What better way to know that Ligue 1 is well and truly underway than seeing Paris Saint-Germain destroying their opposition left and right.
The Parisians, without the services of Kylian Mbappe for the first time in what seems like forever, netted six goals past the visiting Montpellier at Parc des Princes.
Fresh off a 1-4 drubbing against Le Havre on Matchday 1, the defending three-time champions have started the season with a ruthless knack for dismantling their opponents, as they scored 10 goals in two games.
The concern of PSG fans at the start of the season, wondering where the club will get the goals that Mbappe has produced last year, has now been put to rest with the likes of Bradley Barcola and Lee Kang-In stepping up to the challenge.
Goal machines in the French capital
Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance in French football is unparalleled. They hold the record for most titles in Ligue 1, Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophee des Champions.
Stars come and go at the club, and they have extremely deep pockets. So when Kylian Mbappe finally packed his bags for Madrid, the SBOTOP Ligue 1 2024 odds still predicted them to win the league by a mile, much to the dismay of rivalling fans.
Les Ciel et Marine were the first victims of the season, as PSG produced four different scorers to open their accounts in the new campaign.
Lee Kang-In, Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola and Randal Kolo Muani were the scorers in the victory.
And just when you thought it couldn’t be any worse for the opposition, Marseille felt first-hand the wrath of the mighty Parisians.
Barcola picked up where he left off after scoring the opening goal, outpacing everyone on the left-hand side as he dinked the ball past the keeper.
A beautiful attacking display ending with Marco Asensio scoring from Joao Neves’ timely pass made it 2-0 in the 24th minute—the latter’s second assist of the night. Barcola then added one more to his tally, after he and Dembele linked up to further get the game out of reach.
Five minutes later, Achraf Hakimi was picked out by Nuno Mendes as PSG scored their fourth of the match. Number five arrived shortly thereafter with Warren Zaire-Emery nutmegging his defender and finishing strongly past Benjamin Lecomte.
Lee’s rocket from outside the box sealed a resounding victory as Les Bleus comfortably took the top spot in the league.
Their next assignment is against Lille, who have also won two in a row and are placed in an early runners-up place.
Lille, Monaco staying close behind
Aside from Paris going back-to-back to start the campaign, their closest rivals to the title—Lille and Monaco—made sure to start their seasons going two wins out of two as well.
Les Dogues, the last Ligue 1 winners that aren’t PSG, fended off Angers 2-0 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy last Sunday.
Thomas Meunier scored a brilliant goal with his outside foot after playing a 1-2 with Hakon Arnar Haraldsson. But if you’ll ask me, I think an assist should be given to Jonathan David as well for shielding the ball well before Meunier and Haraldsson linked up for the finish.
Their second goal arrived just before added time expired as a quick breakaway led to a Mohamed Bayo goal.
This was the second consecutive 2-0 victory for Lille after they disposed of Reims in their season opener.
Meanwhile, after scraping off a 1-0 against Saint-Etienne, Monaco had a more comfortable win in their second match of the campaign, albeit a red card was issued to Lamine Camara at the end.
The midfielder—who scored a tap-in after a cross from Kassoum Ouattara—went for a slide tackle in the 7th minute of added time and received a straight red card.
Elsewhere, one of the more controversial players today is thriving under Roberto De Zerbi’s Marseille. Mason Greenwood, the polarising youngster who used to play for Manchester United, is currently tied with Bradley Barcola as the league’s top scorer with three goals.
The 22-year-old scored twice in their opening match at Brest, whilst he helped his side salvage a point after his 71st-minute equaliser against Reims.
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