Joao Neves scored a stunning hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain maintained their perfect start to the French Ligue 1 season in spectacular fashion on Saturday, winning 6-3 away to Toulouse.
Ousmane Dembele netted two penalties and Bradley Barcola was also on target for PSG, while Charlie Cresswell, Yann Gboho and Alexis Vossah all scored for the home side, who also missed a spot-kick.The win for Luis Enrique’s side follows successive 1-0 victories in their opening two domestic outings of the campaign, away to Nantes and at home to Angers.
Despite having just one week’s pre-season training off the back of their run to the Club World Cup final in the United States in July and a short break, PSG have already won the UEFA Super Cup this season and are clear at the top of Ligue 1.
They lead with the maximum nine points and are two ahead of Lille, who won in even more prolific fashion on Saturday, 7-1 away at Lorient.“It’s more a result you’d expect in a pre-season game than in a normal match, but we are happy,” said Luis Enrique of his team’s result.
Neves, the 20-year-old Portugal midfielder who scored three goals in the whole of last season in Ligue 1, got the early breakthrough at Le Stadium in Toulouse when he controlled the ball on his chest before sending an overhead kick arrowing into the top corner from close range.
His second goal arrived before the quarter-hour mark and was even better, another ball controlled on the chest and another overhead kick, this time from further out and into the opposite corner of the net.
That made it 3-0, with Barcola finding the net in between. Dembele’s first penalty made it four just after the half-hour, before Cresswell got one back and Cristian Casseres failed to convert a spot-kick for the hosts in first-half stoppage time.
Dembele, who is the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or next month, got his second penalty to make it 5-1 soon after the interval.
The France star came off hurt before Neves — who was sent off in PSG’s defeat by Chelsea in the Club World Cup final — completed his hat-trick for PSG’s sixth goal.
Gboho and Vossah scored late on to make the scoreline more respectable for Toulouse, who suffered a first loss after beginning the campaign with two straight wins.
PSG’s next game will be at home to Lens in a fortnight, after the upcoming international break and just before they begin their defence of the Champions League title at home to Atalanta on September 17.
– Igamane double as Lille hit seven –
Elsewhere, Moroccan striker Hamza Igamane scored twice on his Lille debut as they shrugged off the absence of the injured Olivier Giroud to humiliate Lorient.
Igamane, 22, signed for Lille on Friday from Rangers for a reported 10 million euros ($11.7m) and wasted no time making an impact for his new club.
Scorer of 16 goals for Rangers last season, Igamane came off the bench at half-time in Brittany and saw Romain Perraud and Matias Fernandez-Pardo score to put Lille in control at 2-0.
Aiyegun Tosin pulled one back for newly-promoted Lorient just after Sambou Soumano had missed a penalty for the hosts, but Lille ran away with the game in remarkable fashion in the closing stages.
Fernandez-Pardo’s second of the day made it 3-1 on 77 minutes, before Igamane got his first and Hakon Haraldsson scored the team’s fifth.Igamane’s second came in stoppage time and there was still time for Osame Sahraoui to make it 7-1.
Veteran former France striker Giroud had scored Lille’s winner last weekend against Monaco but did not make the trip to Lorient due to a fitness issue.
Nantes beat Auxerre 1-0 in Saturday’s other match thanks to an early goal by Egyptian striker Mostafa Mohamed.
Sunday’s action will include Marseille travelling to Lyon, who are set to sell key Georgian striker Georges Mikautadze to Villarreal amid ongoing financial difficulties.
AFP
