PSG score four in 17 minutes on way to 6-0 Champions League rout of Villarreal
Reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain scored four times inside the opening 17 minutes and went on to thrash Villarreal 6-0 in Spain, maintaining their perfect Champions League record this season.
Paris Saint-Germain produced a ruthless attacking display to thrash Villarreal 6-0 at the Estadio de la Ceramica on Tuesday, in a Champions League matchday four tie that was effectively settled inside the opening 17 minutes.
Joao Neves opened the scoring in the ninth minute, finishing from close range after a corner, and the goals then came in a rapid burst. Desire Doue found the top corner from the edge of the box in the 12th minute, Senny Mayulu volleyed home a rebound a minute later, and Fabian Ruiz completed the early blitz with a fine half-volley in the 17th minute.
That four-goal burst set a record as the fastest a team has scored four times in a match in Europe’s elite club competition, underlining just how completely the French champions overwhelmed their hosts in the opening phase.
Villarreal, who finished third in Spain’s La Liga last season, briefly threatened at the start of the second half but were punished again when Ruiz, played in by Vitinha, finished stylishly for his second goal of the night in the 50th minute.
The scoring was completed in the 78th minute by 17-year-old David Boly, who came on for Achraf Hakimi and curled home from a Neves cross almost immediately, marking his Champions League debut with a goal.
Boly, aged 17 years and 285 days, became Paris Saint-Germain’s second-youngest scorer in the competition, behind only Warren Zaire-Emery, in a night that also showcased the depth of Luis Enrique’s squad.
The victory keeps the reigning champions perfect after four matches in this season’s competition, with four wins from four, and leaves them at the top of the standings as the league phase moves towards its decisive stages.
It was also a statement of intent given the injuries the Paris club have had to manage this season, with the side shrugging off the absence of key players to deliver one of the most dominant away performances of the campaign so far.
For Villarreal, the defeat was a chastening evening at home against the holders, and the Spanish side will need a swift response in their remaining fixtures if they are to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds alive.
Paris Saint-Germain will now look to carry that momentum into their next European fixtures, where a further win would move them closer to securing direct qualification, while Villarreal face a fight to recover from a result that exposed the gap between the two sides on the night.
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