Paris Saint-Germain began their UEFA Champions League title defence in emphatic fashion as France forward Ousmane Dembele and Spain striker Ferran Torres inspired a 6-1 demolition of Slovan Bratislava at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.
The reigning champions took control after 17 minutes when Nuno Mendes’ effort from outside the box struck the post, with Dembele reacting quickly to control the rebound and put PSG ahead.
Dembele doubled the advantage before the half-hour mark, heading home after a deflected effort from young Spanish midfielder Dro Fernandez fell perfectly into his path.
Torres then took centre stage, converting a cross from Dembele in the 31st minute to make it 3-0 before the break.
The Spain international returned the favour shortly afterwards, setting up Dembele, although goalkeeper Dominik Takac kept out the Frenchman’s attempt by turning it onto the underside of the crossbar.
PSG continued their onslaught immediately after the restart, with Torres finding the net from the edge of the box after a fine run by fellow new signing Maghnes Akliouche.
Mendes later had a goal ruled out for offside before Torres completed his hat-trick by guiding Dembele’s corner into the net with his knee.
Slovan, coached by former Ivory Coast international Yaya Toure, pulled one back through Gambian winger Suleiman Camara, who produced an impressive strike.
However, Fabian Ruiz restored PSG’s five-goal advantage late in the match after pouncing on a loose ball to complete the scoring.
The victory gives PSG a strong start in their bid to become only the second club in the modern Champions League era to win the competition three consecutive times, following Real Madrid’s achievement between 2016 and 2018.
Their next league-phase fixtures include difficult meetings with Manchester City and Barcelona in October.
