Paris St Germain’s 3-1 win at Lille in Ligue 1 on Sunday was a good test ahead the Champions League, coach Luis Enrique said, as their opponents will also feature in Europe’s elite club competition starting later this month.
Goals from Vitinha, Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani earned French champions PSG their third win in three league games this season against feisty Lille. However, they are already looking ahead to their Champions League opener on September 18 against Spanish side Girona.
Lille face Portugal’s Sporting a day earlier in their first Champions League game since the 2021-22 season as they secured their spot in the competition through last month’s playoffs.
“It was an away game against a team who play in the Champions League, who already played several games and have a very different rhythm to us,” Enrique told reporters. “It was a very good test for us, it was a Champions League match for us. I’m pretty happy with the team’s performance.”
PSG and Lille are among the clubs preparing for a revamped Champions League format extended to 36 teams playing eight fixtures in the first round or league phase. Enrique’s side will have another test in Ligue 1 after the international break when they host Brest, also playing in the Champions League, four days before they begin their quest for a long-awaited maiden European title.
“There’s the match against Brest after the break and that will have nothing to do with the Champions League and its new format. I can’t know what that will be like,” the Spanish manager said. “My team is showing signs of confidence but we still lack physical rhythm in several of our players. The Champions League is very different and full of new things.”
PSG’s win on Sunday took them two points clear at the top of Ligue 1. Vitinha put PSG ahead on a stiflingly hot night in northern France with a penalty and Bradley Barcola doubled their lead.
Edon Zhegrova pulled one back in the second half to give the home side hope at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, but Randal Kolo Muani’s stoppage-time header wrapped up the win for the defending French champions.
Luis Enrique’s side appear to be coping just fine since the departure of their all-time leading scorer Kylian Mbappe, with PSG having won all three games so far this season, scoring 13 goals in the process.
They head into the September international break with a two-point lead at the top of the table from Marseille, Nantes, Monaco and Lens, and on this form it will take something special to knock them off the summit.
Meanwhile, Lille coach Bruno Genesio was left to regret the decision to deny his side a late equaliser, when Tiago Santos scored but the goal was disallowed by VAR for an extremely tight offside.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani (right) celebrates with Desire Doue after scoring against Lille during the French Ligue 1 match at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, northern France. (AFP)