The Ligue 1 tournament officially kicked off in the early morning hours of the weekend. Last season's champions, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), lost their number one player, Kylian McBarbee, but got off to an impressive start with a 4-1 win over Le Havre in their first match. Portuguese midfielder Joao Nieves came on as a substitute at the age of 19 and made two assists to put the departure of "Mak" out of the minds of the fans.
PSG's lineup featured strong performances from Lee Kang-in, Carlo Ramos and 16-year-old Iba Maibaye. Just three minutes into the game, Lee Kang-in created a chance for Carlo Ramos to break the deadlock. However, Le Havre quickly equalized after the half-time break and the 1-1 scoreline held until the 84th minute. Zouo Nieves came on as a substitute and helped extend the lead to 3-1 with another assist just two minutes later.
The final whistle blew and Gaulo Meanibo scored a 12-yard penalty to seal a 4-1 win for PSG. It's worth noting that three of PSG's four goals came from substitutes. Zouo Nieves made his debut in the second half and dished out two assists. He joined PSG in early August for a transfer fee of 60 million euros (about HK$510 million), proving his worth in action.
But PSG's victory did not come without a price, as Carlo Ramos suffered an injury in the 20th minute of the match and the exact status of his recovery is unclear.
