PSG's Trophee Des Champions Win over Lyon Sets Tone for Glittering Season
Fresh from winning the International Champions Cup (ICC) in North America recently, Paris Saint-Germain kicked off their domestic season by lifting their third straight Trophee des Champions on Saturday after a 2-0 win over Olympique Lyonnais in Montreal.
Serge Aurier and Edinson Cavani got the goals for Laurent Blanc’s men, while Lyon captain Maxime Gonalons saw red in the second half as Les Gones finished with 10 men at Saputo Stadium.
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Le President was satisfied with his players and pleased by their strong collective performance, as revealed when he spoke with the press shortly after the final whistle in Canada.
"We have many reasons to be satisfied. We created a lot of favourable situations, we scored twice and we almost completely controlled the match while allowing our opponents almost nothing. It was a good afternoon for us. You always have to keep trying to make progress, and the desire I saw from my players today pleased me very much. Collectively, we stuck together and played quite high up the pitch, which is great because I want us to impose our game on our opponents.
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Considering PSG’s dominance, Hubert Fournier’s men were lucky that their defeat was not a heavier one.
Even taking into account Nabil Fekir’s suspension and the absences of Clement Grenier, Gueida Fofana, as well as Clinton N’Jie through injury, OL’s display was still flat, and it took them until the 89th minute just to force Kevin Trapp to make a meaningful save on his competitive debut.
PSG have prepared well for the coming season, and it showed in Canada on Saturday. Les Parisiens, who have already beaten the likes of Manchester United, SL Benfica and Fiorentina in the ICC, swiftly took control of the game and never relinquished it from there.
The French champions’ pre-season preparations this summer were far more testing than last year’s, and the team appear primed for success ahead of time and nowhere near as sluggish as they appeared at the beginning of last campaign.
It is as if the squad have seen what they are capable of after completing the first-ever domestic clean sweep last term and are now focused on replicating that same dominance at home, as well as making more of an impression on the continent in the UEFA Champions League.
Key to their hopes of maintaining their current domestic hegemony and having a greater impact in Europe will be star man Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He did not get himself a goal in the win over Lyon, but the Swede was back to his formidable best after an encouraging pre-season.
Last campaign was an extremely difficult one for Ibrahimovic, marred by injuries and a struggle to recapture the scintillating form he displayed in his first two seasons in Paris. However, this was a return to that sort of form, with the 33-year-old running the show.
Ibrahimovic thrilled the Montreal crowd with a wide range of skills, tricks and technical mastery, looking in the best shape he has been in for some time.
It was the talismanic striker’s low shot that forced Lyon’s Anthony Lopes to push the ball into the path of Cavani, who slammed home the second goal after 17 minutes, while PSG’s No. 10 drew an even smarter save out of the OL man with a cheeky flicked volley late in the first half.
If Ibrahimovic can harness his impressive North American performances and continue to prove those suggesting that he is already past his best wrong, then the capital club could be in for an extremely fruitful season indeed.
Although the Swede was sublime, it was no one-man show.
Aurier capped an industrious display with the opening goal, while Cavani continued his hot goal scoring form from last season with a thunderous finish for the second. Lucas Moura involved himself whenever Aurier’s dominance on the right would allow him, and the PSG midfield was solid and gave their Lyon counterparts nothing.
Defensively, the Ligue 1 titleholders were sound, with captain Thiago Silva only called into action once to shut down Alexandre Lacazette. It was the Brazilian’s central defensive partner, Luiz, who provided the cross for Aurier’s header.
All in all, it was a convincing performance from PSG, even if the final score could and should have been greater.
The squad have benefitted from a rigorous pre-season, which should enable them to start the new campaign at a considerable pace. The new Ligue 1 term has not even kicked off yet and Blanc’s men have already picked up two trophies, so they have a taste for success even at this early stage.
If last season’s Trophee des Champions win set the tone for a campaign of unprecedented domestic success, this victory hints at the possibility of an even more successful term this time around.
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