Paris Saint-Germain made it two wins from two to start their Ligue 1 title defence as they edged past Angers 1-0 in their first home match of 2025-26.
Ousmane Dembele’s missed penalty in the first half did not prove costly for Luis Enrique’s side, who were led to victory by Fabian Ruiz’s 50th-minute strike.
PSG struggled to break down Angers’ stern defensive rearguard in the first half, but they were given the chance to take the lead from 12 yards in the 25th minute.
Joao Neves was brought down in the box by Marius Courcoul, but Ballon d’Or favourite Dembele could only fire the resulting spot-kick over Herve Koffi’s net.
But the Parisiens found their groove five minutes after the restart when Fabian smashed the ball home on the swivel after Desire Doue’s cross caused confusion in the Angers defence.
Nuno Mendes came close to doubling PSG’s advantage seven minutes from time, but his lung-busting run ended with a fierce effort that was brilliantly tipped over by Koffi.
Fabian almost grabbed his brace late on but saw his deflected drive flick off the right post, though Luis Enrique’s team comfortably held out for all three points.
Data Debrief: Defence the best form of attack?
PSG were in a celebratory mood as they returned to the Parc des Princes for the first time in over three months, and their fans had every right to be excited about the upcoming season following last term’s treble win.
Luis Enrique’s side, while not at their free-flowing best, ended the match with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.84 from their 21 attempts, though only four were on target, compared to Angers’ 0.2 from their three efforts.
While the Parisiens’ star-studded attack has caught the headlines, it was their defence that impressed here. PSG have now started a season in Ligue 1 with two clean sheets in a row for the first time since 2017-18 (also two).
And it was Fabian’s strike that led them to victory. hTe Spaniard has now scored four goals in his last 10 matches in all competitions with PSG, as many as in his previous 51 matches.