their first Ligue 1 match of the season, Paris Saint-Germain turned in a fine performance at Le Havre (4-1). Here's a look back at their first win of the campaign!
After a studious summer and a influx of new faces, Paris Saint-Germain's eagerly awaited return to action took place in Normandy on Friday, as the Ligue 1 curtain was raised for a new season of prestige drama. Remember that last season, the French champions ended the campaign without having lost a single match away from home! That's just to set the scene... To get the ball rolling, fans of the capital club were treated to a novel starting XI, with summer arrival Willian Pacho making his competitive debut and 16-year-old academy graduate Ibrahim Mbaye starting for the first time in Ligue 1.
So started Luis Enrique's second campaign on the Paris Saint-Germain bench! And it didn't take long to see that the Spanish coach has maintained all his principles. After a superb team move from the home side, Lee Kang-in was played through on the right by Gonçalo Ramos and unleashed a curling shot into the far corner of the net. It was an express masterpiece in just the third minute! (0-1, 3').
The Parisians went close to making the break mid-way through the half, but Randal Kolo Muani's powerful came back off the crossbar (24'). Shortly afterwards, the home side thought they had rewarded their fans with an equaliser, but Toure's strike was ruled out for off-side (27') and they had to wait until the start of the second half for Gautier Lloris to equalise with a free-kick from the edge of the area (1-1, 48'). This leveller saw the game open up, and Kolo Muani duly carved out a chance (52') before Casimir's strike was ruled out at the other end of the pitch (53') and Lee Kang-in produced another dangerous cross (61').
The chances were piling up, but Les Rouge et Bleu were in complete control - and Luis Enrique had not yet said his last word! The coach decided to turn to the energy of Joao Neves, with Dembélé and Barcola up front - and Marquinhos in defence - to wear down the Le Havre players in the second half. It was a coaching decision that only served to increase the suffocating pressure on the Normandy side's goal in the final quarter of an hour. All that was missing was a touch of good fortune to make the most of this dominant phase...
And Ousmane Dembélé made his timing count - in every sense of the word - as he leapt highest to head in a perfect finish with five minutes to go (1-2, 85'). Then, Bradley Barcola's splendid individual effort (1-3, 86') effectively killed off the match. Joao Neves was involved in both goals, duly notching the first assist of his Parisian odyssey. Bradley was unstoppable, and conjured a superb pass to set up Randal Kolo Muani, who won and converted a penalty to round out the scoring (1-4, 89').
Dominant and driven, this well-oiled Paris Saint-Germain side sent out an imposing message to all their rivals in this new 2024-25 season, delivering an accomplished performance to notch a first win of the campaign! A job well done for our Rouge et Bleu, who will be back in front of their home fans at the Parc des Princes next Friday against Montpellier (20:45).