Vitinha goal guides PSG past Nantes in their Ligue 1 opener

NANTES, France :Paris St Germain began their Ligue 1 title defence with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Nantes on Sunday thanks to a second-half goal from their Portugal midfielder Vitinha.

Fresh from their Super Cup triumph over Tottenham Hotspur in a shootout on Wednesday, PSG lacked their usual urgency in front of goal, going in at halftime without having carved out any real chances against a disciplined Nantes defence.

PSG eventually broke the deadlock when Vitinha’s strike from distance in the 67th minute took a deflection off Nantes defender Chidozie Awaziem and curled into the far corner.

Nantes then began to concede more space and PSG thought they had doubled their lead minutes later through Goncalo Ramos but the striker’s effort was ruled out for offside.