Neymar and Lionel Messi were the stars once again for Paris Saint-Germain as they beat Brest 1-0 to preserve their unbeaten start to the season.
Neymar scored his eighth goal of the campaign on Saturday, and he's netted in all but one of PSG's seven Ligue 1 matches. He also has six assists this term. There are few players in Europe in as good of form as the Brazilian – a trend made more impressive by the transfer speculation he endured during the summer transfer window.
The reigning champions were rarely in danger against Brest, but Neymar, Lionel Messi and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma stepped up to the plate when they were called upon.
Neymar and Messi combined beautifully for large parts of the game while Donnarumma was vital.
Galtier will be happy with another effective display from his side, especially in the wake of their Champions League win against Juventus in midweek.
He will hope, however, that a rare down game from Mbappe was just a blip.
GettyThe Winners
Neymar
He opened the scoring 30 minutes in when he got on to the end of a high ball from Messi and fired into the net. His partnership with Lionel Messi is wonderful to behold at times as the Argentine created many great opportunities for his Brazilian team-mate. Neymar also carved out a chance for Kylian Mbappe in the second half but the Frenchman could not capitalise on it.
Lionel Messi
The Argentine looked dangerous throughout the game, sending Neymar through on goal a couple of times before setting up the opening strike. He should have had a goal of his own, too, seeing one effort accidentally blocked by Kylian Mbappe and another hit the woodwork.
Gianluigi Donnarumma
The goalkeeper showed his value when he read Islam Slimani perfectly to save the Brest attacker's penalty. The shot stopper was angry not to be the undisputed first choice at PSG last season and will feel vindicated to have commanded the role this term with such a valuable intervention.
AdvertisementGettyThe Losers
Kylian Mbappe
It just wasn't the France star's day – though it was not for a lack of trying. The golden boy was just a bit behind the pace of his fellow attackers in this game.
An effort to set up Messi ended up behind the Argentine and he even fluffed his lines when Neymar teed one up for him.
Christophe Herelle
The defender endured a brutal couple of minutes when he was shown a red card in the first half after chopping down Neymar outside the box. The referee immediately gave him his marching orders but a VAR review showed that Neymar was offside and the centre-back was allowed to stay on. It didn’t do him any good, though, as he was the last line of defence a few minutes later when Messi found Neymar again and the centre-back could do nothing to prevent the Brazilian from scoring from a tight angle.
Islam Slimani
The attacker had such a stuttering run up to take his penalty in the second half that it almost looked like an easy save for Donnarumma. The 34-year-old has hardly impressed for the struggling Ligue 1 team this season and was one of his team's weakest players this time around too.
Presnel Kimpembe
Brest didn't have many great chances to equalise after Neymar's decisive goal, but Kimpembe offered one on a plate with just over 20 minutes to go. His wandering hands and flailing arms gave away the penalty which was missed by Slimani. He then had a poor clearance hit off Slimani and give away a corner.
Getty ImagesRatings: Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma (8/10): The Italian goalkeeper had few opportunities to show off his talent throughout the 90 minutes but he stepped up when needed. He had only been called on to make one easy save before Brest were given a penalty in the second half and the shot stopper read it perfectly to keep his team ahead.
Sergio Ramos (7/10): The centre-back helped keep the visitors quiet and was comfortable on the ball when his side needed to build from the back.
Danilo (7/10): Has been a strong performer for Galtier's team this season and once again was comfortable in the heart of the defence. Good in defensive actions and fine passing it out from the back-line.
Presnel Kimpembe (5/10): Had a quiet game overall but messed up by conceding the penalty to put Donnarumma under pressure – luckily for the defender, the goalkeeper bailed him out.
GettyMidfield
Achraf Hakimi (5/10): The full-back added very little to PSG's attacks and opted to pass backwards a few too many times.
Vitinha (7/10): A strong and smart player, Vitinha has been a reliable part of the team this season and was once again impressive throughout the 90 minutes.
Marco Verratti (7/10): Looked comfortable in possession, a stable presence in the midfield that supports the lethal PSG attack, but he was substituted after 62 minutes.
Juan Bernat (5/10): Like his fellow wide player, Bernat was one of the home side's least impressive players. Although he helped create a good chance for Messi in the first half, he did not offer much else to the cause.