Paris Saint-Germain got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start following their 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
The French champions dominated the first half without putting too much pressure on Dortmund’s defence. However, Mbappe scored a penalty kick four minutes after the break after Niklas Suele was called for a handball.
Achraf Hakimi added a memorable second goal, and in the end, PSG could have won the Group F match by a much bigger margin.
After AC Milan and Newcastle United tied 0-0 earlier in the day, they are now in charge of the group. Coach Luis Enrique will hope they can build on this performance when they play the English team again in two weeks.
“It was an almost perfect evening,” said Luis Enrique.
“I enjoyed practically everything about it, our intensity from the very beginning, the way we controlled the game for the first 75 minutes.
“We could have scored at least another goal but this win gives us confidence going forward. This is going to be a difficult group for everyone.”
Dortmund, on the other hand, were nowhere near their best, and they’ll need to do better when they play Milan next in a tough section.
They are still getting used to not having Jude Bellingham on the team, and coach Edin Terzic dropped Sebastien Haller here because the big striker had a rough start to the season.
Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Marco Verratti have all left PSG, and Luis Enrique has just taken over. This is the start of a new era for the team.
The former Spain coach, who won the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, insisted on the day before this game that he needs time to get his ideas across to his players, many of whom also moved over the summer.
PSG played with five new players, including attackers Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo Muani.
Kolo Muani was starting for the first time since he came from Eintracht Frankfurt and was picked over Goncalo Ramos.
With him, PSG controlled the first half, while Dortmund and their five-man defence sat back and offered little going forward.
Vitinha hit the upright in the 19th minute and Dembele later forced a save from goalkeeper Gregor Kobel at his near post, but PSG had precious little to show for a share of possession that reached almost 80 percent going into the break.
But just after halftime, with help from Suele and the referee, they were able to get the ball in the back of the net.
Barely 60 seconds of the second half had been played when a shot by Mbappe struck the Dortmund defender at close range.
Suele survived a VAR check when the ball struck his arm in the area late in the first half but this time Spanish referee Jesus Gil Manzano immediately pointed to the spot, although the award seemed harsh.
Mbappe stepped up to stroke in the penalty for his eighth goal this season, and the home side had done the hard part.
“The handball rule is not really clear,” lamented Terzic.
“PSG naturally will say it was a handball and we will say it was not but in the end what annoys me the most is that we were just not aggressive enough.”
In the 58th minute, the home team scored again. This time, Hakimi and Vitinha worked together to help Hakimi get through and score from close range.
It was a great goal, but Hakimi got some help because Mats Hummels threw himself to the ground instead of trying to block it by standing up.
Dortmund put on strikers Marco Reus and Niclas Fuellkrug, who had just joined the team, but it was another substitute, London-born teenager Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, who hit the post with 11 minutes left.
PSG missed several chances to score again, and a late goal by substitute Ramos was ruled out because he was offside.
Photo by EPA/CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON
