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[1/3]Soccer Football – Champions League – Group F – Paris St Germain v Borussia Dortmund – Parc des Princes, Paris, France – September 19, 2023 Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe in action with Borussia Dortmund’s Niklas Suele REUTERS/Benoit Tessier Acquire Licensing Rights
PARIS, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Kylian Mbappe was on form again as Paris St Germain kicked off their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 home victory over Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, showing glimpses of what might be under new coach Luis Enrique.
Mbappe opened the scoring with a second-half penalty and Achraf Hakimi doubled the tally with a fine goal as PSG’s patience paid off at the Parc des Princes.
It was only the third win in six competitive games this season for the Ligue 1 champions and it gave them some much-needed relief after their first defeat at the weekend as they dutifully applied Enrique’s possession game.
PSG top Group F with three points, two ahead of AC Milan and Newcastle United, who drew 0-0 earlier on Tuesday.
“It was important to start this campaign with a win,” man of the match Vitinha said.
Enrique added: “What I liked the most? We were consistent. It was clear we were all full gas during the whole game. We were better during the whole game. The most important was to attack and create chances. We won the match thanks to our possession.”
There was little brilliance from the home side but PSG were rarely in danger thanks to their domination in midfield before everything seemed to click after Mbappe coolly buried his spot kick four minutes into the second half.
Dortmund had the first clear chance when Donyell Malen found some space in the PSG area, only for his shot to be easily saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
PSG hit back five minutes later when Vitinha, who bossed the midfield in the opening half, hit the woodwork with a fine shot from just outside the area.
The Portuguese had another opportunity after half an hour but his attempt was deflected and went over the bar.
PSG lacked a cutting edge until early in the second half when Ousmane Dembele, after a combination with fullback Hakimi on the right flank, found Mbappe in the area and the French forward’s shot was handled by Niklas Suele.
Mbappe converted the resulting penalty in the 49th minute to give PSG a deserved lead with his 11th goal in his last nine Champions League appearances.
Hakimi doubled the advantage in the 58th with a delicate chip with the outside of his boot after being superbly set up by Vitinha following a crisp passing move.
PSG then controlled the final 30 minutes and finished with a clean sheet as Borussia failed to threaten.
Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Clare Fallon and Ken Ferris
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