Three weeks after their stunning victory away to Barcelona (2-1), Paris Saint-Germain returned to Champions League action in their Matchday 3 clash on Tuesday evening. They travelled to Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen, runners-up in the German league and quarter-finalists in the Champions League last season.
In the heated atmosphere of the BayArena, Les Rouge et Bleu immediately took control of the game against a German side determined to defend high up the pitch. However, it was from a set piece that Paris struck first: from the right, Nuno Mendes sent in a left-footed corner-kick that Willian Pacho met with a perfectly placed header (0-1, 7'). It was the Ecuadorian's first goal for the club, and it set the tone as our Parisians got off to an ideal start.
Luis Enrique's men won more possession and more challenges than their German counterparts, who struggled to respond to the early opener. But the German crowd was not discouraged - quite the contrary. They pushed their team forward, and the pressure paid off just before the half-hour mark when a penalty was awarded for a handball by the Parisian defence. Lucas Chevalier dived the right way, but in the end it was the post that turned Alejandro Grimaldo's effort away (25'). It was going to take more than that to get back on level terms, as Ernest Poku found out soon afterwards (30').
With their fans still in full voice, Leverkusen finally found the resources to mix it with Luis Enrique's men. That was until German captain Robert Andrich committed a baffling foul, deliberately elbowing Désiré Doué in the face and duly receiving his marching orders (33'). It looked like a whole new game was about to begin, but Paris were themselves reduced to ten men just moments later when Illia Zabarnyi was severely punished with a red card and a penalty.
This time, it was Aleix García who stepped up to the spot, and the Spanish international made no mistake as he brought the two teams level (1-1, 38'). But the Pairisan juggernaut was on a mission, and the only way was forward; Les Rouge et Bleu immediately went back on the attack and, after a superb team move, Désiré Doué conjured a right-footed finish from inside the box to put Paris back in front (1-2, 41').
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who provided the assist for the goal, turned finisher a few minutes later. After a fortunate rebound in the area, he unleashed an unstoppable first-time shot that cannoned off both posts before ending up in the back of a stunned Mark Flekken's net (1-3, 44'). The Parisians were clinical and wanted more. So much so that Désiré Doué, picked out by Achraf Hakimi on the edge of the area, completed his brace with a delightful curling shot from 20 metres (1-4, 45'+3)!
It would have been reasonable to expect the start of the second half to be less eventful, but that was not the case. Thanks to some remarkable work by Vitinha in the middle of the German defence, Nuno Mendes ran onto a superb through-ball in the opposition box and finished clinically with his left foot (1-5, 50'). Aleix García made sure it wasn't all one-way traffic as he found the top corner with a powerful laser-guided effort from outside the box (2-5, 54'), but his team continued to suffer under the collective pressure imposed by the Parisians.
Paris streaked even further ahead when Ousmane Dembélé, on his return from injury, found the net from close range despite a tight angle (2-6, 66'). The French international celebrated his 100th appearance in a Paris shirt in the best possible way, adding to his side's impressive tally. The win was rounded off in the dying moments by Vitinha, whose sudden shot left the opposition goalkeeper rooted to the spot (2-7, 90').
Buoyed by this resounding victory in Germany, Paris Saint-Germain moved provisionally to the top of the league table, with a third win in as many European matches this season. Luis Enrique and his men now return to league action, looking to make it a perfect week as they travel to Brittany to face Brest on Saturday (17:00).
