Paris Saint-Germain kicked off their post-Kylian Mbappé era with a 4-1 victory over Le Havre in their Ligue 1 opener on Friday.
Despite the scoreline, PSG’s performance was less convincing, with their final three goals arriving in the last five minutes.
The Parisian club has ruled French soccer, winning 10 league titles in the past 12 seasons, but it is rebuilding following Mbappé’s move to Real Madrid this summer.
With one of the youngest squads in the league this season, they’re counting on the new generation to fill the gap left by Mbappé.
“It wasn’t easy at all,” PSG boss Luis Enrique told reporters about the win. “Maybe we started too calmly. We scored a goal very quickly, and that relaxed us a bit too much.”
On Friday, they began the match with 16-year-old homegrown talent Ibrahim Mbaye on the left wing and quickly took the lead, scoring within three minutes through 23-year-old South Korean forward Lee Kang-in.
PSG took a hit when Gonçalo Ramos was injured in a challenge and had to be substituted by Randal Kolo Muani in the 20th minute.
“I’m not a doctor, but I think it looks like a serious injury. I don’t know how many weeks he will be out,” Luis Enrique said.
Kolo Muani nearly made an instant impact, hitting the bar after 25 minutes, but when the next goal came, it was scored by the opposition.
PSG Fill Kylian Mbappé’s Spot with 16-Year-Old Prodigy
Lee Kang-in put PSG ahead within three minutes in Normandy, but Gautier Lloris equalized. However, late goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, and a Randal Kolo Muani penalty secured the win for the reigning French champions.
Ultimately, it was a decisive win for Luis Enrique’s team, with the substitutes proving pivotal. PSG’s depth of talent overwhelmed a team that narrowly escaped relegation last season.
“It is the first game back, and it’s a very good start,” said PSG’s Spanish coach.
French internationals Kolo Muani, Dembélé, and Barcola started the game on the bench. Meanwhile, Portugal midfielder João Neves debuted at halftime after joining from Benfica for a potential fee of 69.9 million euros ($76.7 million) with bonuses.
Le Havre will be left to ponder what could have been if a Josué Casimir goal, which would have given them the lead early in the second half, hadn’t been disallowed by VAR for a handball.
“We had highs and lows, but the substitutes did a lot of good for us,” added Luis Enrique.
“The final score disguises the fact that there are things to improve upon. We gave away lots of easy balls, and had we gone 2-1 down, that might have changed everything.”
PSG hasn’t brought in any big-name players to replace Mbappé, who left for Madrid in June. Mbappé scored 44 goals last season and set a club record with 256 goals over his seven years at PSG.
It remains to be seen if Luis Enrique’s team can replicate its success last season when it won all domestic titles and reached the Champions League semi-finals.
The Spanish coach missed several regulars for this match: left-back Nuno Mendes was suspended, and Fabián Ruiz was not yet fit to return after assisting Spain in winning Euro 2024.
Late Goals
Ibrahim Mbaye, just 16 years old, debuted on the left wing. He was one of three teenagers in PSG’s starting lineup, alongside 18-year-olds Yoram Zague and Warren Zaire-Emery.
South Korea’s Lee opened the scoring by receiving a pass from Gonçalo Ramos on the right wing and firing a shot into the far corner, aided by a deflection.
However, the visitors suffered a setback when Ramos was forced off with an ankle injury. His replacement, Kolo Muani, then saw a header hit the bar.
In their first game under new coach Didier Digard, Le Havre grew stronger as the match progressed. Just before the half-hour mark, Abdoulaye Touré had a goal disallowed for offside.
They leveled the score three minutes into the second half when Lloris, brother of former France captain Hugo, scored from a Christopher Operi free-kick.
The hosts believed they had taken the lead in the 53rd minute when captain Casimir scored, but VAR disallowed the goal after a lengthy review for a handball.
Lee hit the crossbar, but Dembele, who was brought on for the final 20 minutes, restored PSG’s lead in the 85th minute with a header from a Neves cross.
Barcola scored a brilliant third goal a minute later, and Kolo Muani secured the visitors’ win at Stade Océane by winning and converting a late penalty.
Monaco, last season’s runners-up, will play Saint-Étienne on Saturday. Roberto De Zerbi’s first game with Marseille will be against Brest, who finished third last season.
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