Enlarge image
Sergio Ramos on his PSG debut
Photo:
Federico Pestellini / imago images / PanoramiC
When defending star Sergio Ramos made his debut, Paris Saint-Germain struggled to achieve a mandatory victory.
In the French soccer league, the leader of the table scored 3: 1 (1: 1) at the bottom AS St. Etienne on Sunday.
The Spaniard Ramos made his debut at PSG after a four-month injury break.
The 35-year-old left Real Madrid on a free transfer after 16 years because his contract had not been renewed.
He had been injured a number of times before he left for Los Blancos and hadn't made it into the Spanish EM squad.
In St. Etienne, Angel di Maria ensured the preliminary decision in favor of the Parisians after a series of missed opportunities.
The Argentine scored 2-1 in the 79th minute on presentation by Lionel Messi, before Marquinhos made everything clear in stoppage time.
Shortly before the end, however, PSG had to cope with the injury of top star Neymar.
The Brazilian buckled in a duel and had to be carried off the field.
Pochettino: Ramos still needs time
Initially, the bottom of the table even took the lead through Denis Bouanga (23rd).
Shortly before the break, however, defender Timothee Kolodziejczak received red after an emergency brake against Kylian Mbappé.
The following free kick from Messi headed captain Marquinhos into the net to equalize.
In the second half PSG were overwhelmingly superior, but missed many good opportunities.
Nevertheless, the team of coach Mauricio Pochettino extended its solid lead at the top.
It was the 13th win of the season in Ligue 1.
The 35-year-old Ramos was in the starting line-up against St. Etienne.
"He's been in the squad for two weeks and now needs games to get used to the new league," said PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino.
Ramos' long downtime was due to a calf injury.
The world and European champions came to Paris in the summer as part of a major transfer offensive.
In addition to the Spaniard, the club signed superstar Messi and Italy's EM goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
ara / dpa / sid