Paris (AFP)

Paris SG, without its superstar Neymar, easily won against Nimes 3-0 at the end of the first day of Ligue 1 Sunday and joined Lyon at the top of the ranking.

No Neymar? Never mind, PSG has no shortage of offensive weapons: the Uruguayan Edinson Cavani, the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé and the Argentine Angel di Maria recalled him by scoring each once.

A penalty after the intervention of the VAR for the "Matador" (24th), a powerful recovery on a discount Bernat for the world champion (57th) and the conclusion of a nice collective movement for the Argentine (70th) detonated the Nîmes defense.

The Parisians have mastered the game from start to finish (73% possession of the ball), conceding only one shot framed while the addition could have been much heavier for the "Crocos".

PSG played without his superstar Neymar, about which the sports director of the club Leonardo confirmed Saturday that there were discussions for his departure, even if "the PSG is not yet ready to agree." Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two most mentioned destinations in the press.

His absence, even in the stands, did not prevent the fans to make him understand that he was no longer welcome at the Parc des Princes, including a banner "Neymar Break down", deployed after another who wished to otherwise a good return to Leonardo at PSG.

With this victory, Paris is tied for first place with Lyon, who won 3-0 in Monaco on Friday, followed by Angers, who dominated Bordeaux 3-1 on Saturday. Reims, low scorer Marseillais Velodrome 2-0 follows in 4th place.

- The Lille rookies to the point -

Earlier Sunday, Lille also managed their season debut. All eyes at the Stade Pierre Mauroy were turned to the Turkish leader Yusuf Yazici, Tuesday became the most expensive rookie in the history of Losc and entered the game for the last twenty minutes. But it is another arrival of the transfer window, Victor Osimhen, which made the happiness of Lille.

The 20-year-old Nigerian scored a classy double, where he showed his speed and technique. Widely dominating especially in the first act, Lille was caught after a deflected shot in his own goal by Celik (50th).

The new Canaris coach Christan Gourcuff was already on the bench in Nantes, three days after the announcement of his arrival. His players delivered a consistent performance but lost in the 12th minute Marcus Coco, probably a victim of a rupture of the cruciate ligaments of the left knee.

Finally, for their fourth official meeting of the season after the preliminary rounds of Europa League, the Strasbourg were hooked in the derby by the promoted Metz (1-1).

The inevitable Diallo (47th), top scorer in Ligue 2 last season, allowed the Messins to return to the Strasbourg, who opened the score by Thomasson (21st).

The long trip to Bulgaria Thursday in European Cup weighed in the legs of Alsatians who were saved by the post late in the game.

The other European clubs, Rennes and Saint-Etienne won Saturday in Montpellier and Dijon respectively.

© 2019 AFP