Paris Saint-Germain drop first points of season after being held to draw by Reims
Reims were facing a PSG side that had made a rampant start to the season after winning all four of their opening league games of the campaign, but the hosts were in no mood to respect the reputation of their illustrious visitors and took a ninth-minute lead.
Two Japanese players combined, as Marquinhos failed to deal with Junya Itō’s cross and Keito Nakamura was there to pounce with a close-range finish which squirmed under Matvey Safonov.
Luis Enrique’s side were dominating possession, and were denied an equaliser when Yehvann Diouf made a fine save to keep out Kang-in Lee’s stinging effort after the South Korean was picked out in the box by Randal Kolo Muani.
PSG were struggling to break down a resolute Les rouges et blancs defence, and looked to Désiré Doué for inspiration. The lively 19-year-old showed off his nifty footwork on the edge of the box, before his subsequent effort was parried away by Diouf to preserve the hosts’ slender lead heading into half time.
PSG continued to push for an equaliser after the break, as the enterprising Lee swung in a delightful ball towards Bradley Barcola, who headed over the bar. Reims still carried a threat though, and Emmanuel Agbadou could have added a second when his ferocious long-range strike just cleared the post.
However, the fervent atmosphere inside the ground was dampened in the 69th minute when substitute Ousmane Dembélé ghosted in at the far post to expertly prod home a superb cross from João Neves.
The Parisians were patiently searching for a way through a resolute Reims defence, and it was the Neves-Dembélé combination which nearly reaped dividends again. The Portuguese picked out the Frenchman in the box, but Dembélé’s header sailed over the target on this occasion.
Nhoa Sangui had a golden opportunity to snatch a late win for the hosts in stoppage time, but agonisingly blazed his attempt over the bar at the end of a swift counter-attack.
Ultimately, the points were shared, with PSG’s 100% start to the season coming to an end. However, Enrique’s men did manage to extend their unbeaten away run in Ligue 1 to 27 matches, dating back to February 2023.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kang-in Lee (Paris Saint-Germain)
