LAST UPDATE | 30 Sep 2023
PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN warmed up for a trip to England to face Newcastle United in the Champions League by drawing 0-0 away to Ligue 1 strugglers Clermont.
PSG coach Luis Enrique selected Kylian Mbappe in his starting line-up despite the France superstar having been an injury doubt during the week, but he endured a frustrating afternoon against in-form Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw and was booked for diving late on.
The reigning French champions had been hoping to build on impressive wins against Borussia Dortmund and Marseille in their last two outings, but this result confirms they are far from the finished article under their new manager.
PSG have won just three of their first seven league games and sit provisionally second in the table, a point behind surprise leaders Brest.
Clermont had beaten the Parisians away in their final game of last season but came into this match bottom of the table and with just one point so far in this campaign.
They are still winless, but the unexpected point lifts them off the bottom of the table on goal difference from Lyon, who play on Sunday.
In Spain, a Jude Bellingham-inspired Real Madrid showed both steel and class to beat high-flying Girona 3-0 and move back top of La Liga.
Girona headed into the weekend as unlikely leaders but champions Barcelona usurped them by beating Sevilla on Friday, with Real then deposing their rivals at the league’s summit with a solid triumph on Catalan soil.
Joselu and Aurelien Tchouameni’s first-half goals were enough to burst Girona’s bubble and after that the record 35-time La Liga winners kept the plucky upstarts at arm’s length.
The stylish Bellingham netted with 20 minutes remaining to seal Madrid’s victory and continue his own sparkling run of goalscoring form.
Madrid lead with 21 points from eight games, a point ahead of Barcelona, who are in turn a point ahead of Girona.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at RB Leipzig as Harry Kane kick-started a second-half revival to prevent a first league loss of the season.
Leipzig were 2-0 up and cruising at half-time thanks to goals from Lois Openda and Castello Lukeba, but Kane converted a penalty early in the second half to give his side hope.
The goal, Kane’s eighth in six league appearances since moving from Tottenham, had the desired effect, spurring Bayern on and Leroy Sane equalised shortly afterwards.
Bayern slipped to third, two points behind unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, and captain Joshua Kimmich lamented his side conceding “dumb goals” while coach Thomas Tuchel said: “In the first half, we weren’t even here.”
“The reaction in the second half was good,” Tuchel said, “and it was necessary.”
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