UCL: PSG's title defence begins with comfortable win over Atalanta

Paris Saint-Germain got their UEFA Champions League defence underway with a comfortable win against Atalanta at the Parc des Princes (4-0).

Marquinhos gives PSG dream start

After Marseille's slender defeat to Real Madrid the night before, PSG sought to give Ligue 1 McDonald's their first win in this season's edition of the Champions League. The result never looked in doubt for Luis Enrique's side.

To say that Les Parisiens began the game on the front foot would be an understatement. It was a barrage that was unleashed on the Atalanta goal within the first 15 minutes. It took less than three minutes for the breakthrough.

From their first chance, the reigning European champions took the lead. Marquinhos won the ball inside the Atalanta half and then continued his run into the box, latching onto Fabián Ruiz's pass to complete the move that he himself had started (3').

The onslaught continued. Nuno Mendes latched onto Marquinhos' excellent ball over the top but couldn't beat Marco Carnesecchi one-on-one, the Italian turning the Portuguese international's effort narrowly wide of the post (5'). He then made an impressive save from Bradley Barcola, getting a strong hand on the Frenchman's close-range effort (8').

Relax, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is here 🇬🇪💫 pic.twitter.com/AtsGzNRB6v
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) September 17, 2025

Achraf Hakimi, who had set up that Barcola chance, then saw a shot tipped onto the post and away from danger (10'). Barcola then had the ball in the back of the net (22'), but his goal was ruled out for a clear offside in the build-up; he knew it before he had already applied the finishing touch.

But PSG did get their goal. It came through Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who had been a doubt for this game, having come off injured during the 2-0 win over Lens in Ligue 1 McDonald's on Sunday. Carnesecchi had no chance with the Georgian's long-range effort (39').

Barcola then had the chance to add a third before the break when Marquinhos was felled inside the box, but the France international failed to convert the resulting penalty (44').

But Les Parisiens would not be denied for long. Mendes, relentless down PSG's left side, sold the Atalanta defender for a dummy, jinked inside the box and finished from a tight angle (51').

3-0 up, PSG were cruising, and with a big game against fierce rivals OM coming up over the weekend, they took their foot off the gas, and brought off some of their key performers, managing the game excellently, but they would get a late fourth, Goncalo Ramos chipping home, profiting from a mix-up in the Atalanta defence (90+1'). An emphatic result as PSG look to defend their UCL title.

The Stat: 7

PSG captain Marquinhos became the seventh player to reach the 10-goal mark for the club in the Champions League. No other Ligue 1 McDonald's has more players who have reached that milestone in the history of the competition.

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