PARIS (AP) — Vitinha broke the deadlock with the aid of a lucky deflection as Paris Saint-Germain began its Ligue 1 title defense with an unconvincing 1-0 win at Nantes on Sunday.
Champions League winner PSG looked short of ideas, just as it had for long spells against Europa League champion Tottenham during the UEFA Super Cup final on Wednesday.
Portugal midfielder Vitinha collected the ball about 20 meters out and his strike clipped defender Chidozie Awaziem as he tried to duck under the ball, before wrong-footing goalkeeper Anthony Lopes in the 67th minute.
That proved enough for coach Luis Enrique's side, which was again without goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Italy No. 1 wants to leave PSG after it bought Lucas Chevalier from Lille and has been linked with a move to Manchester City. PSG
A scrappy first half saw little creativity, and neither Chevalier or Lopes had much to do.
Nantes coach Luis Castro may regret leaving his best striker Matthis Abline on the bench until the 60th minute. Abline is pursuing a move away from Nantes, which looked much sharper when he came on.
Other matches
Veteran striker Olivier Giroud took only 11 minutes to score on his return to Ligue 1, but it was not enough as his new side Lille drew 3-3 at Brest.
Giroud was picked out by Felix Correia's clever pass behind the defense and finished with a left-footed shot under the goalkeeper. The 38-year-old Giroud became Lille's oldest scorer in Ligue 1 and he lasted the whole game.
“It was a special moment for me and I’m happy to be back in Ligue 1,” Giroud told broadcaster DAZN. “The coach asked me several times how I was feeling and I said I wanted to play until the end.”
Midfielder Hakon Arnar Haraldsson made it 2-0 before Kamory Doumbia scored twice to level the match. Lille regained the lead midway through the second half when Ngal’ayel Mukau scored following a corner, but Julien Le Cardinal equalized.
Striker Esteban Lepaul's early goal was enough for Angers to win 1-0 at home to newly promoted Paris FC despite having midfielder Louis Mouton sent off in the 57th.
Striker Lassine Sinayoko scored early in the second half as Auxerre won 1-0 at home against Lorient, which was promoted as Ligue 2 winner.
Metz started with 16-year-old prospect Brian Madjo in attack but conceded a late goal in a 1-0 home loss to Strasbourg. New signing Joaquin Panichelli scored for the visitors.
Back to France
Giroud joined Lille after a disappointing spell with Los Angeles FC.
He previously made his name with AC Milan, Chelsea and Arsenal — the club he joined from Montpellier after winning the French title in 2012 and scoring 21 league goals that season.
Giroud is France’s all-time leading men’s scorer with 57 goals and won the 2018 World Cup with Les Bleus.
“I wanted to challenge myself one more time,” Giroud said. ___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press
