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- Paris Saint-Germain 1 Toulouse 0: Champions scrape by without injured stars
Paris Saint-Germain 1 Toulouse 0: Champions scrape by without injured stars
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were at the Parc des Princes to watch as Paris Saint-Germain made hard work of Toulouse on Saturday.
Edinson Cavani led Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-0 Ligue 1 win over Toulouse in front of injured spectators Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at the Parc des Princes.
Club record goalscorer Cavani netted a superb opener inside nine minutes to seemingly set the tone for PSG to soar to victory, yet the champions appeared to feel the absence of the world's two most expensive players as their momentum waned.
Thomas Tuchel's men were still able to hold on for a 14th consecutive victory to start the Ligue 1 season, but the story may well be different when Liverpool arrive in Paris on Wednesday for a make-or-break Champions League meeting.
PSG will hope to see Neymar and Mbappe on the pitch rather than in the stands for that match, having underwhelmed against modest domestic opponents.
With the focus on his absent team-mates, Cavani did not take long to provide a reminder of his talents. The forward claimed a loose ball in the area with his back to goal, turned brilliantly past his marker and thumped a volley into the net.
However, PSG's suffocating possession initially led to few further openings and, after Cavani had a second goal disallowed, Toulouse threatened with a couple of speculative efforts before the break.
There was more urgency to the hosts' play at the start of the second half and Thomas Meunier headed over, but that just about proved to be the extent of their attacking ambition.
Christopher Jullien blazed over at the other end when he should have equalised, before Presnel Kimpembe crucially intervened on the goal-line to protect the points in a nervy finish.