Share

Icardi opens PSG account to claim victory at Galatasaray

Istanbul - Mauro Icardi scored his first Paris Saint-Germain goal as the French champions beat Galatasaray 1-0 to move four points clear at the top of their Champions League group on Tuesday.

The Argentina forward, who joined the Parisians on loan from Inter Milan during the summer, opened his account for the club to maintain their perfect start to their European campaign after downing Real Madrid 3-0 two weeks ago.

The Turkish champions sit third in the standings with a single point from the draw at Club Brugge on September 18 and have not registered a win in four games in all competitions.

"We showed a lot of maturity today. Even if it was difficult we stayed calm and kept our confidence," PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye told broadcaster RMC Sport.

"Now everyone knows what we're about, everyone knows how to play against us."

Thomas Tuchel was without Neymar, serving the last match of his European suspension for abusing a referee on social media, and Kylian Mbappe who started on the bench as he continues to recover from a thigh injury as Icardi led the attack in Istanbul.

Fatih Terim brought in Ryan Donk and Jean Michael Seri to his side after Saturday's Super Lig draw with Fenerbahce as Algerian international Sofiane Feghouli dropped to the bench.

The first sight of goal for either side came as Angel Di Maria tested Galatasaray goalkeeper Fernando Muslera on two minutes.

Icardi, returning to PSG's starting line-up after recovering from an injury sustained in the victory over Real, was shown a yellow card in the seventh minute for a foul on captain Muslera.

Galatasaray's first chance of proceedings came three minutes later as Seri's shot curled the wrong side of Keylor Navas's left-hand post.

Five minutes into the second half, Di Maria, who starred in the victory over Real a fortnight ago, wasted a one-on-one to claim the lead as Muslera saved his weak shot.

Icardi strikes

A matter of seconds later, Icardi opened his PSG account to break the deadlock after some tidy interplay.

Marco Verratti found winger Pablo Sarabia inside the box who squared a pass to Icardi at the back post.

Icardi was substituted on the hour mark for World Cup-winner Mbappe.

Playmaker Feghouli came onto the field a minute later, replacing Younes Belhanda, who played in a face mask due to a jaw problem.

Radamel Falcao, who moved from Ligue 1 side Monaco in September, had a chance to equalise for the Turkish side with 20 minutes to go but his right-footed free-kick from 20 metres out skimmed the crossbar.

The away team held on to claim victory and move four points clear at the top of the group as Tuchel brought on midfielder Ander Herrera for Di Maria during the final 10 minutes.

Next for PSG is a trip to Club Brugge who drew 2-2 at Real Madrid earlier in the day despite leading 2-0 at half-time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Galatasaray host the Spanish giants on October 22.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
loading... Live
Dolphins 0
Warriors RSA 76/1
loading... Live
Pakistan 76/3
New Zealand 178/7
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
65% - 418 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
35% - 230 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE