Ligue 1: PSG wins comfortably against Toulouse

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Ligue 1: PSG wins comfortably against Toulouse

Ligue 1: PSG wins comfortably against Toulouse
PSG player Joao Neves celebrates his hat-trick against Toulouse at TFC Stadium in Toulouse on August 30, 2025. LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP

The Parisians, European and French champions, stifled Toulouse at the Stadium (6-3), temporarily taking the lead in Ligue 1 on Saturday, August 30th for the 3rd day. Against a team that had also won twice in two matches, Parisian coach Luis Enrique had predicted a "close" match, but he himself seems to have underestimated the speed of his team to return to its level of last season, after a short break. While the match was rich in goals from both sides, it was by no means close.

In just a quarter of an hour, Paris were already leading 3-0 and had stunned a stadium that was already boiling over. It must be said that Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves had accomplished a rare feat, a double of acrobatic overhead kicks ( 7th , 14th ). The second, placed out of reach of Guillaume Restes in the side netting, was even more beautiful than the first, which was deflected. Bradley Barcola and Nuno Mendes laughed in disbelief. They had not yet seen the third goal of the "little prince" , a splendid top corner on a long shot, much later ( 78th ).

Barcola also showed his talent by scoring his first goal of the season, with his usual wild run down the left wing and a shot into the far corner ( 9th ).

Dembélé regains confidence in penalty kicks

Ousmane Dembélé completed the scoring with a penalty, a perfect boost to the Ballon d'Or candidate's confidence after his miss in the same exercise against Angers last week. This time, his low shot was well-aimed and unstoppable. And Dembélé cemented his status as the regular penalty taker this season by scoring a second penalty early in the second half ( 51st ).

This was enough to discourage the Toulouse team, who had had their moments of strength in the meantime. In the 37th minute, Charlie Creswell rewarded the Toulouse fans by heading home a corner that had been poorly cleared by the Parisian defense.

Then the match got a bit crazy, with PSG conceding a penalty at the very end of the first half. Lucas Chevalier saved Frank Magri before Eric Wattelier gave him a pass because a Parisian had crossed the line too early. No matter, Chevalier made a second penalty save, this time against Cristian Casseres.

The second half was more relaxed for both sides, which gave Luis Enrique the opportunity to rotate his squad, notably with the unexpected introduction of Willian Pacho at left-back to give Nuno Mendes a break.

The 70th - minute exit of Ousmane Dembélé, visibly injured, cast a first shadow over the picture. Above all, Toulouse scored in quick succession at the end of the match, saving face and shedding a harsh light on the Parisian imbalance due to the turnover. First, Yann Gboho finished off a well-executed counterattack ( 89th ). Then, Alexis Vossah beat Chevalier with a beautiful long-range shot (90 + 1). Enough to console the Toulouse supporters a little.

The World with AFP

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