Maghnes Akliouche scored his first Paris Saint Germain goal in the 68th minute against Le Mans at the Parc des Princes, and PSG still needed late help to make the scoreline look comfortable. They beat Le Mans 3-1 four days before facing Manchester City in the Champions League, with Akliouche finishing the job after the game had already become awkward again.

PSG needed changes to take control

Luis Enrique made several changes on the return after the international break, and the bench did the damage when PSG had lost some rhythm. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arrived and scored in the 61st minute after Fabián Ruiz’s first-time rebound was spilled by Nicolas Kocik, then Vitinha was among the players brought on after Le Mans had equalised.

Akliouche was the cleanest PSG performer in the end. His 8.12 rating was the best on the pitch, he put both of his shots on target, and he finished with his first PSG goal in what was a full 90-minute outing.

The wobble before Manchester City

Le Mans were not there just to make up the numbers. They levelled after the break through Louis Mafouta from Lucas Calodat’s cross, and that forced PSG to work again before Akliouche made it 3-1 while PSG were already 2-1 up.

There was still one more scare. Désiré Doué missed a penalty in stoppage time, which summed up a game PSG controlled only in bursts rather than from start to finish. The result is a third straight league win, but the sharper lesson is that the bench still had to rescue a flat second half before Manchester City arrive.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →