Ousmane Dembele's double helped move Paris Saint-Germain back to the top of Ligue 1 with a 3-1 home win over Brest.

Fabian Ruiz's brilliant strike was sandwiched between those two goals as the French champions remained perfect, leapfrogging back above Marseille and Monaco after their wins earlier on Saturday.

Romain Del Castillo had put Brest in front with a penalty just before the half-hour mark after a foul by Nuno Mendes on Ludovic Ajorque.

PSG then equalised in the 42nd minute with a header from the unmarked Dembele off Marco Asensio's pinpoint cross.

Brest offered little in the second half despite PSG taking their foot off the gas, but Fabian put the hosts in front in the 73rd minute with a superb long-range effort.

Just 80 seconds later, Dembele sealed the points with his second, pouncing on a loose ball after a counter-attack.

Data Debrief: Mind the gap

The Ligue 1 season may only be four games in, but PSG have started their title defence strongly by winning all of their matches so far.

They already have a goal difference of +13 (scored 16, conceded three), with only three teams ever boasting a better record at this stage in history: Reims in 1952-53 (+17), Strasbourg in 1959-60 (+15) and PSG themselves in 2022-23 (+14).

Dembele has also made a bright start to the campaign, having already scored as many goals in these four matches as he managed in 26 outings last season (three). Two of those have been headers, as many as in 211 career league games before that. 

Paris Saint-Germain begin their latest quest for Champions League glory next week, but the extra workload required in the competition this season will not change Luis Enrique's approach.

PSG face Brest in Ligue 1 on Saturday, having made a perfect start to the season with three wins from three games to sit two points clear of Marseille, Nantes, Monaco and Lens.

They then face Girona in the first of eight matches in the Champions League's league phase on Wednesday, with the competition's new-look first round running until January.

However, Luis Enrique's approach to managing his squad's workload will remain the same.

He told reporters: "It's true, the schedule is a bit different but I don't think it is going to change the way I work as a coach.

"I have principles that I think are best for the team. It is always good to have around 20 players who think they can play, rather than 12 or 13. That is something that has always produced the best results for me.

"Now we are playing every three days with an intense schedule. I am still calm. Of course players can get injuries or suspensions but I am confident that we can manage all of that this season."

Midfielders Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery are unlikely to feature on Saturday after picking up injuries while representing Portugal and France during the international break.

PSG could also be without Gianluigi Donnarumma after the goalkeeper became a father and Luis Enrique has yet to make a decision on the Italian's involvement.

Bradley Barcola has excelled for PSG this term, netting as many goals in their first three league games (four) as he managed in the entirety of 2023-24.

He was also on target for France versus Italy last week, but Luis Enrique is keen to avoid putting pressure on the 22-year-old, saying: "It would be easy to protect the players without journalists. 

"Right now everyone is talking about Barcola. People said he couldn't play in the past, that he wasn't ready for the Champions League. But we're lucky that he is very sensible, humble and hard-working.

"In the season there are highs and lows for everyone and we have to manage that. The press always want something black or white, but that is not how it is."

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Luis Campos believes the club have an "electric coach" in Luis Enrique and has praised his "special touch".

Luis Enrique succeeded Christophe Galtier in July 2023, signing a two-year contract with PSG.

In his first season in charge, he won a domestic treble, winning the Ligue 1 title by nine points, and also led the team to the Champions League semi-finals, where they were beaten by Borussia Dortmund.

In 53 games in 2023-24, Luis Enrique oversaw 34 wins (64.15% win percentage), with his team scoring 124 goals across all competitions and conceding 52.

And Campos has been pleased with the results he has seen from the Spaniard so far.

Speaking at the Thinking Football Summit organised by Liga Portugal, Campos said: "Above all, I must tell you that it is a great pleasure to work with Luis Enrique every day.

"He is someone fantastic. His involvement, his energy, his electricity. That's why he is very modern.

"We are in a moment when everyone is looking for electricity for cars. We have an electric coach, who is very modern, who forces us to give our best every day and who makes the team work as a team.

"It's a pleasure to work with Luis Enrique. He is a huge coach. Special and very good."

PSG lost their biggest star at the end of last season, with Kylian Mbappe choosing to leave the club on a free transfer, ending a seasons-long saga by joining Real Madrid.

The French club brought new faces in during the off-season, with the likes of Matvey Safonov, Willian Pacho, Desire Doue, and Joao Neves coming into the squad.

