and welcome on what is a rather miserable night here at the partner press
i'm derek ray and joining me here on the commentary box for complete coverage
is lee dixon and we've got so much to look forward to this is where it all begins in
europe's premier club competition the uefa champions league the group stage match day
one action it's paris saint-germain facing milan well thank you derek well you look at the host
being such big favorites in this game just wonder how their opponents approach the game
i think the key to this is keep it really tight in the first 20 minutes try and frustrate those
home fans and then hopefully you can nick a goal here and there and take your opportunities
and here is the initial 11 for paddy sagerman luigi donnarumma is the keeper ashraf hakimi
plays with bernard's fullbacks paul pogba plays alongside marco verratti in the engine room
and lining up through the middle in attack today is kylian mbappe
here's the milan team it's almost interesting to try to sum up a team's style of play
their approach um there are many who think that it's overly conservative in this case what do
you think lee well derek it's not my preferred way of playing that's for sure but horses for courses
is fine until you concede do they have a plan b if that happens i'm not too sure
it's the opening match day champions league group stage match day one underway
neymar
of the situation
possession changing hands
wonderfully weighted pass
now for pogba firing it towards goal
pogba
now akimi aimed towards him well i'm able to hold as wrong and that's offside
vernassa it's with ibrahimovic jessie
well read to win possession back
might be able to set up the chance
um
well here it is again it's all about the pace in transition
it was so quick to get out from the back and once he gets himself settled with the
keeper to beat he hammers it into the back of the net smashing goal
and underway again here with psg in front
of each
milan moving the ball forward what can they do from here
we saw the situation developing
pogba what can he do here he's still there for him i know a decisive clearance it was
the attack continues they're making considerable progress
terrific block there
well they must exercise caution standing off as they are
neymar it was a menacing attack but tidied up
well nicely cut out
well a respectable enough effort but he couldn't extend the lead
given too much space why not take the shot on good effort
they get the ball once more
now psg moving the ball forward what can they do from here is at the back post still possibilities
well nothing untoward happened
fine run from him battery
by naljum
binaldo now well visionary passing and a goal
they've increased their lead and they don't want to be throwing us away from
here
well what's the time to score the forwards are in absolute dreamland the defenders
slugging their way back to the halftime team talk they're not going to enjoy this
well these players have followed he's every command handsome the coach must be delighted
and that is that for the first half here on the french capital
well he's one of the greatest talents of his generation zlatan ibrahimovic but even
the most creative have off days well there can be space found out there we've seen that but he just
can't seem to free himself from the defenders right now his team need him to find something
and so the second half of this champions league group stage match day one contest commences
chat with the ball again
well psg comfortable all over the park with his possession
if you have that much of the ball you can put pressure on the opposition defense
and they look like the creaking that's why they're winning comfortably effective challenge
venassa chalanolu ibrahimovic alexis salamakers calabria
really getting stuck in defensively very good reading of the game to win possession back
masterful piece of foiling
verasie
superb defensive judgment to end the attack
chat can they do something positive on the counter attack
oh nice ball over the top to chase cassie he's taking on his opponents here possession one
how can they create something di
a decisive clearance it was
and a long way out here well he didn't miss by all that much wide in the end
a very effective challenge put in
ramos
neymar
when you can keep the ball like this it's got to be really annoying for the opposition
well that's not going to help the cause an effort like that lee well sometimes you can just get a
little bit too cute put your head down put your laces through the ball and strike it
poor pass under no real pressure inside the final five minutes now
lorenzo
here's some paper
perfectly positioned to take it away
the referee has decided there will be just one minute of added time
neymar but he stopped them just when they looked menacing and that's it for tonight's full time and
an encouraging start for them three points from the initial fixture lead yeah really really strong
start that's what you need but with five games to go very important you stay in the now one game at
a time derek bit of a cliche a lot of positivity where paul pogba is concerned your thoughts on
the pogba performance lee well he played well scored a goal what a good performance from him you