Paris tackled Girona’s ban with fire and iron, the French champions winning 1-0 in the 90th minute thanks to Mendes’ goal, where goalkeeper Katzanika let the ball slip through his hands.
Paris were the undisputed favorites to beat Girona at home in the Champions League opener to seal the league, and the referee’s final whistle found the Parisians had reached their goal, but there was plenty of sweat and good luck in the final.
They couldn’t cash in on their superiority on 89 minutes with a goal against the Catalans, a newcomer to Europe, but then came the 90′ phase and the wheel turned, Mendes returning from the left. And the best so far is Katsanika, to see the ball go to his feet and end up very badly in the net.
Competition
Having made an impressive start to Ligue 1 with four wins in as many opening games, Paris were hoping to confirm their form in the Champions League against European newcomers Girona, but the first 45 minutes passed too quickly and did not provide much excitement.
Luis Enrique’s team had the momentum at the start and had to show two good moments with Jair-Emery and Asensio until 15′, but subsequently Girona lost the pace and “slept” the opponent, finding the home team in the first half of his final match. 0.24 xgoals (absolutely zero for the Catalans in this area) and missing Asensio through injury.
In the second half, the French champions quickly picked up the pace in search of a goal, with the Asturian coach making three changes in the 63rd minute to give him an extra boost as the Parisians continued to attack. The opposition but could not get the ball into the net despite several final attempts they made.
Dembele, Mouani and Hakimi all had great chances to anoint the goalscorers and take on the hero’s mantle for their side but they either missed from a good position or Katzanika was under the target to make up for the “ban”.
But somewhere in there, luck turned on Girona and their goalkeeper in the cruelest of ways, Paris finding the coveted goal in the 90th minute, Mendes turning from the left and the Argentine keeper sending the ball under his feet, and 1-0 ending in the Paris net.
- Paris: Safonov, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pazzo, Mendes, Zaire-Emery, Vitinia (63′ Kang-In), Ruith (63′ Neves), Dembele, Asensio (39′ Mouani), Barkola (63′ Doue).
- Girona: Katzanika, Arnao, David Lopez, Gretzky, Gutierrez, Martin (66′ Solis), Romeo, van de Beek (58′ Porto), Chikankov, Hill (66′ Asbria), Stuani (58′ Danzuma).
1st match day programme
Tuesday, September 17
- Young Boys – Aston Villa 0-3
- Juventus – Eindhoven 3-1
- Milan – Liverpool 1-3
- Bayern – Dinamo Zagreb 9-2
- Real – Stuttgart 3-1
- Game – Lily 2-0
Wednesday, September 18
- Sparta Prague – Salzburg 3-0
- Bologna – Shakhtar 0-0
- Celtic – Sloven Bratislava 5-1
- Club Brugge – Dortmund 0-3
- Manchester City – Inter 0-0
- Paris – Girona 1-0
Thursday, September 19
- 19:45 Feyenoord – Leverkusen
- 19:45 Red Star – Benfica
- 22:00 Monaco – Barcelona
- 22:00 Atalanta – Arsenal
- 22:00 Atletico – Leipzig
- 22:00 Brest – Sturm Cross
2nd match day programme
Tuesday, October 1
- 19:45 Salzburg – Brest
- 19:45 Stuttgart – Sparta Prague
- 22:00 Arsenal – Paris Saint-Germain
- 22:00 Leverkusen – Milan
- 22:00 Dortmund – Celtic
- 22:00 Barcelona – Young Boys
- 22:00 Inter – Red Star
- 22:00 Eindhoven – Sport
- 22:00 Sloven Bratislava – Manchester City
Wednesday, October 2
- 19:45 Shakhtar – Atalanta
- 19:45 Girona – Feyenoord
- 22:00 Aston Villa – Bayern
- 22:00 Dinamo – Monaco
- 22:00 Liverpool – Bologna
- 22:00 lil – real
- 22:00 Leipzig – Juventus
- 22:00 Sturm Cross – Club Brugge
- 22:00 Benfica – Atletico
Equality criteria
- Target difference
- Excellent attack
- Attack outside the home is best
- succeeds
- Away win
- Points earned against League Stage opponents
- Goal difference against league level opponents
- Better offense than league stage opponents
- Low morale points
- Team rating in UEFA rankings
