Neymar scores, Donnarumma saves penalty in PSG win
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Neymar scored his 10th goal of the season but a lethargic Paris Saint-Germain needed a second-half penalty from Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure a 1-0 win against Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
The result takes PSG back to the top of the table and maintains their unbeaten start to the campaign under new coach Christophe Galtier.
PSG are two points clear of Lens, who won 1-0 against Troyes on Friday, but Marseille can return to level with the champions if they win at home to Lille later on Saturday.
Despite the result, it was PSG's least convincing performance this season so far, against a Brest side who lost 7-0 just two weeks ago at home to in Montpellier.
Galtier may feel he should have made more changes to his starting line-up, with this game coming between their midweek 2-1 Champions League win over Juventus and a long trip to Israel to face Maccabi Haifa this Wednesday.< /p>
"It's always difficult to play after a Champions League game. So much energy is invested in these games, physically and mentally," Galtier told the Amazon Prime broadcaster.
"I wouldn't say we were trying to play to ourselves, but maybe there wasn't the same desire to put in the effort that we've seen so far this season."
p>Nuno Mendes and captain Marquinhos were the only PSG players who started against Juventus to be rested, with Juan Bernat and Danilo Pereira coming on.
Galtier resisted the temptation to put one of his three superstars to rest, saying beforehand that he had thought about leaving out Lionel Messi, but realized that the Argentine " didn't need to breathe".
"I wanted to start our strongest attack to put the game to bed early and make substitutions earlier," he explained.
Summer signings Nordi Mukiele and Carlos Soler spent the afternoon on the bench, while Spain international Fabian Ruiz made his debut as a second-half substitute.
There was a lucky escape for Brest in the first half as defender Christophe Herelle was sent off for bringing down Neymar as the Brazilian advanced on goal.
VAR confirmed Neymar was slightly offside when Messi played the pass, and Herelle was allowed to remain on the pitch.
However, the home side scored on the half-hour and Messi again chose Neymar, who controlled before sending a shot past goalkeeper Marco Bizot and into the far corner.
It was his eighth goal in seven league appearances this season. He also scored twice in the opening Champions Trophy of the campaign against Nantes.
It was also a seventh assist for Messi, who has become a more reliable goal maker than goalscorer since leaving Barcelona.
The Argentinian hit the post with an assist from Kylian Mbappe early in the second half, while the latter was disallowed for offside just before the break.
In the end, PSG were grateful to Donnarumma. The Italian dove to his left 20 minutes from time to avoid Islam Slimani's penalty, awarded following a clumsy foul by Presnel Kimpembe on Noah Fadiga.
AFP
Please share this story:
Neymar scored his 10th goal of the season but a lethargic Paris Saint-Germain needed a second-half penalty from Gianluigi Donnarumma to secure a 1-0 win against Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
The result takes PSG back to the top of the table and maintains their unbeaten start to the campaign under new coach Christophe Galtier.
PSG are two points clear of Lens, who won 1-0 against Troyes on Friday, but Marseille can return to level with the champions if they win at home to Lille later on Saturday.
Despite the result, it was PSG's least convincing performance this season so far, against a Brest side who lost 7-0 just two weeks ago at home to in Montpellier.
Galtier may feel he should have made more changes to his starting line-up, with this game coming between their midweek 2-1 Champions League win over Juventus and a long trip to Israel to face Maccabi Haifa this Wednesday.< /p>
"It's always difficult to play after a Champions League game. So much energy is invested in these games, physically and mentally," Galtier told the Amazon Prime broadcaster.
"I wouldn't say we were trying to play to ourselves, but maybe there wasn't the same desire to put in the effort that we've seen so far this season."
p>Nuno Mendes and captain Marquinhos were the only PSG players who started against Juventus to be rested, with Juan Bernat and Danilo Pereira coming on.
Galtier resisted the temptation to put one of his three superstars to rest, saying beforehand that he had thought about leaving out Lionel Messi, but realized that the Argentine " didn't need to breathe".
"I wanted to start our strongest attack to put the game to bed early and make substitutions earlier," he explained.
Summer signings Nordi Mukiele and Carlos Soler spent the afternoon on the bench, while Spain international Fabian Ruiz made his debut as a second-half substitute.
There was a lucky escape for Brest in the first half as defender Christophe Herelle was sent off for bringing down Neymar as the Brazilian advanced on goal.
VAR confirmed Neymar was slightly offside when Messi played the pass, and Herelle was allowed to remain on the pitch.
However, the home side scored on the half-hour and Messi again chose Neymar, who controlled before sending a shot past goalkeeper Marco Bizot and into the far corner.
It was his eighth goal in seven league appearances this season. He also scored twice in the opening Champions Trophy of the campaign against Nantes.
It was also a seventh assist for Messi, who has become a more reliable goal maker than goalscorer since leaving Barcelona.
The Argentinian hit the post with an assist from Kylian Mbappe early in the second half, while the latter was disallowed for offside just before the break.
In the end, PSG were grateful to Donnarumma. The Italian dove to his left 20 minutes from time to avoid Islam Slimani's penalty, awarded following a clumsy foul by Presnel Kimpembe on Noah Fadiga.
AFP
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