Champions Paris Saint-Germain were reduced to ten men in their season opener at Lille on Friday when midfielder Adrien Rabiot was sent off after a second yellow card.
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With Angel Di Maria watching from the stands at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lucas Moura took an early opportunity to prove to Blanc why he should not be the player who has to make way for the Argentina worldwide once he is fit and ready to feature.
But Lille never looked likely to cause them too many problems and the visitors scored the decisive goal 12 minutes into the second half when Lucas Moura finished off a flowing team move to earn PSG their first opening-day win in five years.
That was as good as it good with regards to chances, as the sides went into the halftime break with the score level at 0-0. “The first card seemed harsh because he took the ball”. But perhaps it was that which galvanised us.
Lucas will hope he can catch Dunga’s eye tonight when PSG play Lille in their Ligue 1 game of the season.
PSG’s victory was their first opening-day win since 2010, when they beat St Etienne 3-1.
After Rabiot’s explusion, Lille’s Eric Bauthéac stepped up but failed to convert the resulting free kick which David Luiz and Trapp managed to contain.
“We should have been more aggressive in the duels”.
Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Digne, following comments from the player’s agent that he requires more game time this season.
“I am very happy”, he said.
The rest of the league must live with the financial reality of modern football, which means even Marseille can not compete with sides from the bottom end of the Premier League who are dripping in the riches of England’s television deal. Some of the Italian’s passing was already at its impeccable best, with the pint-sized midfielder regularly finding the marauding Aurier on the right with some inch-perfect clipped passes.
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Last season’s runner-up Lyon hosts Lorient on Sunday while Monaco travels to Nice on Saturday.
