Neymar fired in from a tight angle after being played through by Lionel Messi. (REUTERS)Paris St Germain forward Neymar scored his eighth Ligue 1 goal of the season as the champions beat Brest 1-0 at Parc des Princes on Saturday to extend their unbeaten start and reclaim top spot in the standings.
The result, secured after Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a late Islam Slimani penalty, means Christophe Galtier’s side have 19 points from seven games, two more than second-placed RC Lens who led the table after a 1-0 win over Troyes on Friday.
Olympique de Marseille can go level on points with PSG if they beat visitors Lille later on Saturday.
Brest came into the contest having conceded a club record 16 goals in their first six games and were carved open in the 30th minute despite a bright start as Neymar fired in from a tight angle after being played through by Lionel Messi.
The visitors were lucky not to be reduced to 10 men minutes earlier as Christophe Herelle was shown a red card for scything down Neymar but a review prompted the referee to reverse his decision as the PSG forward was offside before the tackle.
what the hell was that Messi pass, and Neymar finishes it. pic.twitter.com/wP3GiECxda
— Galu (@PSGalu) September 10, 2022
PSG turned the screw on their opponents and both Messi and Kylian Mbappe squandered clear-cut chances either side of halftime before 17th-placed Brest were awarded a spot kick but Slimani’s tame 70th minute effort was kept out by Donnarumma.
Another angle of Lionel Messi’s assist to Neymar for PSG’s goal 🔥pic.twitter.com/PB3J9UvAjC
— Mundo Albiceleste 🇦🇷 (@MundoAlbicelest) September 10, 2022
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The Italian goalkeeper was then called into action again and kept his team ahead with a diving save after the ball appeared to be going in at the near post off Slimani’s shoulder following a whipped cross from the left.