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Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) beat Brest 1-0 at the Parc des Princes on Saturday, September 10.
Neymar Jr. scored the only goal of the game to help PSG bag all three points. The Brazilian coolly smashed one past Marco Bizot in the 30th minute of the game after receiving a mesmerizing over-the-top pass from Lionel Messi. The Argentinian showed a great piece of vision to spot Neymar's run.
The Parisians tried to kill the game in the opening half itself, but the visitors managed to stay in the match.
The hosts started the second half in a similar fashion as the front three of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe attempted to break down the Brest defense. There were odd moments of magic from the star forwards but the hosts did not look completely convincing.
Brest came quite close to finding the equalizer. Islam Slimani missed a penalty close to the 70th-minute mark. The visitors could have salvaged something out of the game had they managed to find the weak spots in a lazy PSG back-line but fell short in their quest in the end.
On that note, here's a look at the five biggest talking points from the game:
#5 PSG keep their lead intact
PSG kept their lead at the top of the table intact following a scrappy win over Brest. The champions looked sluggish following their midweek Champions League fixture against Juventus. The Parisians have 19 points after seven games and are just two points ahead of Lens, who have 17 points after gameweek seven.
Christophe Galtier's troops looked fatigued but managed to scrape out a victory. The 56-year-old will have to manage the minutes of his players if he is to lead them to significant success this season. Galtier cannot have his players faltering so early into the season.
#4 Gianluigi Donnarumma saves the day for PSG
Gianluigi Donnarumma stood like a rock between the sticks. The Italian goalkeeper thwarted everything that came his way. The 23-year-old made three saves and five recoveries during the game.
Donnarumma spledidly saved Slimani's penalty in the second half to secure all three points for his side. The former Milan star anticipated the direction of the shot and palmed away the spot-kick from the Brest striker. He was one of the best players for the Parisians against Brest.
#3 Brest squandered their chances
Brest failed to take their chances. Islam Slimani specifically should have scored on his visit to the capital. The former Leicester City striker missed a penalty kick as his sloppy shot was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Minutes later, Slimani squandered another chance in the closing stages of the game as he could not make the most out of a Presnel Kimpembe error at the back. The Algerian rattled PSG's back-line on occasions but could not make it count.
#2 Lionel Messi oozed class
Lionel Messi oozed class throughout the game as he carved out an assist for Neymar's goal. The Argentinian scooped one over to beat the visitors' back-line as he set up an inch-perfect pass for the Brazilian. He even came close to scoring himself following the restart as his header was denied by the woodwork.
Following a lackluster first season in France, La Pulga is setting the stage on fire with his excellence. Messi already has three goals and seven assists in seven appearances in Ligue 1 this season. He won four duels, made one recovery, created four chances, completed one dribble and won one tackle throughout the game.
#1 Neymar continues his red-hot form
Neymar grabbed the only goal of the game as he slotted one past Marco Bizot following some magical work by Lionel Messi to set him up. With this goal, he's taken his goal tally to 10 for the season. He has eight goals and six assists to his name in Ligue 1 this season.
Neymar won four duels, made four recoveries and created three chances in the game. Following the Ballon d'Or snub, the 30-year-old is looking to reach his personal best this season.
