Youthful PSG Beat Benfica to Open International Champions Cup Campaign
Paris Saint-Germain got their International Champions Cup campaign underway in Toronto on Saturday with an entertaining 3-2 win over SL Benfica at BMO Field.
The French champions were without stars, such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta, but Laurent Blanc’s young side still managed to recover from 2-1 down at half-time to win 3-2 over the 90 minutes.
PSG’s youth academy gave a good account of itself, with a number of graduates shining in the victory as Les Parisiens displayed some of their brightest young gems in Canada.
Jean-Kevin Augustin, the French capital outfit’s opening scorer, was one of those homegrown starlets to impress and Lucas Moura, as well as Lucas Digne, joined him on the score sheet. Talisca and Jonas got the goals for Benfica, but in the end PSG’s youthful exuberance was too much.
Blanc was delighted with the performance produced by his young charges, as Le President revealed to PSG.fr after the final whistle.
"This win has put a smile on our faces and given us a bit of confidence, especially for the young players. It was a very young side this evening. We played some good football in a very entertaining match against an excellent opponent. Benfica have some excellent footballers. After trailing, then coming back to 2-2 and then going and getting that winning goal, I think we can be very satisfied with our performance. The young players will remember this match very positively. Congratulations to the more experienced players as well, because they led the way.
"
Augustin drew first blood against the Portuguese champions with a clever finish on the half-hour mark.
After receiving the ball from the largely unimpressive Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, the 18-year-old turned Brazilian defender Jardel sharply before taking another touch and then firing low past Julio Cesar—who was making his return to BMO Field as a former Toronto FC man—in clinical fashion.
It has been a strong pre-season for Augustin so far, scoring twice in the 3-0 win over Wiener Sportklub and now once against Benfica.
If the Frenchman can continue to take these chances Blanc is giving him to impress, then the versatile attacking talent could have a part to play for PSG domestically and in Europe this coming campaign.
Another Parisien youngster who has shone so far in the Ligue 1 champions’ preparatory matches is midfielder Christopher Nkunku.
The 17-year-old midfielder once again caught the eye with an involved performance in Canada, and it was the PSG youngster who was fouled by Jardel to win the penalty that Lucas Moura converted to make it 2-2 after 64 minutes.
Considering the competition Nkunku faces for minutes in Blanc’s midfield this coming season, he is realistically not going to see much time if he stays at Parc des Princes. However, if he continues to perform well when given the chance, he could earn himself a loan move for the term.
Also impressive against Benfica was Digne. The France international started pre-season well with a treble of assists against Wiener, and the 21-year-old added to that encouraging showing with his first ever PSG goal at BMO Field.
Laid on by opening scorer Augustin on 79 minutes, Digne fired a powerful left-footed effort at substitute goalkeeper Paulo Lopes and the Benfica netminder could not keep the drive out and ended up helping the ball into the back of his own net.
Digne was not the only member of PSG’s back line to make an impression; Serge Aurier was solid filling in as a central defender alongside Presnel Kimpembe, while Youssouf Sabaly enjoyed a good display at right-back.
New goalkeeper Kevin Trapp also showed on a couple of occasions why Les Parisiens moved to acquire his services this summer. The German made a few noteworthy saves, particularly a brilliant diving stop to deny Talisca—who would later beat him—from opening the scoring in the first half.
Overall, it was a good start to PSG’s ICC campaign and Blanc will be happy that his young guns were able to recover from 2-1 down at half-time against a relatively strong Benfica side making its debut under Rui Vitoria.
Bleacher Report is Official Media Partner of the International Champions Cup North America.
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
.png?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")
