By S. Willis
Paris Saint-Germain continued their perfect start under Thomas Tuchel with a 3-1 win over Angers, but lead only on goal difference after Dijon’s 4-0 dismantling of Nice, while OM only just rescued a point at home to Rennes.
Paris Saint-Germain boss Tuchel’s opting to switch to a 3-4-3 formation for the visit of Angers may have caused some nervy moments as the home side went behind following newly signed stopper Thilo Kehrer’s giving away a first-half penalty, but the capital club’s established superstars more than made up for it, maintaining their perfect start to the season.
Tuchel: ‘Very happy’
“Our second half was a lot better. We managed to find players between the lines, which allowed us to win the game,” said Tuchel, who saw a freshly returned Cavani score with his first chance, Mbappé drill home a superb volley and Neymar Jr bag his third of the season to keep Angers on zero points. “There’s still a lot to improve, but I’m very happy with our start to the season with the win in the Trophée des Champions and the three league victories.”
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Cutting the mustard
Meanwhile the early-season fairy-tale continued for Dijon, who claimed the biggest win of the weekend – and its only away victory – as they handed new Nice boss Patrick Vieira a 4-0 hiding. A late double from Jules Keita added some gloss to the scoreline but also left the Burgundy club level on points with – and just a single goal behind – leaders and title favourites Paris Saint-Germain.
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“It’s an exceptional result,” beamed Dijon boss Olivier Dall’Oglio. “It’s great to score four goals against a Nice team that I think is good. We’re starting to be disciplined, which is different form our previous seasons. These three wins allow us to build confidence. When we’re disciplined, we know we’re competitive.”
OM shaky
After falling to a shock 3-1 home defeat to local rivals Nîmes Olympique in Week 2, Marseille continued their shaky start to the season with a 2-2 draw at home to Rennes that would have been a defeat had visiting defender Ramy Bensebaini not turned into his own net late on.
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“We struggled to find our rhythm, but things got better in the second half. It could have been worse though,” admitted OM boss Rudi Garcia, whose side travel to Monaco in Week 4. “We’ll need to make up for these dropped points away from home. We’re struggling for points right now – that’s the real dark spot on the evening.”
LOSC, Lyon make statements
LOSC clinched third place after maintaining their unbeaten start to the campaign with a 3-0 demolition of still-pointless Guingamp at he Stade Pierre Mauroy, Jonathan Bamba bagging a brace as the Brittany side ended the match with just ten men following Christophe Kerbrat’s 81st-minute red card.
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Lyon climbed to fourth as they bounced back from a shock Week 2 defeat to Reims with a 2-0 win over RC Strasbourg Alsace, newly signed Martin Terrier opening the scoring against his former club before Bertrand Traoré capped an inch-perfect Memphis Depay assist by rounding the ‘keeper and a defender before slotting calmly home.
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Nîmes Olympique were hoping to maintain their perfect record away to Toulouse, but Les Crocodiles‘ two-match win streak was brought to an end by Max-Alain Gradel’s late penalty. Toulouse now sit seventh on six points, just behind promoted Reims, whose perfect start came to a juddering halt as they got on the wrong end of a 4-1 hiding at the hands of Amiens.
Kamano steps up
Bordeaux have been a club in crisis over the last week or two, with coach Gustavo Poyet suspended following his criticism of the club’s transfer dealings, but there were smiles all around at the Matmut Atlantique on Sunday as a double from François Kamano clinched a first win of the season 2-1 over Monaco, who saw Italian teenager Pietro Pellegri score his first Ligue 1 Conforama goal.
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Nantes and Caen cancelled each other out 1-1 on the west coast while Montpellier and Saint-Etienne played out a scoreless draw at the Stade de la Mosson.
>> VIDEO: Official match highlights of all the Week 3 action
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