Thomas Tuchel's PSG destroy AS Monaco to lift first piece of silverware
With a new boss on the sidelines, all eyes were on PSG when they started the match against Monaco for the Trophee des Champions. And the team produced a fine start of the season with a sensational win over their Ligue 1 rivals, giving the boss a result more than he bargained for.
Gigi Buffon, who was playing the first competitive match after coming into the team in the summer transfer from Italian giants Juventus, has paid a tribute to his former team with a lengthy social media post.
Not starting with the favorites like Cavani and Mbappe and the Brazilian on the bench, Paris under the new boss was keeping a lot of possession of the ball, giving the opposition very little chances to advance in the game. PSG started the game with most of their youngsters but looked good in controlling the game.
Jean-Eudes Aholou was penalized under 6 minutes of the game for a bad tackle on Veratti. Both the teams started on a positive note with a lot of on-target shots, but the scoring started when Di Maria swerved the ball up over the wall to the top corner at the 33rd minute from a great set piece.
The second goal came from a fine cross from left-back Nsoki which was slotted home by Nkunku in the 40th minute, which was his 6th goal in his last 9 PSG starts. Until this point, the PSG defenders have kept their new goalkeeping teammate very free by keeping most of the shots at bay. Another good chance for scoring came just after 2 minutes from the second goal when a shot from Di Maria was parried by Benaglio which came directly on to the head of Nkunku, but it was just above the bar.
In the first few minutes of the second half, Steven Jovetic's long shot range tested Gigi, but after that Les Parisiens looked in control. The forwards looked very exciting as they were center points of the Paris attacks. At the 68th minute, another cheeky pass came from Nsoki in the box which was finely placed by Timothy Weah in the bottom corner. At this point, Paris was already in the mood for taking the trophy home.
With the huge waves of the Paris attacks, Monaco was gobsmacked. Another chance was off the woodwork by Nkunku at 70th minute. After the match was in control of Paris, Neymar was brought in for the last fifteen minutes of the game. A fine chance was squandered by Monaco goalkeeper as Neymar's through ball nearly came to Di Maria in the box which would have been a great scoring opportunity.
There was still time for another blow for Monaco as Di Maria sealed the win with his 2nd of the night in the stoppage time through a fine pass from Rabiot making the score a staggering 4 - 0.
Gigi was untested in China, as the last season's Ligue 1 runners-up had only 2 shots on target, in a match dominated by the Ligue1 champions, but a clean sheet gave him the required boost for the rest of the season. He was emotional after his first victory in the new team. He was filled with praise for his new team, teammates, and the club. "Even at the age of 40 you can still be happy to win a supercopa", Buffon posted on Instagram.
As Paris dominated the game with 73% of possession, and a staggering 686 passes with 94% accuracy rate, they are seeming to be a force to be reckoned with this season. Tuchel hailed the youngsters who gave a fine performance despite not having many first starts in the team. They are looking to succeed as a new season awaits.