KHVICHA Kvaratskhelia scored a spectacular goal as Paris Saint-Germain launched their Champions League title defence with a commanding 4-0 victory over Atalanta at the Parc des Princes.
Marquinhos opened the scoring within three minutes as PSG made a blistering start in front of their home supporters.
Kvaratskhelia burst through to thunder home a second goal before half-time to extend the champions’ advantage.
Nuno Mendes added another goal early in the second half to effectively seal the result for the French side.
Substitute Goncalo Ramos completed the comprehensive victory with a late fourth goal during stoppage time.
Bradley Barcola also saw a first-half penalty saved as Luis Enrique’s team proved far too powerful for their Italian opponents.
Atalanta had no answer to the threat posed by the European champions throughout the match.
PSG will now aim to build on this impressive start and avoid the difficulties they encountered last season.
The French champions won just one and lost three of their first five games during last season’s league phase.
“We played really well and deserved the victory, but we have no set objective because our fixtures are the hardest of any team,“ insisted the coach.
PSG overcame their poor start last season to qualify for the knockout rounds and eventually win the title.
Their prospects of retaining the trophy have been questioned due to early-season injuries exposing squad limitations.
Action-packed midfielder Joao Neves had to be substituted in the second half after appearing to complain about a painful left hamstring.
“We will have to wait to see what the doctors say,“ admitted Luis Enrique about the injury concern.
The French club enjoyed minimal off-season break after a demanding previous campaign spanning 65 games over 11 months.
PSG recently lost star forwards Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue for several weeks due to injuries sustained on international duty.
Nineteen-year-old Senny Mayulu therefore started at centre-forward after scoring the final goal in last season’s 5-0 final victory against Inter Milan.
Atalanta arrived in Paris following an unbeaten start to their Serie A campaign but missing key figures from their recent success.
Coach Gian Piero Gasperini departed for Roma after nine years in charge of the Italian club.
Last season’s top scorer Mateo Retegui was sold to Saudi Arabia while African footballer of the year Ademola Lookman has been frozen out following a failed transfer attempt.
PSG took the lead in the third minute when Fabian Ruiz delivered the ball towards the far post for Marquinhos to score his first Champions League goal in four years.
The home side created numerous chances with Nuno Mendes denied by goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi when clean through on goal.
Barcola had another shot saved after meeting Achraf Hakimi’s cutback during PSG’s dominant first-half display.
Hakimi saw his effort turned onto the outside of the post after being set up by a clever Ruiz back-heel.
Atalanta struggled to escape their own half and took almost 20 minutes to register their first shot of the match.
Kvaratskhelia then demonstrated his quality to make it 2-0 in the 39th minute with a magnificent individual effort.
The Georgian controlled the ball on the right with his back to goal before turning inside and bursting to the edge of the box.
Kvaratskhelia unleashed a powerful shot that fizzed past Carnesecchi into the net for PSG’s second goal.
PSG were awarded a penalty just before half-time after a VAR review spotted a foul on Marquinhos.
Barcola’s poorly taken spot-kick was easily saved by the Atalanta goalkeeper but proved inconsequential to the final outcome.
The third goal arrived six minutes into the second half through Mendes’ excellent individual effort.
Mendes ran onto Barcola’s pass before turning inside one defender and holding off another to beat the goalkeeper at his near post.
PSG then suffered concerning news as Neves came off injured before the hour mark ahead of their upcoming trip to Barcelona.
The French champions nevertheless added a fourth goal in stoppage time through Ramos’ alert finish.
Ramos pounced on a short back-pass by Raoul Bellanova to complete the comprehensive victory.
“PSG play quite honestly at a different level to us,“ admitted Atalanta coach Ivan Juric.
“This showed us what we are lacking if we want to be at the same level as them.” – AFP
