PLAYER RATINGS | PSG 2-0 Borussia Dortmund: Winning start in Europe for Luis Enrique

Having lost their first game of the campaign when Nice came to visit on Friday, PSG were looking to stave off a potential early-season crisis in the biggest game of the Luis Enrique era so far. A match-up against Borussia Dortmund, themselves also in middling form domestically, would be the first in what shaped up to be a potentially precarious Champions League group stage campaign.

The hosts would dominate possession in the first half, although cleaar-cut chances were mostly lacking to start with. Some neat combinations involving Vitinha, Mbappé, and a dazzling Zaïre-Emery would form the basis of most of PSG’s forays forward – they were mostly untroubled by the Bundesliga outfit, who were kept at bay by a characteristically dogged Ugarte and a resurgent Marquinhos.

A flurry of chances before the end of first 45 minutes would show a more incisive side to PSG’s attacks – one that was largely absent against Les Aiglons. A penalty claim for a Niklas Süle handball would almost hand the Parisians their clearest chance, but the claim was dismissed after a VAR check. By half-time, Luis Enrique’s men had nothing to show for their dominance.

That would change instantly after the break, as this time Süle was indeed penalised for a penalty in the box, and Kylian Mbappé duly dispatched the spot-kick to give the hosts the lead. 

Vitinha was again at the heart of the action for PSG’s second goal, but it was Achraf Hakimi who took centre stage – the right-back combining with the Portuguese midfielder before continuing his run into the box, beating Mats Hummels with a feint, and finishing with the outside of his boot. It will have taken just under an hour for one of the Ligue 1 champions’ elaborate moves to pay off – but on the basis of