In truth, the Ligue 1 leaders were approaching their return from the final international break of the year with an eye and a half on their midweek trip to Munich. Paris Saint-Germain’s startling eleven to take on an in-form Toulouse – who had won their last three league games – notably featured an injury-diminished defence, which included Milan Škriniar, Yoram Zague, and Lucas Beraldo’s return to a central role. A post-international break misstep was not to be ruled out.
There was, in any case, a chance for Luis Enrique’s men to restore their six-point advantage on Monaco at the top of the table, with the Principality outfit having beaten fellow Champions League contenders Brest earlier in the evening.
Friday night’s fixture was played out at a predictably torpid pace, with PSG scarcely converting their dominance in possession into clear-cut chances. It was no coincidence, then, that the opener eventually came from a long-range effort – with João Neves, on the edge of the box, continuing his excellent start to the campaign by volleying in Achraf Hakimi’s cross from the right.
The hosts seemed to rediscover their clinical edge in the second half, with Warren Zaïre-Emery bundling home from close range into an open net ten minutes after the restart – although the goal was eventually ruled out after Marco Asensio was found offside in the build-up.
From then on, the dynamic of the match largely followed that of the first half, with PSG’s languid possession only punctuated by a handful of Toulouse counter-attacks. The league leaders were nevertheless out of sight five minutes from time, as Lucas Beraldo hammered home from close range after the Occitans failed to clear another Hakimi cross. Substitutes Randal Kolo Muani and Vitinha then combined in stoppage time to add to the scoreline, with the Portuguese midfielder beating the defender with a feint before sending an emphatic shot under Restes’ bar.
The fact that none of PSG’s starting front four were even involved in any of the goals will be cause for concern – even if Gonçalo Ramos’ imminent return from injury does partly alleviate those worries. Luis Enrique’s men will ostensibly be without the striker for next week’s all-important Champions League clash in Bavaria, though – will one off the team’s makeshift false nines be able to step up?
PSG player ratings
Matvey Safonov, 6
Achraf Hakimi, 6
Milan Škriniar, 6
Lucas Beraldo, 7
Yoram Zague, 4 – The 18-year-old was making his first start since Matchday 1, replacing the injured Nuno Mendes for the evening. He had little involvement, but made a couple of interceptions all the while also missing several tackles. Replaced by Vitinha at the break, with Neves slotting in at left-back.
Warren Zaïre-Emery, 6 – One of the Frenchman’s more complete performances this season – the highlight being a sprint back to deny Aboukhlal a one-on-one chance against Safonov (although this was immediately followed by a misplaced pass that gave Sabicka a chance to score).
João Neves, 8 – Paris Saint-Germain’s player the season so far continues to stand out. Scored a volley from the edge of the box in the first half – one of tonight’s few highlights – before turning in an admirable shift at left-back in the second.
Désiré Doué, 3 – Little impact in the hour that he played, save for a blocked shot from outside of the area and a contribution to the build-up for Zaïre-Emery’s disallowed goal. The 19-year-old was deployed in a more central playmaker role, but was largely unable to break down the Toulouse defence, and lost the ball too often to combine meaningfully with the front three. Replaced by Kang-in Lee for the final half-hour of the match.
Ousmane Dembélé, 4
Marco Asensio, 3
Bradley Barcola, 4
Toulouse selected player ratings
Guillaume Restes, 6 – The 19-year-old shot-stopper did well to keep the score down, making five saves across the match – the two late goals rendering the scoreline an unfair reflection of his efforts.
Yann Gboho, 4
Joshua King, 3
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the Parc des Princes