Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were on target Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways in Ligue 1 with a 3-0 win over Toulouse on Wednesday evening.
Ligue 1
Result: Toulouse 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Date: 31 August 2022
Venue: Stadium de Toulouse
PSG made three changes after they were held to a draw by Monaco the last time out, as Nordi Mukiele, Vitinha and Danilo Pereira were recalled while Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar continued to lead the attack.
Toulouse were disorganised in the early stages as Messi had a chance from a rebound in the box but his side-footed shot was parried around the post by goalkeeper Maxime Dupe.
In a game that struggled for rhythm, Parisians goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma almost made a howler on the half-hour mark as he was closed down by Zakaria Aboukhlal trying to play from the back in the six-yard box and his attempted clearance was blocked and ricocheted wide of the gaping goals.
However, the visitors eventually broke the deadlock eight minutes before the half-time break after Neymar latched onto a through ball by Messi and calmly slotted it into the bottom corner. The goal was initially disallowed for offside but the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) over-ruled that decision.
Christopher Galtier's charges were on the front foot coming from the half-time break as Mbappe doubled their lead with a clinical strike in the box after a cut-back by Messi, who made his second assist.
The visitors threatened to kill off the game but Galtier eventually made a double change 22 minutes before time, as Neymar made way for Hugo Ekitike and Marco Verratti was replaced by Renato Sanches, both for fresh legs in attack and midfield respectively.
Toulouse could not carve out any real chances, as PSG continued to dominate and Juan Bernat eventually sealed the deal in the last minute with a tap-in after Mbappe's smashing shot rattled the post and ricocheted off the back side of Dupe and into the path of Bernat.
PSG lead the table by a superior goal difference over Lens and Olympique Marseille, who both have the same number of points as Galtier's men in second and third spot respectively.
Here is where Mbappe ranks among the 10 highest-paid players at PSG:
