On the artistic side, the Parisians will be back. But on Wednesday 18 September, Ousmane Dembélé and his teammates had the merit of opening their 2024-2025 Champions League campaign with a victory, beating Girona (1-0) at the Parc des Princes. After a weak first half, Luis Enrique’s men continued to attack, trying their chances a lot (26 shots), but for a long time they came up against the Spanish defence and their own inaccuracy.
Ultimately, Nuno Mendes was to blame. Discreet for most of the match, the Portuguese full-back decided to take the initiative and provoked a multi-clan billiard play by sliding a cross into the area, which passed between the legs of goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga (90).my).
to remember
- The cador. Paulo Gazzaniga, at least for 89 minutes.
The Girona goalkeeper worked hard against the numerous Parisian attacks, saving his team on multiple occasions. A great match, until his legs gave out as added time approached (90my), letting the ball accidentally slip between them. That football can be cruel, sometimes.
1-0.90my : Nuno Mendes plays Arnau Martinez and crosses into the centre. But his ball is blocked with the tip of Alejandro Francés’ foot and passes between the legs of Paulo Gazzaniga, who follows the trajectory.
Or the number of shots attempted by Paris Saint-Germain, when it was enough to get through. In comparison, for their historic debut in the Champions League, Girona only had three attempts.
“It’s not a failed game, we won it.” There’s no big smile on Warren Zaire-Emery’s face as he speaks to Canal+, but the young Parisian knows his club have done their job, even if it hasn’t always been pretty.
A forgettable first period, followed by a slow awakening for Luis Enrique’s men. On our scale of evaluation (which goes from A to E), this match of the first day of the Champions League is saved from the “E” only by the rain of chances during the most important moment of the second half.
