Paris Saint-Germain retook control of Champions League Group F on Wednesday night following an impressive 3-0 victory over AC Milan at the Parc des Princes.
PSG powered out of the blocks against Serie A's second best side forcing Milan into some desperate defending. Malick Thiaw and Rade Krunic both picked up yellow cards in the first seven minutes.
But the visitors eventually settled and put PSG on the back foot. One Christian Pulisic free-kick to the right of the PSG penalty area after 10 minutes came to nothing. And Fikayo Tomori's effort from the left a few minutes later was similarly ineffective.
Worse was to befall Tomori after half an hour.
Referee Slavko Vincic allowed PSG's Warren Zaire-Emery to muscle on through midfield despite Tijani Reijnders clamerbering over his shirt.
The 17-year-old marked his entry into PSG legend as the youngest player to be named in the starting line-up 20 times with a through ball to Mbappé.
17 - Warren Zaïre-Emery va devenir le 1er joueur de l'histoire du PSG à fêter sa 20e titularisation toutes compétitions confondues avant ses 18 ans, lui qui est âgé de 17 ans et 231 jours. Majeur. #PSGACM https://t.co/HYIYvsju9V
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 25, 2023
The France skipper's fleet feet did the rest. A step over befuddled Tomori and he placed the ball into the net past an equally bamboozled Thiaw and goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Advantage
Three minutes after the restart PSG thought they had doubled their lead. Manuel Ugarte released Ousmane Dembélé down the right and he surged into the box and slid the ball past Maignan.
But the goal was eventually ruled out after the video assistant referees spotted Ugarte's push on Yunus Musah.
Milan's good fortune did not last for long.
The back line appeared to be seeking out the Parisian tourist sights when Mbappé pushed a corner kick to an unmarked Dembélé in the penalty area. Though Maignan saved his shot, Randal Kolo Muani stabbed in the rebound.
Milan toiled for a way back into the game. Pulisic laboured purposefully on the right and Rafael Leao oozed menace with every incursion but he was unable to shake off Achraf Hakimi nor PSG skipper Marquinhos.
Energy
Zaire-Emery - whose dynamic box to box presence contrasted with the visitors' stolidity - ultimately had the the final say .
He picked up the ball in midfield from substitute Kang-in Lee, turned inside Yacine Adil and ran towards the by-line.
Gonçalo Ramos failed to connect with his cut back but Lee was behind the Portugal international to thrash the ball past Maignan.
The victory coupled with Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 win at Newcastle United allowed PSG to go top of the pool with six points. Dortmund go second on four points - the same as Newcastle - and Milan prop up the group with two points.
"At this age, you just play and enjoy it," Zaire-Emery told French broadcaster RMC after the game. "After our defeat at Newcastle, we had to relaunch our campaign. We hve to cotninue like this."
Milan entertain PSG on 7 November while Dortmund host Newcastle.
Elsewhere in the Champions League on Wednesday night, Erling Braut Haaland bagged a brace as the holders Manchester City won 3-1 at Young Boys to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group G. Leipzig are second following their 3-1 win over FK Crvena Zvezda.
In Group H, Barcelona also boat a perfect record. They beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1. Porto walloped Royal Antwerp 4-1 to remain second.
