Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti marked his return to competitive action after nearly a month out injured with a 15-minute cameo against Reims in which he helped set up his side’s goal and was then dismissed for a crude challenge.
Verratti was sent on after the pause at the Parc des Princes following a lacklustre first-half in which the hosts mustered one shot on goal despite fielding the fabled troika of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé.
Reims came to the Parc des Princes unbeaten in 11 Ligue 1 matches – a run that had taken them to mid table.
And they played with the attendant confidence allowing their illustrious opponents little space and themselves looking dangerous in possession especially with Folarin Balogun at the focal point.
With Reims obdurate, PSG tried to play intricately around the sides. And when that failed to yield fruits, they tried through the middle.
That too was a barren land.
In the hope of more guile from midfield, PSG boss Christophe Galtier sent on Verratti.
And his surge from the central zone six minutes into the second-half brought the luck that appeared to have deserted the side.
From Verratti, the ball found its way to Messi. His shot at goal hit his teammate Achraf Hakimi and in the slapstick the ball fell to Neymar who rounded the Reims goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf to open the score.