Campos believes PSG were able to stick to their transfer strategy, with Neves a perfect example of getting a player they hope can seamlessly slot into Luis Enrique's style.

"What we seek is competent players, players capable of playing the game that Luis Enrique wants, and players capable of responding to what our president also demands, in terms of dignifying the name of the club, dignifying the city, and dignifying the country," he said.

"Joao Neves met the profile of the coach. The coach needed a player with this profile. We discussed it. I never hired a player that the coach didn't want.

"Joao had that profile. And we did everything to have him with us.

"I think he's responding. He's still in the adaptation phase. He'll have normal highs and lows like someone who arrives for the first year to a club as big as PSG, although he comes from a very big club with many requirements. In Paris, it's different.

"We're very happy with the arrival of Joao, as we're very happy with the arrival of Doue, with the arrival of Safonov, with the recruitment we did. We're very happy."

Despite Safonov's arrival, Gianluigi Donnarumma is still set to be PSG's number one and is now playing in his fourth season in Paris.

He has made 117 appearances in all competitions since joining from Milan, keeping 40 clean sheets in that time.

In the past, Donnarumma has come under scrutiny for making mistakes, despite making just one error that led to a goal in Ligue 1 last season, and Campos thinks he has been treated too harshly.

"No. I think there is more external noise around Donnarumma than internal noise," he added.

"Internally, we are very happy with him, and we will try to renew his contract."

Al-Ittihad have announced the signing of Danilo Pereira from Paris Saint-Germain.

The midfielder, who was often deployed at centre-back for PSG, has moved to the Saudi Pro League in a deal reportedly worth €5million.

Pereira made 157 appearances for the French champions in all competitions over four years, winning three Ligue 1 titles, the Coupe de France twice, and the Trophee des Champions three times.

However, he had fallen out of favour, having not featured in any of Luis Enrique's matchday squads so far this season.

Pereira had the most blocks (25) among PSG players in the league last season, and completed the most passes (2084), while he won possession back 128 times, the fourth-best tally in the team.

Al-Ittihad have also confirmed the arrival of Steven Bergwijn from Ajax for a reported €25m.

The winger, who joined Ajax in July 2022, made 80 appearances, netting 31 goals and registering 41 assists.

Luis Enrique is confident that Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 win against Lille will stand them in good stead ahead of their quest for Champions League glory. 

The Spaniard watched on as his side took their scoring to 13 from their first three Ligue 1 games and maintaining PSG's perfect start to the campaign. 

Vitinha's penalty and Bradley Barcola's strike gave the visitors an advantage at the break, with Randal Kolo Muani scoring in second-half injury time to confirm the win after Edon Zhegrova had halved the deficit.

The Parisiens enter the international break two points clear of Marseille at the summit, but their attention will quickly to the Champions League later this month. 

Enrique's side have been handed a difficult draw for the competition, squaring off against European heavyweights Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid as their standout encounters.

They kickstart their campaign against Girona on September 18, with the PSG head coach confident that their victory over Lille, who will also compete in the competition this season, was a good test for his players.

"It was an away game against a team who play in the Champions League, who have already played several games and have a very different rhythm to us," Luis Enrique said.

"It was a very good test for us, it was a Champions League match for us. I'm pretty happy with the team's performance."

The revamped Champions League format has been extended to 36 teams this season, with each playing eight fixtures in the first round of the competition. 

PSG return from the international break with a fixture against another Champions League hopeful, Brest, four days before they begin their journey for that elusive maiden European title.

"There's the match against Brest after the break and that will have nothing to do with the Champions League and its new format," Enrique said. 

"I can't know what that will be like. My team is showing signs of confidence but we still lack physical rhythm in several of our players.

"The Champions League is very different and full of new things." 

Luis Enrique is confident that Paris Saint-Germain's 3-1 win against Lille will stand them in good stead ahead of their quest for Champions League glory. 

The Spaniard watched on as his side took their scoring to 13 from their first three Ligue 1 games, maintaining PSG's perfect start to the campaign. 

Vitinha's penalty and Bradley Barcola's strike gave the visitors an advantage at the break, with Randal Kolo Muani scoring in second-half injury time to confirm the win after Edon Zhegrova had halved the deficit.

The Parisiens enter the international break two points clear of Marseille at the summit, but their attention will quickly to the Champions League later this month. 

