Ramos, recruited last summer but recovering for a long time, did not have too much to do for his first match with PSG, which consolidates his first place in L1 but can worry about Neymar: the Brazilian came out in tears and on a stretcher, victim of a sprained left ankle (87th).

The Parisian club (40 pts) now has fourteen points ahead of Nice (26 pts), its runner-up before this 15th day and the next opponent to appear at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

Reduced to ten after the exclusion of Timothée Kolodziejczak (45th), Saint-Etienne battled in vain under the snow of Forez and found the red lantern tied with Metz (12 pts), victorious Saturday night on the lawn of the OGC Nice (1-0).

If Neymar thought he had quickly opened the scoring for a goal finally refused for offside (5th), it was the Greens who surprised Paris: after a splendid opening from Wahbi Khazri, Denis Bouanga victoriously resumed a shot from Kolodziejczak repelled by Gianluigi Donnarumma (23rd).

Stung, PSG has created several opportunities to return to the brand.

But ASSE goalkeeper Etienne Green delivered a great performance by opposing Kylian Mbappé (14th, 40th, 41st) but also against Neymar (40th).

Three assists for Messi

The goalkeeper could not do anything, however, on the goal scored by the header by Marquinhos (45th + 2) upon receipt of a free kick played by Lionel Messi awarded for a foul by Kolodzieczak on Mbappé.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Neymar with the ball in the 3-1 victory over Saint-Etienne at the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne, France on November 28, 2021 Jeff PACHOUD AFP

The exclusion of the Stéphanois did not seem to be necessary.

But the referee, Jérôme Brisard, probably estimated a position of last defender or that he canceled a scoring opportunity while Nadé appeared to be able to return to the Parisian.

Anyway, with a half-time outnumbered, the mission seemed impossible for the Greens who had rather delivered a solid first period.

They finally, and logically, gave in late in the game on a goal from Angel Di Maria, served by Messi (2-1, 79th).

The Argentinian again delivered the cross which allowed Marquinhos to achieve a brace, with a header to bring the score to 3-1 (90 + 1).

But in the end, the performance of PSG does not remove doubts about the level of play displayed since the start of the season despite the thirteen victories in fifteen days in the league.

And the position of coach Mauricio Pochettino, who arrived almost a year ago, remains uncertain after a week marked by departure rumors and speculation around a possible Parisian interest in Zinédine Zidane, denied to AFP on Friday by sports director Leonardo.

At least Paris has returned to victory after its loss (2-1) Wednesday against Manchester City, despite the qualification obtained for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

But despite their numerical superiority, the Parisians have sometimes been far too static, like their "magic" square Neymar, Messi, Mbappé and Di Maria who too rarely found themselves well and failed to raise the pace against an opponent curled up in defense.

© 2021 AFP