PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said his side had achieved "perfection” after thrashing Montpellier 6-0 on Friday to continue their strong start to life without Kylian Mbappe. Bradley Barcola scored twice while Marco Asensio, Achraf Hakimi, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lee Kang-in were also on target at the Parc des Princes for PSG. The reigning Ligue 1 champions have now found the net 10 times in total while winning their opening two games of the season, suggesting the future is bright without departed star Mbappe.
"It was a perfect night,” Luis Enrique said. "We had 16 stars tonight, all the players who took part. Sixteen stars in attack and in defense, that is perfection, and that is what we are looking for.” PSG’s young team, featuring two teenagers in the starting line-up and a total of eight players aged between 18 and 25, played with verve and style, albeit against limited opposition. There was a first start for 19-year-old Portugal midfielder Joao Neves, a close-season recruit from Benfica for a fee that could eventually reach 69.9 million euros ($78.2m).
Meanwhile Desire Doue, also 19 and a member of the France team that recently won Olympic silver, came on as a second-half substitute for his debut after joining from Rennes for an initial 50 million euros. "I think in two games you can already see the profile of the players we have brought in,” added PSG’s Spanish coach. "They are totally suited to our way of playing and I think they will all bring us a lot.” He continued: "I am enjoying every training session with a very complete and versatile squad and players who are really eager to make history.”
PSG scored three late goals to win 4-1 at Le Havre last week as they began their defense of the title, but their performance here was far more accomplished and suggests they will take some beating as they chase an 11th French title in 13 seasons. That is despite losing their all-time top scorer in Mbappe, but their overwhelming superiority compared to the opposition in Ligue 1 cannot be forgotten. While PSG - backed by their Qatari owners - have spent 175 million euros in the summer transfer window, not including bonuses, on four new players, Montpellier have not signed anyone.
Financial gulf
Handicapped by the collapse in income following the agreement of a new, knockdown domestic broadcast deal, Montpellier will get just seven million euros from television this season, their president Laurent Nicollin told sports daily L’Equipe on Friday. "They were much stronger than us and dominated from beginning to end,” said Montpellier coach Michel Der Zakarian.
The financial gulf makes it practically impossible for Montpellier to compete and they fell behind inside four minutes when Barcola, coming in from the left, scored with a first-time toe-poke finish. The second goal just past the midway point in the first half was a joy, as Barcola played a ball in from the left for Neves and his cushioned lay-off set up Asensio to fire in. The third goal arrived eight minutes into the second half and was of similar quality, Asensio releasing Ousmane Dembele on the right before he raced away and squared for Barcola to tap in.
It was 5-0 by the hour mark, with Nuno Mendes crossing from the left to the far post where Hakimi scored with a sidefoot volley, and Zaire-Emery nutmegging Kiki Kouyate in the box before finishing. Lee, on from the bench after being dropped from the starting line-up, smacked in the sixth from the edge of the area on 82 minutes. It is the second time PSG have scored six goals in a Ligue 1 game since Luis Enrique became coach just over a year ago - the other was in a 6-2 win at Montpellier in March. – AFP