Paris Saint-Germain 6-0 Montpellier: Parisians continue impressive start without Mbappe

Bradley Barcola’s first brace of his career helped Paris Saint-Germain maintain their winning start to the season as they thrashed Montpellier 6-0 on Friday.

Barcola opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the contest, with Marco Asensio doubling their advantage before the break.

The 21-year-old continued the scoring eight minutes after the break, as Achraf Hakimi, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lee Kang-in completed a dominant display.

It took four minutes for the first goal of the encounter as Barcola produced a fine finish, with Asensio adding their second after being picked out by Joao Neves.

Despite momentarily halting the onslaught, Barcola increased PSG’s advantage shortly after the break with a simple finish from Ousmane Demebele’s pass.

Hakimi netted the hosts’ fourth with another fine finish, as Zaire-Emery got himself in on the act to strike beyond Benjamin Lecomte after a brilliant piece of skill.

Substitute Kang-in sealed the scoring eight minutes from time, sneaking a left-footed effort from the edge of the area in at Lecomte’s near post.

What a night! #PSGMHSC I #Ligue1 pic.twitter.com/6uNUTL60US

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 23, 2024

Data Debrief: Barcola stars for Parisians

PSG have now scored 10 goals in their last two league games, as life without Kylian Mbappe has got off to a flying start under Luis Enrique.

Barcola showcased his undeniable talent during the contest, contributing 1.17 expected goals (xG) to PSG’s 3.93 total – the highest of any player for the hosts.

The winger has eight goal involvements (five goals, three assists) in his last seven top-flight appearances for PSG, two more than in his first 20 for the club.