Kylian Mbappe and Angel di Maria were both among the scorers as a Paris Saint-Germain side missing both Lionel Messi and Neymar won 4-2 away at Brest on Friday to make it three wins out of three this season in Ligue 1.
Ander Herrera and Idrissa Gana Gueye also found the net for the capital side as they moved ominously on to nine points from a possible nine and clear at the top of the fledgling French table with a second consecutive 4-2 victory.
The full house of 15,000 in Brittany were denied the chance to see Messi make his PSG debut after the Argentine was left out of the squad as he continues to build up his fitness.
Neymar, who like Messi returned to training late after going all the way to the final of the Copa America last month, was also left out but PSG once again showed that they have little trouble finding the net and winning without the two superstars.
However, once again their defending left a lot to be desired and will have given coach Mauricio Pochettino food for thought with a number of players still waiting on the sidelines.
“I prefer to win, but if I could choose a result I would prefer to win without conceding a goal,” Pochettino said.
“We have lots of star names but we need to build a team, that is the challenge. It won’t be easy because we need to find a balance among all the talented players we have. It will take time.”
Donna on the bench
Italy’s Euro 2020 goalkeeping hero Gianluigi Donnarumma appeared in the squad for the first time since his arrival from AC Milan but was left on the bench as Keylor Navas started in goal.
Donnarumma’s fellow European champion, Marco Verratti, did play for the first time this season in midfield but skipper Marquinhos was still missing.
Monaco lose again
Monaco’s slow start to the Ligue 1 season continued on Saturday as the principality side went down 2-0 at home to Lens as both sides finished with 10 men.
Niko Kovac’s Monaco came into this campaign with high hopes after finishing third last season, but second-half goals by Cameroonian forward Ignatius Ganago and substitute Simon Banza gave Lens the victory at the Stade Louis II.
Monaco, who had Russian international Aleksandr Golovin sent off late on, have picked up just one point from their opening three Ligue 1 matches and lie eight points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain.