Paris St Germain start Champions League title defence with emphatic victory

Paris St Germain made a winning start in defence of their Champions League title as they outclassed Atalanta in an impressive 4-0 win at Parc des Princes.

Skipper Marquinhos and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave PSG a 2-0 interval lead and Nuno Mendes put the tie beyond Atalanta early in the second half before Goncalo Ramos added a fourth in stoppage time.

Bradley Barcola’s first-half penalty was saved, while Luis Enrique’s side missed a string of other chances despite the absence of injured pair Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue.

Luis Enrique’s side, who thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich in May to be crowned European champions for the first time, sit top of Ligue 1 after four straight wins.

And they made a dream start against the Italians when Barcola picked out Fabian Ruiz in the penalty area and the latter brilliantly teed-up Marquinhos for the opening goal in the third minute.

PSG could have trebled their lead inside the first 10 minutes as Nuno Mendes fired off target when all alone in front of goal before Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi produced a fine save to keep out Barcola’s effort.

Carnesecchi made an even better save to tip Achraf Hakimi’s low shot on to a post, but the Parisians doubled their lead before half-time.

Georgia winger Kvaratskhelia stepped inside off the right wing and crashed a superb finish into the top corner.

The home side spurned the chance to make it 3-0 before half-time when Carnesecchi saved Barcola’s poor penalty after Marquinhos had been clipped by Atalanta’s USA midfielder Yunus Musah.

But PSG extended their lead six minutes into the second half through Portugal left-back Mendes, who took Barcola’s pass in his stride and found the bottom corner from a tight angle.

Portugal striker Ramos completed the rout in time added on when he pounced on a tired back-pass to convert a neat low finish.