Enrique's side have been handed a difficult draw for the competition, squaring off against European heavyweights Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid.

They kickstart their campaign against Girona on September 18, with the PSG head coach confident that their encounter with Lille, who will also compete in the competition this season, was a good test for his players.

"It was an away game against a team who play in the Champions League, who have already played several games and have a very different rhythm to us," Luis Enrique said.

"It was a very good test for us, it was a Champions League match for us. I'm pretty happy with the team's performance."

The revamped Champions League format has been extended to 36 teams this season, with each playing eight fixtures in the first round of the competition. 

PSG return from the international break with a fixture against another Champions League hopeful, Brest, four days before they begin their journey for that elusive maiden European title.

"There's the match against Brest after the break and that will have nothing to do with the Champions League and its new format," Enrique said. 

"I can't know what that will be like. My team is showing signs of confidence but we still lack physical rhythm in several of our players.

"The Champions League is very different and full of new things." 

Paris Saint-Germain continued the perfect start to their Ligue 1 title defence with a third successive victory, winning 3-1 away to Lille on Sunday.

Vitinha opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Bradley Barcola added another goal just three minutes later in the first half at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

Barcola's fourth strike of the Ligue 1 season had PSG in control at 2-0 heading into the second period, though Edon Zhegrova reduced the arrears with 12 minutes remaining.

Randal Kolo Muani made sure of all three points, however, with the substitute climbing high to head home from Desire Doue's cross in stoppage time.

Luis Enrique's reigning champions remain top of the table on nine points, two ahead of a four-team chasing pack, while Lille are sixth with six.

Data Debrief: Brilliant Barcola frustrates Lille again

Zhegrova's late finish forced PSG into a nervier ending than expected, considering the visitors dominated almost 60% of the possession and accumulated 2.3 expected goals to Lille's 1.24.

Yet it was a familiar face who proved the thorn in the hosts' side once more, with Barcola netting in the first half for his fourth Ligue 1 goal involvement against Lille (two goals, two assists).

Only against Montpellier (six) has the France winger managed more goal involvements in his top-flight career, and Barcola will expect further domestic achievements this campaign having stepped up to replace Kylian Mbappe on the left.

Barcola's exploits, alongside the youthful midfield of Joao Neves, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery, will be pivotal for Luis Enrique's side, too, this season – where they continue to succeed on the road.

PSG have now won their last seven Ligue 1 away matches, including the back end of last term, last managing more in the competition between January and April 2017 (eight).

Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique is confident his players can adapt in the absence of Goncalo Ramos to continue their impressive start to the season.

PSG have taken to life without Kylian Mbappe with ease, scoring 10 goals in their first two Ligue 1 fixtures, equalling their highest tally after two games played (also in 2022-23).

The Parisiens have welcomed four new faces during the transfer window, signing Joao Neves, Desire Doue, William Pacho and Matvei Safonov. 

Luis Enrique was dealt a blow, however, in PSG's opener against Le Harve, with striker Ramos forced off with an injury that will cause him to miss three months.

But in his absence, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele have starred in front of goal, with Luis Enrique now focused on bringing the best out of the players available.

"We want to sign players, and their prices were very high. I have the players I have, I'm happy with their level, now I have to develop their potential," Luis Enrique said.

"As a nine, we can play with [Marco] Asensio, Dembele, Randal Kolo Muani, Barcola, Ramos, Warren [Zaire-Emery], [Achraf] Hakimi, Vitinha, Fabian [Ruiz], Neves... that's 10. It's the same with the defenders.

"I've got some very versatile players, which fits in with the plan we wanted for this team. Pacho, Doue and Neves — they can play in lots of different roles... so I have a lot of options in my team."

PSG will seek to claim an elusive Champions League trophy once again this season, but have been handed a difficult draw in the competition's new league phase.

Luis Enrique's side will face Girona in their first game in the competition, but will also square off against European heavyweights Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid.

"My impression of the draw is that it's a new competition, a new format," Luis Enrique said. 

"It's obvious that statistically we were the least favoured but I can't judge this competition because we don't know it.

"We'll say that this is a competition that we're going to try out and we've been the least lucky."

Champions League holders Real Madrid will face Borussia Dortmund in a rematch of last season's final following Thursday's revamped draw.

The new league phase format sees each of the 36 teams play eight games, four at home and four away.

