Vintage Di Maria helps PSG overwhelm Real Madrid

Di Maria: Lifts PSG

Angel Di Maria produced a vintage performance with two goals to help Paris St Germain claim a 3-0 home win over Real Madrid in their Champions League Group A opening game on Wednesday.

In the absence of the formidable trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani, Di Maria provided two first-half goals as PSG suffocated Real throughout and Thomas Meunier added a third in stoppage time.

Zinedine Zidane’s Real, who eliminated PSG in the last 16 in 2017/2018 and were also missing key players at the Parc des Princes, failed to muster a shot on target and suffered their first defeat of the season.

PSG lead the standings on three points, ahead of Club Brugge and Galatasaray, who played out a goalless draw earlier on Wednesday. (Reuters/NAN)