Paris share the points with Saint-Étienne

It was with an encounter between two giants of French football that Mauricio Pochettino, the new Paris Saint-Germain coach, began a new chapter in the club's history. Without several key senior members of his squad, the Argentine coach opted to start with a system revolving around Marco Verratti in midfield, feeding Kylian Mbappé, Angel Di Maria and Moise Kean.

In a paradoxically frozen cauldron, the start of the match quickly showed a glimpse of the new coach's approach. Above and beyond formations and the names listed on the team sheet, the coach expected his Parisiens to work hard with real commitment, against a compact defence that gave away very few chances but constantly looked to attack quickly.

And although Moise Kean (10') then Marquinhos (12') created the first real chances of the match, it was in fact Saint-Etienne that opened the scoring, when Hamouma made the most of a ball recovered high up the pitch (1-0, 19'). But it didn't take long for a reaction to come from the visitors! Less than three minutes later, a smart team move started by Kylian Mbappé and Marco Verratti allowed Moise Kean to beat Jessy Moulin (1-1 22').

From then on, two very clear game plans formed: the men from the capital looked to take control of the game, while Les Stéphanois looked to surprise the Paris defence on the counter-attack. Just before the break, Keylor Navas had to deal with an impressive strike from Mathieu Debuchy (43'). Against a stubborn Les Verts side in the second half, Mauricio Pochettino decided to make a couple of changes, both to personnel and system. Under pressure, Les Parisiens were once again saved by their goalkeeper (64') before the woodwork came to the rescue (69').

At the other end of the pitch, the Paris Saint-Germain forwards never gave up, making the most of the final 20 minutes to really trouble their opponents. Kean (71'), Mbappé (74'), Di Maria (76') and even Sarabia in the final seconds of the match (93') all came close, but none of the chances were converted.

Paris Saint-Germain head back to the capital with a draw from this first match of the year, which also marked a first for Mauricio Pochettino on the bench. An informative start for the Argentine and his team, as they now switch their focus to the challenges that lie ahead.