And Madrid, who beat Dortmund in the final at Wembley in June, will go up against BVB at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Carlo Ancelotti's team are also set to face Liverpool at Anfield in one of the headline clashes of the new-look draw, while they will play Milan and Europa League winners Atalanta.

Liverpool have failed to win each of their last eight meetings with Madrid (D1 L7), their longest winless run against an opponent in European competition.

Manchester City and Arsenal will both go up against Paris Saint-Germain, while Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen count Inter, Liverpool, Milan and Atletico Madrid among their eight opponents.

PSG will also take on Bayern Munich, who in turn have to face Barcelona away from home. The French club, meanwhile, have won just one of their six Champions League meetings with Man City.

As well as taking on PSG, Arsenal also have a clash with Inter to relish. The Gunners' only previous away game against Internazionale was a 5-1 win in November 2003, with that season being the last time the Gunners won the Premier League title.

Aston Villa fans have a pair of home matches against heavyweights Bayern and Juventus to look forward to.

Xabi Alonso wants Bayer Leverkusen to click through the gears after they edged out Jena in the DFB-Pokal.

Jonas Hofmann's header was enough to send holders Leverkusen into the next round with a 1-0 win on Wednesday.

Alonso's side only allowed their lower-league opponents to have six shots, but worryingly for the Bundesliga champions, those did accumulate to 1.04 expected goals (xG).

Indeed, Hamza Muqaj missed a golden opportunity for the hosts worth 0.75 xG in second-half stoppage time.

With RB Leipzig next up in the league, Alonso knows his team have to sharpen up.

"[We faced] a good opponent and it wasn't easy," said Alonso.

"We have to work on a few things, but we are in the next round and that's what counts. Now we go straight into preparing for the next league game."

Leverkusen did bolster their defensive options, though with the signing of Nordi Mukiele.

The versatile defender has joined on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, and could be in line to make his debut against his former club Leipzig on Saturday.

Odilon Kossounou, meanwhile, has left Leverkusen to sign for Atalanta, who beat Alonso's team in last season's Europa League final, on loan. 

Bradley Barcola is confident he can make a difference for Paris Saint-Germain this season in the absence of Kylian Mbappe after his brace against Montpellier. 

Barcola, who has three goals in two appearances already this season, starred for Luis Enrique's side during their 6-0 win in first home game of the new campaign. 

The 21-year-old opened the scoring at the Parc des Princes with a brilliantly taken finish from the left-hand side before completing his maiden brace of his career with a simple finish in the second half. 

Barcola registered the most shots (four) and touches in the opposition box (seven), while also contributing 1.17 expected goals (xG) to PSG's 3.9 total. 

He has now been involved in eight goals (five goals and three assists) in his last seven top-flight appearances for the club, and he is sure that this is his year to take centre stage. 

"I had a lot of fun, I felt free. The coach asked everyone to press together. You have to make a lot of effort, but you get used to it as you go along," Barcola said.

"I've realised that I can make a difference. Pushing the ball like that on the first goal is something I've been doing since I was very young."

PSG have now scored 10 goals in their opening two games of the league season, equalling their highest tally after two games played (10 also in 2022-23), all without last year's leading marksman Mbappe. 

Enrique's side managed 27 shots in their encounter with Montpellier, 11 of which were on target, something the Spaniard felt was coming after witnessing their ruthless streak in training. 

"I'm very happy because it's our first home game. We wanted to give the fans some joy. It was a perfect evening," Enrique said. 

"I felt it in training, the intensity of the pressing increased. We scored six goals but we could have scored 10. Today was our night... the players were incredible. It's a great feeling."

PSG continue their league campaign at the Stade Pierre Mauroy next week when they face Lille, who face Angers in their second game of the season on Saturday.

Bradley Barcola's first brace of his career helped Paris Saint-Germain maintain their winning start to the season as they thrashed Montpellier 6-0 on Friday.

Barcola opened the scoring in the fourth minute of the contest, with Marco Asensio doubling their advantage before the break. 

The 21-year-old continued the scoring eight minutes after the break, as Achraf Hakimi, Warren Zaire-Emery and Lee Kang-in completed a dominant display. 

It took four minutes for the first goal of the encounter as Barcola produced a fine finish, with Asensio adding their second after being picked out by Joao Neves. 

