In Paris St. Germain’s 2-0 home victory against Borussia Dortmund to open their Champions League season on Tuesday, Kylian Mbappé was in fine form and offered hints of things to come under new coach Luis Enrique.
Achraf Hakimi added a wonderful goal to Mbappé’s second-half penalty to make it 2-0 as PSG’s perseverance paid off at Parc des Princes.
After suffering their first loss over the weekend, the Ligue 1 champions needed some much-needed relief, and they diligently implemented Enrique’s possession style in only their third of six competitive games this season.
PSG is in first place in Group F with three points, two more than Newcastle and AC Milan, who earlier on Tuesday drew 0-0.
The home team didn’t show much brilliance in their first big game of the year, but PSG rarely put themselves in danger thanks to their control of the midfield. Then, four minutes into the second half, everything seemed to come together when Mbappe calmly converted his penalty.
Donyell Malen gained some space in the PSG area, giving Dortmund their first real opportunity, but Gianluigi Donnarumma easily stopped Malen’s shot.
Five minutes later, PSG responded when Vitinha, who controlled the midfield in the first half, hit the outside of the post with a beautiful shot.
After 30 minutes, the Portuguese had another chance, but his shot was deflected and missed the target.
PSG lacked a cutting edge until early in the second half when, following a combination with the right flank’s defender Hakimi, Ousmane Dembele found Mbappe in the area, where Niklas Suele blocked the French forward’s attempt.
Mbappe scored PSG’s 11th goal in his past nine appearances in the Champions League by converting the ensuing penalty kick to give PSG a deserving lead.
After being expertly set up by Vitinha, Hakimi doubled the lead in the 58th minute with a lovely chip from the outside of his boot.
Then, as Borussia failed to pose a danger, PSG controlled the final 30 minutes and finished with a clean sheet.