Khvicha Kvaratskhelia came off the bench to restore Paris Saint-Germain's lead and Maghnes Akliouche sealed a 3-1 win over newly promoted Le Mans at the Parc des Princes, as Luis Enrique's rotated side made it three straight Ligue 1 victories.
Match facts
- Result: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Le Mans (half-time 1-0)
- Competition: Ligue 1, Matchday 6
- Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
- Scorers: PSG - Beraldo 19' (pen), Kvaratskhelia 61', Akliouche 68'; Le Mans - Mafouta 54'
- Assists: PSG - Zaïre-Emery (68'); Le Mans - Calodat (54')
- Red cards: None
- Referee: Mathieu Vernice
- Table after: PSG 5th, 11 pts; Le Mans 12th, 6 pts
- Next: PSG visit Manchester City, Champions League, Wednesday
How the match unfolded
Enrique rested several regulars. Matvey Safonov started in goal and Achraf Hakimi captained a side that also included Lucas Digne, Lucas Hernández, Illia Zabarnyi, João Neves, Lucas Beraldo, Dro Fernández, Maghnes Akliouche, Ferran Torres and Mika Godts.
Le Mans began brightly. Jean Vercruysse shot wide from distance, and Hakimi fired across goal from a promising position as PSG dominated possession without cutting through. The opener arrived in the 19th minute after VAR spotted a handball by Harold Voyer in the area. Beraldo took the penalty and squeezed it into the bottom corner despite Nicolas Kocik's dive.
Godts went on a mazy run but shot straight at Kocik. At the other end Louis Mafouta was denied by Safonov when played through, and Samuel Yohou slammed into the side-netting from close range. Kocik then produced a fine save to keep out Fernández's header from Digne's cross before the break.
After half-time Hakimi ran onto a long ball but Kocik closed him down. Seconds later Lucas Calodat's cross was powered in by Mafouta. The flag went up for offside, then VAR showed the striker had timed his run and the equaliser stood — his fourth of the season.
Enrique responded with a raft of changes. Warren Zaïre-Emery and Fabián Ruiz arrived around the 58th minute, with Kvaratskhelia and Vitinha on a minute later. Almost immediately Ruiz's drive from distance was parried by Kocik and Kvaratskhelia reacted first to fire in the rebound for 2-1.
Torres missed a one-on-one after Zaïre-Emery's through ball. In the 68th minute Zaïre-Emery sent Akliouche down the right; the forward drifted inside and beat Kocik at the near post. Désiré Doué later replaced Hakimi. In stoppage time Rayan Bamba fouled Hernández for a second penalty, but Doué's spot-kick was saved by Kocik. PSG saw out 3-1.
Bench impact seals third straight win
The contest flipped on Enrique's substitutions. Mafouta's VAR-awarded equaliser briefly rewarded Le Mans' enterprise, but Kvaratskhelia needed only a couple of minutes to restore the lead and Akliouche's near-post finish made the points safe. Kocik's late save from Doué was scant consolation for Patrick Videira's side.
What the result means
PSG climb to fifth on 11 points from six games — three wins, two draws and one defeat — and head to Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday. Le Mans sit 12th on six points and are still waiting for an away league win this season after a first defeat in four Ligue 1 outings.