Paris Saint-Germain have successfully returned to school. The Parisian club did not need Kylian Mbappé, absent due to suspension, to easily dominate FC Nantes during the Champions Trophy, Sunday July 31, in Tel Aviv, Israel. This meeting, which the Professional Football League regularly exports (Canada, Tunisia, Morocco, United States, Gabon, China, etc.), pits the reigning French champion – the Parisians – against the winner of the last Coupe de France – the Canaries – at the start of each new season.
Arrived this summer in Paris to succeed the Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino, Christophe Galtier takes his revenge on the FC Nantes of Antoine Kombouaré. On the bench of OGC Nice in 2021-2022, the coach lost the final of the Coupe de France against the Canaries (0-1) on May 7. By largely winning the Champions Trophy, the new Parisian coach launched his season and that of the club perfectly.
On paper, the meeting seemed unbalanced and turned out to be so in the game. With new recruits (Moussa Sissoko, Evan Guessand) but deprived of his appointed center-forward from the previous exercise (Randal Kolo Muani, left for the ‘Eintracht Frankfurt), FC Nantes could only resist the Parisian onslaught for about twenty minutes. The Canaries defense first gave in on a delicious dribble from Lionel Messi, which the Argentinian concluded with a point-blank shot against Alban Lafont. Shortly before the break, it was Neymar who hit the nail on the head, scoring a sublime direct free kick from the edge of the Nantes area (45e + 5).
Hakimi suffered whistles
Coming out of the locker room, PSG did not relax their effort. Sergio Ramos, with a heel, came to triple the bet for the Parisians, well served by Pablo Sarabia (57e). Finally, Neymar won a double (82e), scoring the capital club’s fourth goal from the penalty spot. A result worthy of the performance of Christophe Galtier’s men, who outclassed Nantes. Paris Saint-Germain thus won its eleventh Champions Trophy, enough to establish its domination of this competition (Olympique Lyonnais has eight).
As for the new Parisian recruits, the Portuguese midfielder Vitinha (bought from FC Porto) was attractive in the first period, while the French defender Nordi Mukiele (recruited from RB Leipzig) came into play at the end of the match when the fate of the match was already sealed.
At Bloomfield Stadium, PSG Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi, who has taken a social media stance in favor of Palestine, was whistled by the Tel Aviv crowd every time he touched the ball. Last season, during this match between the champion of France and the winner of the Coupe de France, already relocated to Tel Aviv, the Moroccan international had also been booed. In 2021, Lille beat PSG (1-0).
In a week, the French championship resumes its rights. Saturday August 6, PSG will put their title back into play during a trip to Clermont. The next day, FC Nantes will play in Angers.