Barcola scores twice as ‘perfect’ PSG hit six past Montpellier in Ligue 1 opener

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said his side had achieved “perfection” after thrashing Montpellier 6-0 on Friday to continue their strong start to life without Kylian Mbappe.

Bradley Barcola scored twice while Marco Asensio, Achraf Hakimi, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lee Kang-in were also on target at the Parc des Princes for PSG.

The reigning Ligue 1 champions have now found the net 10 times in total while winning their opening two games of the season, suggesting the future is bright without departed star Mbappe.

PSG’s young team, featuring two teenagers in the starting line-up and a total of eight players aged between 18 and 25, played with verve and style, albeit against limited opposition.

There was a first start for 19-year-old Portugal midfielder Joao Neves, a close-season recruit from Benfica for a fee that could eventually reach 69.9 million euros ($78.2m).

Meanwhile, Desire Doue, also 19 and a member of the France team that recently won Olympic silver, came on as a second-half substitute for his debut after joining from Rennes for an initial 50 million euros.

He continued: “I am enjoying every training session with a very complete and versatile squad and players who are really eager to make history.”

PSG scored three late goals to win 4-1 at Le Havre last week as they began their defence of the title, but their performance here was far more accomplished and suggests they will take some beating as they chase an 11th French title in 13 seasons.

That is despite losing their all-time top scorer in Mbappe, but their overwhelming superiority compared to the opposition in Ligue 1 cannot be forgotten.

While PSG — backed by their Qatari owners — have spent 175 million euros in the summer transfer window, not including bonuses, on four new players, Montpellier have not signed anyone.

Handicapped by the collapse in income following the agreement of a new, knockdown domestic broadcast deal, Montpellier will get just seven million euros from television this season, their president Laurent Nicollin told sports daily L’Equipe on Friday.

The financial gulf makes it practically impossible for Montpellier to compete and they fell behind inside four minutes when Barcola, coming in from the left, scored with a first-time toe-poke finish.

The second goal just past the midway point in the first half was a joy, as Barcola played a ball in from the left for Neves and his cushioned lay-off set up Asensio to fire in.

The third goal arrived eight minutes into the second half and was of similar quality, Asensio releasing Ousmane Dembele on the right before he raced away and squared for Barcola to tap in.

It was 5-0 by the hour mark, with Nuno Mendes crossing from the left to the far post where Hakimi scored with a sidefoot volley, and Zaire-Emery nutmegging Kiki Kouyate in the box before finishing.

Lee, on from the bench after being dropped from the starting line-up, smacked in the sixth from the edge of the area on 82 minutes.

It is the second time PSG have scored six goals in a Ligue 1 game since Luis Enrique became coach just over a year ago -- the other was in a 6-2 win at Montpellier in March.

Monaco made it back-to-back wins to start their Ligue 1 campaign on Saturday as they outclassed Lyon 2-0 in the Groupama Stadium.

Teenager Eliesse Ben Seghir capped a very fine performance with the opener midway through the second half, before Lamine Camara struck to secure the three points for the away side.

Lyon have had another difficult beginning to their league campaign and, after going down 3-0 at Rennes last weekend, have now shipped five goals in the opening two matches after being the form side of Ligue 1 in 2024.

Agence France-Presse