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Ruiz goal gives rusty PSG narrow win over Angers in Ligue 1 / Photo: © AFP
Ruiz goal gives rusty PSG narrow win over Angers in Ligue 1
Fabian Ruiz scored the only goal of the game and Ousmane Dembele missed a penalty as a rusty Paris Saint-Germain beat Angers 1-0 on Friday to make it two wins out of two at the start of the Ligue 1 season.
Spain midfielder Ruiz drilled home from inside the box five minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes to give European champions PSG the win in a game in which they dominated but lacked sharpness.
Luis Enrique's side, who showed off their trophy haul from last season at the end of this game, edged Nantes 1-0 away last weekend to begin the defence of their 11th French title in the last 13 years.
That was off the back of a penalty shoot-out victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup as PSG returned to action following just one week of pre-season training and without having played any warm-up friendly matches.
The Super Cup was PSG's fifth trophy of 2025 to go with their triumphs in the Champions League, Ligue 1, French Cup and the French Champions Trophy.
They displayed their collection of silverware on the pitch at full-time in front of a Parc des Princes packed despite August being a time Parisians escape the city on holiday.
Coach Enrique made seven changes to his starting line-up, but this was arguably just about PSG's strongest possible team with Lucas Chevalier making a home debut in goal following his recent arrival from Lille.
The Parisians had chances but their finishing was wayward against opponents who beat newly-promoted Paris FC 1-0 on the opening weekend of the season.
PSG won a penalty in the 25th minute when Joao Neves was tripped just inside the area by Marius Courcoul. Dembele, who scored 35 goals in all competitions last season, blazed the kick high over the bar.
Desire Doue, playing against his hometown team, then saw a magnificent strike narrowly miss the top corner.
The only goal arrived five minutes after the restart. A low ball into the middle by Doue was blocked but broke for Ruiz to score. Angers never looked like finding an equaliser.
Marseille host Paris FC at the Velodrome on Saturday with the southern giants in turmoil after a dressing-room punch-up between star player Adrien Rabiot and young English winger Jonathan Rowe last weekend led to both being placed on the transfer list.
Nice take on Auxerre and Lyon face Metz in Saturday's other matches.
J.Scott--SFF
