PSG sweep aside Villarreal 6-0 to stay top of Champions League standings

Paris Saint-Germain maintained their perfect start to the Champions League league phase with a 6-0 victory over Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica on Tuesday night.

Joao Neves opened the scoring after nine minutes before Desire Doue doubled the visitors’ advantage three minutes later. Senny Mayulu then made it 3-0 in the 13th minute, and Fabian Ruiz completed a remarkable opening 17 minutes for Paris Saint-Germain with a fourth goal.

Ruiz struck again five minutes after the interval to add to Villarreal’s problems, while David Boly completed the scoring in the 78th minute.

The result moved Paris Saint-Germain to 12 points from four matches, leaving them top of the league standings. Villarreal remain 29th with three points.

Luis Enrique’s side have now put themselves in a strong position in the league phase, but the Paris Saint-Germain manager said the number of goals scored during the opening matches would count for nothing unless the club successfully defended their Champions League title.

“This does not count for anything,” Luis Enrique told Goal. “There will only be one champion in the final in Madrid, and our goal is to win the title there.

“In previous seasons, we were crowned champions of the Champions League without finishing the league phase among the top eight.”

The 6-0 scoreline was shaped by Paris Saint-Germain’s fast start, with four goals arriving before the 18-minute mark. Luis Enrique said football could change quickly and argued that teams should continue attacking rather than attempting to protect a lead.

“In football, I have seen teams score three goals in five minutes,” he said. “There is no point in trying to defend, you must instead focus on attacking, and had we conceded this number of goals in such a short period, we would have faced the same difficulties that Villarreal faced.”

Villarreal head coach Inigo Perez acknowledged that his team’s early performance had contributed to the heavy defeat.

“We’re hurting and disappointed by the defeat,” he said. “We started the game poorly.

“Conceding so many goals in such a short period of time was a huge blow.”