Kylian Mbappe was in fine form as Paris Saint-Germain opened their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 home win against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, giving flashes of what could be under new coach Luis Enrique.
Mbappe scored a penalty in the second half, and Achraf Hakimi added another with a beautiful finish as PSG’s patience paid off at the Parc des Princes.
It was only the champions’ third win in six competitive games this season, and it provided much-needed comfort after their first setback at the weekend, as they faithfully implemented Luis Enrique’s possession game.
PSG leads Group F with three points, two more than AC Milan, who drew 0-0 earlier on Tuesday.
The home side produced little brilliance in their first big game of the season, but PSG were rarely in danger thanks to their dominance of the midfield before everything appeared to click after Mbappe calmly buried his penalty four minutes into the second half.
Dortmund had the first clear chance when Donyell Malen gained some space in the PSG box, but Gianluigi Donnarumma easily stopped his attempt.
Vitinha, who dominated the midfield in the first half, hit the woodwork with a beautiful attempt from just beyond the box five minutes later.
After half an hour, the Portuguese had another chance, but his shot was deflected and went over the bar.
PSG lacked a cutting edge until early in the second half, when Ousmane Dembélé found Mbappe in the area following a combination with fullback Hakimi on the right flank, and the French forward’s effort was handled by Niklas Suele.
Mbappe converted the penalty to give PSG a merited lead and his 11th goal in his past nine Champions League games.
After being excellently set up by Vitinha, Hakimi doubled the lead in the 58th minute with an exquisite chip from the outside of his boot.
PSG then dominated the remaining 30 minutes, resulting in a clean sheet as Borussia failed to threaten.
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