Paris Saint-Germain started the new season on
Saturday just as they ended the old, lifting silverware in the shape of
the French Trophee des Champions thanks to a 2-0 win over Lyon in
Montreal.
Two early goals by Serge Aurier
and Edinson Cavani put Paris in control of the traditional
season-opening contest and left Lyon with a mountain to climb long
before their captain Maxime Gonalons was sent off in the 64th minute.
Having completed an unprecedented clean sweep of the domestic honours
in
France last season, this win underlined their status as the team to beat again in the coming campaign.
Tipped to be their main challengers once more, Lyon were invited to face the treble winners after finishing second to them in France's Ligue 1 last season as the Champions Trophy was played outside France
for the seventh year in a row. But, weakened by a series of injuries to
key players and by the absence of suspended starlet Nabil Fekir, Lyon
never looked like winning a game played in front of an enthusiastic
crowd at the Saputo Stadium in the largest city of Canada's
French-speaking Quebec province.
A strong
PSG side featuring German summer signing Kevin Trapp in goal opened the
scoring in the 11th minute as the Lyon defence failed to clear a
free-kick into the box and David Luiz drove the ball back into the
six-yard box for his fellow defender Aurier to head home.
The
second goal arrived just six minutes later when Anthony Lopes saved
from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cavani, who started pre-season late after
featuring for Uruguay at the Copa America, lashed home the loose ball.
With
last season's top scorer and player of the year Alexandre Lacazette
unable to make an impression, Lyon offered little at the other end and
Blaise Matuidi missed a great chance to increase PSG's lead after Lopes
saved from Ibrahimovic's extravagant backheeled effort.
Ibrahimovic,
who has been in good form during his club's pre-season tour of North
America as he enters the last year of his PSG contract, fired wide in
the second half when finding himself with just Lopes to beat. And
shortly after he was on the receiving end of a Gonalons challenge that
saw the Lyon captain pick up a second yellow card and depart for an
early bath.
"The mood in the camp is good. It is early days but we have prepared well," Matuidi told beIN Sports.
"The season will be long. Now we have spent 18 days abroad and it is
difficult, so we are looking forward to going home, seeing our families
again and resting before the season starts."
Fresh
from winning a third successive Champions Trophy, Laurent Blanc's PSG
side start their title defence at Lille on Friday, while Lyon will begin
the new Ligue 1 season at home to Lorient next Sunday.
FIFA.com
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