Despite momentarily halting the onslaught, Barcola increased PSG's advantage shortly after the break with a simple finish from Ousmane Demebele's pass. 

Hakimi netted the hosts' fourth with another fine finish, as Zaire-Emery got himself in on the act to strike beyond Benjamin Lecomte after a brilliant piece of skill.

Substitute Kang-in sealed the scoring eight minutes from time, sneaking a left-footed effort from the edge of the area in at Lecomte's near post. 

Data Debrief: Barcola starts for Parisians

PSG have now scored 10 goals in their last two league games, as life without Kylian Mbappe has got off to a flying start under Luis Enrique. 

Barcola showcased his undeniable talent during the contest, contributing 1.17 expected goals (xG) to PSG's 3.93 total - the highest of any player for the hosts. 

The winger has eight goal involvements (five goals, three assists) in his last seven top-flight appearances for PSG, two more than in his first 20 for the club. 

Paris Saint-Germain will not rush into the transfer market even after losing striker Goncalo Ramos to injury, head coach Luis Enrique pledged on Thursday.

Ramos injured his ankle in last week's 4-1 win at Le Havre and is expected to be out for up to three months in a major blow to the French champions, who were already believed to be in the market for attacking reinforcements after losing Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid.

Luis Enrique, however, says PSG will not be pressured into paying over the odds for any player, with Ousmane Dembele, Lee Kang-in, Randal Kolo Muani and Bradley Barcola now the forward options at his disposal.

"It's a shame, it's always sad when you lose a player, but it doesn't change anything," Luis Enrique told reporters ahead of Friday's clash with Montpellier.

"We have a very good team, I have great confidence in all the players who make up my squad.

"We already have a team here which won the league, so we are observing the transfer window and we will see if a player comes up at a normal price. If it is a silly price, we won't. We are not in a rush."

The former Spain boss then explained how PSG face unique difficulties in the market, adding: "When a big team like Paris Saint-Germain has to buy a washing machine, instead of €4 it costs €400, and then the washing machine has to work like a washing machine that costs €400, but it only cost €4.

"But we have already worked well last year with magnificent arrivals and this year I already have a team that has improved in all areas.

"So we have no emergency, I repeat, no emergency, but I repeat, we are always attentive and likely to improve things at the same time."

Luis Enrique expects a difficult test against Montpellier on Friday, despite the Ligue 1 champions beating the same opponents 3-0 and 6-2 last season.

"It's difficult because it's the beginning of the season, there is no team that is 100% yet," he said.

"But we have a lot of hope, we are very motivated, tomorrow's match means getting back in touch with our supporters and we hope to win at the end and for the fans to have a good time, that's our goal." 

Goncalo Ramos will undergo surgery after sustaining an ankle ligament injury during Paris Saint-Germain's victory over Le Havre, the club has confirmed.

The PSG striker limped off in the 20th minute of their 4-1 win at the Stade Oceane following a late tackle from behind. 

Ramos, who scored 11 times for Luis Enrique's side last season, provided an assist for Lee Kang-In in the third minute of PSG's opening match of the new Ligue 1 campaign, prior to his premature withdrawal.

The reigning champions confirmed on Saturday the Portugal international suffered a "serious ligament sprain in his left ankle", which will sideline him for around three months.

Ramos' absence deals a further blow to Luis Enrique, who is already looking to fill the void left by Kylian Mbappe following his blockbuster move to Real Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed the arrival of Rennes midfielder Desire Doue for a reported €50m transfer fee. 

Doue, who won silver at the Paris Olympics with France, has signed a five-year contract with the 12-time Ligue 1 champions. 

The 19-year-old made 43 appearances in all competitions for Julien Stephan's side last season, scoring four goals and adding six assists. 

Doue will provide the Parisians with another attacking threat from midfield, with the 31 chances he created last year a total only bettered by Benjamin Bourigeaud (69) in the Rennes squad. 

He also completed the most dribbles (64) for the French side, while also outperforming his expected goals (xG) total by 1.62 in Ligue 1. 

The teenager becomes PSG's fourth arrival at the Parc des Princes in the transfer window after the signings of Joao Neves, William Pacho and Matvey Safonov. 

“I'm delighted to be joining Paris Saint-Germain. I'm really excited, and also happy and proud," Doue told the PSG website.

"It's a dream come true. I can't wait to discover the Parc des Princes in a PSG jersey and to play in front of these fans.