PARIS :Paris St Germain edged past Angers 1-0 in Ligue 1 on Friday as Fabian Ruiz’s second-half strike secured a home victory for last season’s treble winners, who laboured through a frustrating night that included a missed penalty from Ousmane Dembele.
Manager Luis Enrique had cautioned that it would take a few games for his side to find their rhythm, with little pre-season preparation after reaching the Club World Cup final in July, and for now the coach has been proven right.
PSG were dominant and in complete control throughout the game, but they struggled to really threaten the Angers goal, especially in the early stages.
Midway through the opening half, the referee went off injured, giving an animated Luis Enrique a chance to speak to his players.
The replacement official was soon at the heart of the action, awarding a penalty for Marius Courcoul’s foul on Joao Neves.
PSG, however, spurned the perfect chance to unlock the game, with Dembele, who scored 35 goals across all competitions last season, sending his spot kick sailing over the bar, in what was the home side’s first real attempt on goal.
Their only other decent chance before the break came when Desire Doue curled a shot from outside the area, which drifted narrowly past the far post.
The goal finally came five minutes after the interval. Doue’s attempt at a pass inside the box was cut out by Angers midfielder Haris Belkebla, but the ball fell kindly for Ruiz who drilled his shot low into the far corner of the net.
“We have to keep going like this. We need to think about balance, that’s very important,” Ruiz told Ligue1+.
“This was my first goal of the season, and it’s all about maintaining that balance.”
PSG, who won their first Champions League in spectacular style at the end of May, showed little of their intricate passing and movement off the ball, and were unable to find another goal.
Ruiz proved to be their most dangerous attacking option, with the midfielder heading a cross from Achraf Hakimi narrowly wide, and hitting the upright with a deflected shot from outside the area late on.
PSG risked little and after opening their league campaign with a 1-0 win at Nantes on Sunday, another narrow victory and another three points will be more than enough to satisfy Luis Enrique at this stage of the season.
“It was very difficult because Angers defended really well,” Ruiz added.
“For us, this is an important win, it’s three valuable points.”
After the game, while the team celebrated last season’s trophy haul, keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma made an emotional farewell to the PSG supporters.
The Italian, instrumental in PSG’s recent successes, has been told to find another club, and he was visibly moved when his teammates encouraged him towards the fans behind the goal who chanted his name.
