Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a commanding 4-0 victory over Atalanta in the Champions League, with goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi emerging as the only bright spark for the Italians after pulling off a string of saves, including a penalty stop, to prevent an even heavier defeat.
The visitors, still struggling to adapt under new coach Ivan Juric, travelled to Paris severely weakened by the absence of Gianluca Scamacca, Ederson, Sead Kolasinac and unsettled forward Ademola Lookman. In their place, 21-year-old Lorenzo Bernasconi was handed his first ever start, while Daniel Maldini led the line ahead of Nikola Krstovic. PSG were also without Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Lucas Beraldo, with Kang-in Lee not fully fit.
The French champions made the perfect start, taking the lead inside two minutes when Fabian Ruiz broke the offside trap and squared for former Roma defender Marquinhos to tap in. Nuno Mendes almost doubled the lead moments later, but Carnesecchi produced a brilliant reaction save in a one-on-one situation. The Atalanta goalkeeper continued to impress with a fingertip stop from Achraf Hakimi after earlier denying Bradley Barcola.
Atalanta’s first chance arrived on 18 minutes through Odilon Kossounou, who blazed over from Charles De Ketelaere’s lay-off. Soon after, PSG struck again, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia producing a solo run from midfield before curling home a superb finish from the edge of the box.
Carnesecchi kept his side alive by saving Barcola’s poorly struck penalty after Yunus Musah had conceded the spot-kick for a foul on Marquinhos, but PSG’s pressure remained relentless. Mendes eventually grabbed a deserved goal after the restart, cutting inside Marten de Roon before drilling through the keeper’s legs from a tight angle.
Atalanta tried to respond through Mario Pasalic, Raoul Bellanova and Krstovic, but their efforts failed to trouble PSG’s Lucas Chevalier. Late on, substitute Goncalo Ramos punished a costly Bellanova back-pass, dinking the ball delicately past Carnesecchi in stoppage time to seal the emphatic win.
The defeat highlighted Atalanta’s growing struggles under Juric, while PSG’s dominant display reaffirmed their status as favourites to defend their Champions League crown.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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