Angel Di Maria Shines on Debut as Paris Saint-Germain Put Three Past Monaco

After finally making his move from Manchester United to Paris Saint-Germain this summer, Angel Di Maria made his Ligue 1 debut on Sunday night and helped the French champions beat AS Monaco 3-0 at the Stade Louis II.

Les Parisians were up 2-0 when he entered the match, but it took the playmaker only 17 minutes on the pitch to show the away fans the sort of ability he will bring to the team this season.

Picking the ball up in the midfield, the former Real Madrid star, with the ball on his left foot, picked out a darting run by Ezequiel Lavezzi. The pass was perfectly weighted, and all his Argentinian teammate had to do was fire the ball beyond Danijel Subasic.

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One for #MUFC fans, Di Maria with a pretty amazing assist for PSG last night... pic.twitter.com/MVDtvPwBDL

— Paddy Power (@paddypower) August 31, 2015"

Before the game, the focus was on Zlatan Ibrahimovic's return to the starting lineup, with Di Maria named on the bench for the first time.

Despite the comfortable scoreline, the performance was far from convincing from an attacking point of view. The first half was fairly even, and PSG stumbled and stuttered whenever they got the ball near the Monaco defence.

Subasic was merely a spectator, but luckily for the away side, Monaco were equally indecisive in their attempts to trouble Kevin Trapp.

Stephan El Shaarawy came closest to breaking through the PSG defence when he cut inside from the left after taking advantage of sloppy play by Blaise Matuidi in midfield. However, the France international wasn’t about to let his mistake punish his team. Racing back to close down the former AC Milan forward, Matuidi did enough to stop the Italian getting a clear shot on goal.

Just before the hour mark, PSG’s first real team move created the opening goal.

PSG patiently moved the ball from the right flank, and then Maxwell and Ibrahimovic created space to find Matuidi's run down the left. Without taking a touch, the Frenchman played in an inch-perfect cross, and Edinson Cavani met it empathically to head the ball in at the near post.

Lionel Cironneau/Associated Press

The Uruguayan would then grab his second with 17 minutes remaining. This time, Ibrahimovic was the creator. Slipping the ball into the path of Cavani, the striker's shot slipped the ball into the far corner.

Di Maria replaced Lucas Moura on the 66th minute, and with almost his first touch, the Argentinian set up Cavani for a great chance to extend their lead, but the striker failed to direct his header on target.

That was just the warning, and 17 minutes after making his entrance, Di Maria created the third and final goal for Lavezzi.

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That long ball from Di Maria to Lavezzi though... what vision! It was #PSG's 13th straight #Ligue1 match victory http://t.co/ow5lwbdtOm

— Unibet (@unibet) August 31, 2015"

In just two moments of magic, Di Maria showed the superb range of passing and vision that will add a whole new dimension to the PSG attack this season.

Moura had drifted in and out of the game on Sunday and will now find his position under serious threat from the Argentinian signing. It was only two brief moments of quality, but it was more than enough to get a glimpse of what he will be capable of in Laurent Blanc’s team.

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24 - Angel Di Maria has assisted 24 goals in his last 42 league games (Liga + PL + Ligue 1). Magician.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) August 30, 2015"

After the international break, PSG take on Bordeaux at the Parc des Princes—none of their opponents have yet been able to test the champions, and with Di Maria hitting the ground running, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the league and their hopes of giving the capital club a challenge this season.