Paris Saint-Germain extended their perfect start to the Ligue 1 season with a breathtaking 6-3 victory over Toulouse on 30 August, inspired by a spectacular hat-trick from 20-year-old Portuguese midfielder Joao Neves.
Luis Enrique’s side stormed into an early lead at the Stadium de Toulouse. Neves opened the scoring inside seven minutes with a stunning overhead kick that flew into the top corner, before Bradley Barcola doubled the advantage just two minutes later with a composed finish past Guillaume Restes.
Neves then produced another moment of brilliance, acrobatically converting Achraf Hakimi’s cross with a second overhead kick to give PSG a commanding 3-0 lead inside a quarter of an hour. Their dominance continued when Ousmane Dembélé slotted home from the penalty spot after Désiré Doué was fouled in the box.
Toulouse pulled one back before half-time when Charlie Cresswell reacted quickest to a rebound, but their hopes of a comeback were dented when Cristian Casseres twice failed from the penalty spot. PSG keeper Lucas Chevalier saved both attempts, though the first had to be retaken for encroachment.
After the restart, Dembélé converted his second penalty following a foul on Barcola to restore the visitors’ four-goal cushion. Neves completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute, drilling a thunderous strike from the edge of the box into the top corner to crown a masterful individual performance.
Toulouse struck twice late on through Yann Gboho and Alexis Vossah to reduce the deficit, but the damage had long been done. PSG ran out 6-3 winners, maintaining their 100 per cent record after three matches and staying top of Ligue 1.
Earlier in the day, Lille staged a remarkable late surge, scoring five times after the 77th minute in a 7-1 demolition of Lorient.
