Paris Saint-Germain scarcely booked the first victory of the new season in the Ligue 1 on Saturday evening. After defeats against RC Lens (1-0) and Olympique Marseille (0-1) the reigning national champion didn’t seem to get past FC Metz, but in the third minute of injury time Julian Draxler took care of the redemption: 1-0. PSG had to make do without Layvin Kurzawa, Neymar and Leandro Paredes, who were suspended after the card game against Olympique Marseille. PSG also scored another red card against Metz, as defender Abdou Diallo was sent away after the break with two yellow cards in his pocket.

Thomas Tuchel awarded a base spot to Mitchel Bakker, but pulled the left back to the side after just over an hour. The Dutchman, like the rest of his team, didn’t have an easy evening. As could be expected, the home side had a predominance of ball possession, with both ten and eleven men. However, the Tuchel team did little with that. In the first half, Mauro Icardi headed over Alexandre Oukidja’s goal twice after preparatory work by Ángel Di María, while Pablo Sarabia’s effort for the goal line was taken away. Metz asserted himself with a few threatening crosses, but did not create any serious chances.

Metz was able to disrupt PSG football in a creditable way. Moreover, the lack of Neymar and Mbappé was palpable: the Parisians had a serious lack of creativity. Icardi was hardly involved in large parts of the game. It became even more difficult for the home side when Diallo was sent away halfway through the second half. The defender received his second yellow card after he pulled Ibrahima Niane’s shirt; in the first minute he had already gone on the receipt for a foul. PSG, who received his fourth red card in seventy minutes of soccer, also maintained the lead with ten men.

The biggest chances of the second half were for Icardi and Di María, who both bumped into goalkeeper Oukidja from close range with a low effort. Draxler prepared Icardi’s chance; with a nice chopping ball, Icardi enabled his compatriot Di María to hit out. Seven minutes before the break the steamed up right back Colin Dagba went into the penalty area from the flank, only to shoot past. Shortly afterwards Juan Bernat, Bakker’s replacement, had to abandon the game: he sustained an injury and limped off the field. With nine men, PSG pulled the game to itself: a cross from Di Martía was processed by Oukidja, but in the rebound Draxler hit the head.