DRAXLER WINNER DELIVERS IMMEDIATE RETURN FOR PSG

NEW BOY Julian Draxler produced a brilliant first-time finish to give Paris Saint Germain a 1-0 win at Rennes on his Ligue 1 debut for the champions yesterday. The victory lifts PSG level second with Monaco on 42 points, two behind table-toppers Nice, who host lowly Metz overnight, while the Monegasques face a tough trip along the coast to Marseille. The 2014 World Cup winner Draxler, 23, and freshly arrived on a €40million (RM190m) transfer from Wolfsburg, looked at home in his PSG shirt from the kickoff. And when the goal came it was the third time he and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti had teamed up to pressure the goal as Unai Emery’s team, who face Nantes next week, start to gel. After a pin-point cross-field pass from Verratti on 40 minutes, Draxler unleashed a reflex, curling shot from the corner of the area which curled around the defence and the clutching grasp of a full-stretch Benoit Costil and just inside the post. “Draxler did a good job. Scored a beautiful goal and showed his quality and value to the team. He’s fitted in well,” Emery said. Draxler had already dummied a defender and shot at goal from a long Verratti pass early on but his shot had been too close to Costil. Then on the half-hour Verratti was booked for a dive in the area when a perfect Draxler through ball forced the Rennes ‘keeper into a rash challenge, which may have warranted a spotkick had the Italian actually waited for contact before hitting the turf.