Unai Emery praised the work ethic of his side after they overcame a stubborn Saint-Etienne side to continued their 100 per cent start to the new Ligue 1 campaign with a 3-0 win at Parc des Princes.
Edinson Cavani scored twice, the first from the penalty spot, and captain Thiago Motta was also on target as Brazilian Neymar again helped drive his team-mates on towards what was finished as a comfortable victory to end the visitors’ own perfect start.
A fourth straight win for PSG moved them three points clear of champions Monaco, who host Marseille on Sunday.
“We fulfilled our objective by winning this game,” Emery said at a post-match press conference. “Saint-Etienne were organised and in the first half, we did not control the match as we wanted, we lost a lot of possession.
“However, we had better control in the second half, but this was a difficult match, so the three points are important.”
Neymar left Barcelona earlier this month in a world-record £200.6million deal and scored on his PSG debut away at Guingamp before netting a brace in the 6-2 win over Toulouse.
Although he did not find the net again on Friday night, the Brazilian played an influential role, flicking the ball on for Cavani to chase which resulted in the 19th minute penalty and then delivering a curling free-kick through the Saint-Etienne box which was eventually stabbed home by Motta.
Emery said: “This game gives us a lot of information to improve and also for Neymar’s adaptation in the championship.
“In the first two games he felt very good, this was another process which allows him to learn.”
St Etienne had also won their first three league matches, and without conceding a goal, but apart from a first-half chance for Jonathan Bamba to equalise when one-on-one with PSG keeper Alphonse Areola who made a smart save, rarely threatened.
Les Verts manager Oscar Garcia, though, was happy with the efforts of his team. He said: “I asked the players to be brave, we were and am proud of the way we played.
“The score is very heavy against us because for the the first goal (penalty), I think it (foul) is outside of the area, the second, we stopped at a free-kick and the third came at the very end of the match.”
FULL TIME: PSG take care of business with a 3-0 win over Saint-Etienne!💪💪💪#PSGASSE #ALLEZPARIS!! 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/jw5mw36KFu
— PSG English (@PSG_English) August 25, 2017
