PSG 0-0 Lorient

THE MATCH

This was a much-changed PSG that took to the field, with none of their fabled 'MNM' attack playing - Lionel Messi having left for Inter Miami this summer and Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé sidelined at the club's discretion. Goncalo Ramos - signed from Benfica - led the line with fellow new arrivals Marco Asensio (who joined from Real Madrid) and Kang-in Lee (Real Mallorca) in support, and the three nearly combined for the opener early on, but Yvon Mvogo saved well from the Portugal striker (9'). Asensio then slipped a through-ball to Vitinha, but Julien Laporte did well to recover the danger (32') before seeing a shot of his own deflect harmlessly into Mvogo's gloves (36'). PSG continued to pour forward and Lee span a low cross across the face of goal, but it missed Ramos and Achraf Hakimi and the chance went begging (37'). Lorient were the width of the post away from making them pay for their profligacy, but Laurent Abergel's shot stayed out (43') and it was goalless at the break.

Deadlock intact

Neither coach made any changes at the break and PSG continued to dominate possession after the restart. Vitinha had their first chance of the second half when he was found by Hakimi, but his blistering shot sailed wide (53'). With Manuel Ugarte impressing in central midfield, PSG passed the hour mark with nearly 75 per cent of possession, but Lorient continued to hold firm. Fabian Ruiz, having replaced Vitinha (69') at the same time as Carlos Soler came on for Asensio, was the next to try his luck after being laid off by his fellow substitute, but Mvogo closed down his angles well to stop his shot at point-blank range (77'). PSG had their hearts in their mouths when Romain Faivre broke clear at the other end, but his low cross, intended for Ibrahima Koné, was cut out by Danilo Pereira (81'). Soler fired a late shot straight at Mvogo (90'+3) and it ended 0-0.

THE PLAYER: Kang-in Lee

Lee and Asension both deserve praise for the verve they brought to PSG's play out wide, and on another day they might have found themselves on the winning side. Messi leaves big boots to fill, but Lee in particular enjoyed occupying the spaces the Argentine great once did, and he will be pleased with his performance - in which he became the first South Korean to represent PSG - even if his new employers will be disappointed with a share of the spoils.

THE STAT: 19

This was the first time in 19 meetings across all competitions that Lorient have managed to keep PSG from scoring. The last time les Merlus kept a clean sheet against the capital club was back in August 2011 when they came away from the Parc des Princes with a 1-0 win thanks to a Julien Quercia goal.