August 17, (THEWILL) – Paris Saint-Germain kicked off their Ligue 1 title defense with a convincing 4-1 victory against Le Havre on Friday. The match marked PSG’s first competitive game since Kylian Mbappé’s move to Real Madrid.
Despite initial resistance from Le Havre, PSG’s depth proved decisive, with substitutes making significant impacts in the latter stages of the game. Lee Kang-in opened the scoring early for PSG, but Gautier Lloris equalized for Le Havre shortly after half-time.
The turning point came when a potential Le Havre goal was disallowed by VAR due to a handball. PSG capitalized on this reprieve, with late goals from Ousmane Dembélé, Bradley Barcola, and Randal Kolo Muani sealing the win.
The match also saw the debut of new signing João Neves, who joined from Benfica for a potential fee of up to €69.9 million. Still, the victory comes amidst questions about PSG’s ability to maintain their dominance without Mbappé, who departed for Madrid after scoring 44 goals last season and 256 in total for the club.
Luis Enrique fielded a youthful lineup, including 16-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye and 18-year-olds Yoram Zague and Warren Zaire-Emery. The 2024/2025 Ligue 1 season promises to be intriguing as teams adapt to new challenges and seek to challenge PSG’s dominance in the post-Mbappé era.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
