Anderlecht 0-4 PSG Champions League: as it happened, match report, goals
Paris Saint-Germain made it three from three in Champions League Group B with goals from Mbappé, Cavani, Neymar, and Di María. Senegal - Colombia: World Cup 2018 Group H, game 3
Anderlecht 0-4 PSG: match report
Each one of PSG’s attacking trident were on target as the Ligue 1 leaders cruised past Anderlecht to make it three wins from three at the top of Champions League Group B.
Goals from Kylian Mbappé and Edinson Cavani established a lead at half time. Neymar added a third after the break from a free-kick, before Ángel Di María rounded off a victory that was slightly harsh on the hosts.
Unai Emery’s side had already beaten Celtic and Bayern Munich with ease in the Champions League and the Spanish coach made just one change from the resounding victory against Bayern, with Presnel Kimpembe replacing Thiago Silva in the heart of defence.
Anderlecht began the match like a side who had played two matches and emerged with zero points. Kylian Mbappé fired PSG in to a lead with just three minutes on the clock. The 18-year-old played a neat one-two with Marco Verratti before guiding a low shot in to the bottom corner for his eighth Champions League goal in 12 appearances.
The home side could have crumbled. But instead, they dusted themselves off and seized control of the game. Anderlecht’s 3-4-3 formation gifted plenty of space to Dennis Appiah and Henry Onyekuru on the flanks. The latter is on loan from Everton, and his livewire performance begged the question of why the Merseyside club loaned have allowed him to leave.
For all Anderlecht’s tactical clarity and intensity, the Parisians doubled their lead shortly before half time. Matz Sels could not hold Neymar’s swirling shot, inviting Mbappé to nod the ball across goal for Edinson Cavani to score in his seventh consecutive European match. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (8) and Ruud Van Nistelrooy (9) boast more impressive scoring streaks.
PSG exerted far more control over the match in the second half. Neymar placed the game beyond doubt after 66 minutes with a neatly-struck free-kick in to the bottom corner.
The Belgian team continued to sporadically threaten. Henry Onyekuru thrashed the crossbar before Ángel Di María took advantage of a counter-attack to dink the fourth goal over the line. It could have been more. Cavani had two goals ruled out for narrow offside decisions, while Mbappé skimmed the outside of the post.
As with the match against Bayern, PSG did not need possession (they had 49% against Anderlecht). Their incision on the break will ease them through in to the knockout stages, where the same quality will make them unenviable opposition for any team.