The Italy goalkeeper picked up a silly red card, but the 10-man Parisians were bailed out by their main man yet again
Kylian Mbappe played hero for Paris Saint-Germain once again, scoring the first goal of the game as the Ligue 1 leaders crafted a composed defensive performance following the early sending-off of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in Sunday's 2-0 win over Le Havre.
The home side should have found the net early, but a duo of denials — one from Carlos Soler and another from Donnarumma — prevented the home side from finding the net. That was Donnarumma's only positive action, though, as the Italy goalkeeper was given his marching orders for a reckless high boot, leaving the Luis Enrique's side a man down after just 10 minutes.
Despite that, they soon took the lead, and Mbappe provided the crucial moment, dipping inside his man and curling a shot off the inside of the post from the edge of the penalty area. Ousmane Dembele could have made it two in the second half, but saw a shot tickle the outside of the post after beating his man.
At the other end, PSG were more indebted to reserve 'keeper Arnau Tenas than their star striker in the second period. The Barcelona youth product made seven saves, including a fine double-stop, to keep the home side out.
And PSG made Tenas' strong debut worth it, as Vitinha added a crucial second with a deflected strike to give them a four-point lead atop Ligue 1.
GOAL rates PSG's players from Stade Oceane…
Getty ImagesGoalkeeper & Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma (2/10):
Sent off for a beyond stupid high boot. Really poor from Italy's No.1.
Achraf Hakimi (6/10):
Isn't as useful in these more defensive games, but can't be faulted for work rate or one-on-one defending.
Danilo Pereira (8/10):
Half of a makeshift centre-back pairing. Did a job, as usual, with a few vital interventions to keep PSG ahead.
Nordi Mukiele (7/10):
Moved into central defence and was mostly solid. He's in good form at the moment.
Carlos Soler (5/10):
Another weird experiment at full-back. Made one crucial goal-line clearance, before playing the pass that doomed his keeper.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesMidfield
Fabian Ruiz (N/A):
Removed early on with what seemed to be a serious shoulder injury.
Vitinha (7/10):
Not involved much for long stretches in central midfield. He isn't suited to the scrappy, more physical contests like these. More impactful when the Parisians were able to break later on, and bagged a late goal to seal it.
Lee Kang-in (6/10):
Put in a shift, which was valuable after the Parisians went down to 10 men. He's really growing into this side, and looks a good signing.
Getty ImagesAttack
Ousmane Dembele (6/10):
A wonderful piece of set-up play facilitated Mbappe's opener. Grazed the post with an angled effort in the second half.
Kylian Mbappe (8/10):
Scored one wonderful goal, was narrowly offside as he buried a would-be second. Heroic, again.
Bradley Barcola (N/A):
Sacrificed to get back-up goalkeeper Tenas on. Harsh on the youngster.
Getty ImagesSubs & Manager
Manuel Ugarte (6/10):
Replaced the injured Ruiz. Impactful at the base of midfield, helped break up play.
Arnau Tenas (8/10):
Made his PSG debut, coming on for Donnarumma. Tallied seven saves, including a vital double-stop in the 78th minute.
Randal Kolo Muani (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Lucas Hernandez (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Milan Skriniar (N/A):
A few nice tackles
Luis Enrique (6/10):
What a nightmare start! Luis Enrique lost one of his most reliable midfielders in Ruiz, and his world-class goalkeeper. To be fair, the manager made all of the right tactical moves, and his side capitalised on their few chances.