Paris Saint-Germain successfully passed their toughest test of the season so far, securing a 3-1 victory away at fellow Champions League contenders Lille on Sunday, maintaining their perfect Ligue 1 record since Kylian Mbappe's departure.
Vitinha opened the scoring on a scorching evening in northern France with a penalty after Ousmane Dembele was fouled in the box. The in-form French winger Bradley Barcola quickly doubled PSG's lead, making it difficult for Lille, who were coming off a challenging play-off tie against Slavia Prague that secured their spot in the Champions League group stage.
Lille fought back in the second half with an excellent goal from Edon Zhegrova, but they were denied a late equalizer when Tiago Santos' goal was disallowed due to a close offside call. PSG sealed the win in stoppage time when Randal Kolo Muani headed in a cross from new signing Desire Doue.
Did you read this?
Luis Enrique's PSG side is the only team with maximum points after three games in Ligue 1, having already scored 13 goals, suggesting that Mbappe's departure may not be as catastrophic as some feared.
PSG will kick off their Champions League campaign in mid-September at home against Girona and will also face Arsenal and Manchester City in the group stage. Meanwhile, Lille can look forward to hosting Mbappe's Real Madrid and Juventus in the coming weeks, but first, they will travel to Lisbon to play Sporting.
The Parisians currently lead Ligue 1 by two points, ahead of a group of teams including Marseille, Nantes, Lens, and Monaco, all on seven points after three matches. Marseille won 3-1 at Toulouse on Saturday with Mason Greenwood scoring twice, while Nantes achieved the same result away at Montpellier. Monaco and Lens drew 1-1 on Sunday, with Przemyslaw Frankowski scoring a stoppage-time penalty to earn a point for the visitors.
