Author: Chandra Moulee Das
Kylian Mbappé scored for Paris Saint-Germain in his first appearance of the season, but the reigning French champions continued their winless run in the 2023/24 season after a 1-1 draw against Toulouse on Saturday. Only one Brazilian took part in this match – PSG captain Marquinhos, who spent all 90 minutes on the pitch.
After missing the opening draw against Lorient, Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé started the match on the bench at the Stadium. Toulouse, coming off the back of a 2-1 win over Nantes in their previous game, tried to take advantage of the momentum.
PSG started the match strongly and could have secured an early lead if Guillaume Restes hadn’t stopped Achraf Hakimi’s shot with a well-timed block of his own, after being set up by Vitinha. Soon after, Hakimi’s fellow Moroccan, Zakaria Aboukhlal, had the chance to open the scoring if he had managed to hit a dangerous cross from Thijs Dallinga. Just before half-time, Ramos and Kang-in Lee had their goals disallowed by Restes, ensuring that the first half ended in a draw.
After the break, Warren Zaire-Emery opened the scoring, but Vitinha was ruled offside during the play. Considering how things were going on the pitch, in the 51st minute, Luis Enrique threw Mbappe and Dembele on at the same time.
Dembélé delivered a dangerous cross that Ramos couldn’t reach before Mbappé conceded a penalty after being brought down by Rasmus Nicolaisen. The France international calmly converted the spot-kick (62′) to take Luis Enrique’s side into the lead.
The deficit only served to push Toulouse forward. Hakimi’s famous speed was put to good use when he ran backwards to stop Denis Genreau’s menacing advance towards goal as PSG avoided a strong threat. Although PSG had chances, the hosts restored the balance with a penalty conversion (85′). Aboukhlal scored the penalty after Hakimi fouled him, leaving the defending champions frustrated.