PSG gets Ligue 1 title defense off to winning start

NANTES, France — Paris Saint-Germain got its defense of the Ligue 1 title off to a winning start on Sunday as Vitinha's deflected strike proved enough to earn the European champion a 1-0 victory away to Nantes.

The Portuguese midfielder's effort midway through the second half beat goalkeeper Anthony Lopes with the aid of a wicked deflection off Nantes defender Chidozie Awaziem to break the deadlock.

PSG was made to work hard for its victory, as coach Luis Enrique made seven changes to his starting lineup following the UEFA Super Cup win on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek.

That was the first game of the new campaign for last season's Champions League winner, which only began preseason training on Aug 6, having gone all the way to the Club World Cup final in the United States in mid-July.

It did not play any friendly matches prior to the Super Cup, and is therefore likely to require several weeks before getting close to the level at which it performed last season.

However, it still had enough against a hard-working, but punchless, Nantes side, playing a first competitive match under new Portuguese coach Luis Castro.

"I am very happy, because the first objective in these matches is the victory, and I think we deserved the three points," Enrique said.

"We were in control throughout, playing away from home. In the first half, we didn't create much, but that is normal, because it is difficult against a team defending so deep."

Asked about his team's lack of preparation for the start of the new season, the Spanish coach added: "Today we saw that our players are ready and wanted to show the level they can perform at.

"They all need time, which I think is normal, but we will look more comfortable with the ball once we have a few more games under our belts."

Ukraine defender Illia Zabarnyi played 90 minutes on his PSG debut after arriving at the start of the week from Bournemouth in a reported 66 million-euro ($76.7m) deal.

Lucas Chevalier also started, with the new arrival from Lille having immediately taken over from Gianluigi Donnarumma as PSG's firstchoice goalkeeper.

"The physical and technical abilities of Zabarnyi are perfect for the style of football I like," Enrique said.

"He is comfortable on the ball, which is important for us, and without the ball he usually wins his duels. I think he played very well."

Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia all started the game on the bench, but the substitutes played a part in the goal which came on 67 minutes.

Dembele played a corner from the PSG left short to Mendes and his square pass was controlled by Vitinha, before the playmaker fired in.

"At the moment, with the physical condition of the team, it is important to have players who can come on towards the end of games in an optimal condition," said Enrique.

"That happened in the last game against Tottenham, too," he added.

Goncalo Ramos, who hit the bar in the first half, had an effort disallowed for offside late on, before Bradley Barcola clipped a shot just wide, but one goal proved enough.

PSG's next game will be at home to Angers on Friday evening.

Elsewhere on Sunday, France's 2018 World Cup-winning striker Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for Lille in its 3-3 draw at Brest.

"It is a real pleasure to be back in Ligue 1," said Giroud, who left Montpellier after helping it win the title in 2012 and has spent the last 13 years abroad featuring for Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan and, most recently, Los Angeles FC.

Angers beat newly-promoted Paris FC 1-0 with Esteban Lepaul scoring the only goal early on, and the host holding on despite playing most of the second half with only 10 men.

Strasbourg was a 1-0 winner at Metz thanks to a late strike by Argentine summer signing Joaquin Panichelli.

Auxerre beat Lorient 1-0, and Monaco jumped to the top of the league thanks to a 3-1 win over Le Havre on Saturday.

AFP