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Paris Saint-Germain began their Ligue 1 title defence with a 4-1 win over Le Havre on Friday, their first competitive game since the talisman’s departure. klian mbappe For Real Madrid.
Lee Kang-in gave PSG the lead inside three minutes in Normandy but Gautier Lloris scored the equaliser in the end zone. ousmane dembelePenalties from Bradley Barcola and Randall Kolo Muani sealed the win for the reigning French champions.
In the end it was a comfortable win for Luis Enrique’s side, with their substitutes ultimately making the difference as PSG’s strength in depth proved too much for a team who somehow escaped relegation last season.
“This is the first match of the comeback and it is a very good start,” PSG’s Spanish coach said.
The French international trio of Kolo Muani, Dembele and Barcola started the game on the bench while Portugal midfielder Joao Neves came on at half-time for his debut after joining from Benfica for a fee that could reach 69.9 million euros ($76.7 million) including bonuses.
Yet Le Havre will wonder what could have been Josue Casimir’s goal – which would have given them the lead early in the second half – was not disallowed by VAR due to handball.
“We had ups and downs, but the substitutes did really well for us,” Luis Enrique said.
“The final score hides the fact that there is still room for improvement. We missed a lot of easy balls and if we had gone 2-1 down it might have changed everything.”
PSG have not signed a major player to fill the huge void left by Mbappe, who moved to Madrid in June after scoring 44 goals last season and a club record 256 goals in his seven years at the club.
It remains to be seen whether Luis Enrique’s side can repeat their performance of last season, when they won all the domestic titles and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The Spanish coach was without several regular players here, with left-back Nuno Mendes suspended while Fabian Ruiz, who helped Spain win Euro 2024, is not yet ready to return.
Late goals
Abraham Mbaye made his debut on the left wing, at just 16, and was one of three teenagers in PSG’s starting line-up, alongside Yoram Zagué and Warren Zaire-Emery, both 18.
South Korea star Lee opened the scoring when he latched on to Goncalo Ramos’ pass on the right wing and deflected his shot into the far corner.
However, the visitors suffered a blow when Ramos was forced to leave the field with an ankle injury and his substitute Kolo Muani’s header hit the bar.
Le Havre, in their first match under the new coach didier digardThe game improved as the game went on and Abdoulaye Toure had a goal disallowed for offside just before the half-hour.
The two teams were level three minutes into the second half when Lloris, brother of former France captain Hugo, converted a Christopher Oprea free-kick.
The hosts thought they had taken the lead in the 53rd minute when captain Casimir ran through on goal but VAR ruled out his effort after a lengthy handball check.
Lee scored before Dembele, who was sent on for the final 20 minutes, gave PSG the lead again with a header from a Neves cross in the 85th minute.
Barcola scored a superb third a minute later and then Kolo Muani won and converted a last-minute penalty to seal victory for the visitors at the Stade Oceane.
Monaco, last season’s runners-up, face Saint-Etienne on Saturday, while roberto De Zerbi’s first match in charge of Marseille will be against Brest, who surprisingly finished third in the previous campaign.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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