Lionel Messi, Neymar and Sergio Ramos all got their names on the score sheet as Paris Saint-Germain cruised past FC Nantes, 4-0 in the Trophee des Champions on Sunday.
The Ligue 1 Champions were imperial and made easy work of Nantes – winners of last season’s Coupe de France.
Nantes couldn’t break the solid defensive structure of the Parisiens and in spite of the brilliance of winger Moses Simon, the Canaries were limited to 38% of the ball and 2 shots on target.
One of the shots was from Simon, in the final minutes of stoppage time as he tried to curl one in from range, but it was well beaten away by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Under the guidance of a new manager, Christophe Galtier, PSG seemed like they needed to make a statement with the season’s curtain raiser and they did.
Lionel Messi opened the flood gate of goals when he struck in the 22nd minute before Neymar added a second in stoppage time of the first half.
After the resumption, Sergio Ramos stretched the lead to 3 and it was the insurance goal.
But PSG were not done, they added a fourth from the penalty spot. A well executed counter attack left the Nantes defence helpless.
Neymar was pulled down inside the box and the Referee didn’t hesitate to award a penalty and issue the Opponent a straight red card.
The Brazilian converted with a cheeky penalty (82′) to put the game beyond all doubt.
Both teams will now turn their attention to the start of the Ligue 1 season, PSG travel away to face Clermont Foot, while Nantes face Angers as well.
