Soccer PIX: PSG to thrash Montpellier

Bradley Barcola scored twice as Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain hammered Montpellier 6-0 in their first home game of the season on Friday.

PSG were dominant throughout the encounter at the Parc des Princes to record a second straight win following their 4-1 victory at Le Havre in their league opener last week.

"I'm very happy because it's our first home game. We wanted to give the fans some joy. It was a perfect evening. I felt it in training, the intensity of the pressing increased," PSG manager Luis Enrique told DAZN.

"We scored six goals but we could have scored 10. Today was our night... the players were incredible. It's a great feeling."

Barcola opened the scoring in the fourth minute following a great solo run down the left flank before Marco Asensio doubled the lead, sending the ball into the net after a brilliant team move through a weak defence from the visitors in the 24th.

Barcola netted his second with a tap-in off a Ousmane Dembele pass eight minutes after the break, while Achraf Hakimi coolly slotted home from Nuno Mendes' pinpoint long-range cross five minutes later.

"I had a lot of fun, I felt free. The coach asked everyone to press together. You have to make a lot of effort, but you get used to it as you go along," Barcola said.

"I've realised that I can make a difference. Pushing the ball like that on the first goal is something I've been doing since I was very young."

Warren Zaire-Emery got on the scoresheet on the hour mark off Dembele's second assist and substitute Lee Kang-in sealed the rout with a fine effort from the edge of the box eight minutes from time.

PSG will be looking to continue their perfect start to the campaign away against Lille on Sept. 1, while Montpellier host Nantes a day earlier.

"There have only been two games but I'm really pleased with what I've seen," Luis Enrique added.

Leverkusen snatch late Bundesliga win

Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso asked for more character after his side beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-2 in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday through yet another stoppage-time winner.

Leverkusen were awarded a penalty deep into added time and Florian Wirtz scored on a rebound to earn the visitors the three points after Gladbach's Ko Itakura fouled substitute Amine Adli.

"It was an intense first Bundesliga game for us. A lot of things happened in the second half, it was full of emotion right to the end. We did well in many phases," Alonso told a press conference.

"But we weren't always so compact today, we were also a bit passive in some phases. We have to do that better. We have to be more aggressive.

"It's difficult to explain why we always score late goals. We can't train that and I can't influence it. It's the mentality of the team."

Champions Leverkusen, who set a European record of 51 consecutive games without loss across all competitions last season, kept their unbeaten streak intact with a number of late equalisers.

"We said at halftime that we must not let up and not think that the game is over," said former Gladbach player Granit Xhaka.

"At the end of the first half, we started not being consistent enough in our passing game and losing easy balls. Here at home, Gladbach never die, you could see that in the (goals for) 1-2 and 2-2."

Xhaka gave Leverkusen the lead in the 12th minute but did not celebrate out of respect for his former club.

"I had the feeling that we made it unnecessarily difficult for ourselves," added Wirtz, who scored two goals on the night, including the decider.

"We were asleep when it came to conceding goals. We let it slip away ourselves, even though we were actually in control, although we didn't have the ball the whole time.

"I just wanted to decide the game. I know that in the end it will be a lucky win. (But) we are happy that we won and that I was able to score the follow-up shot."

Leverkusen came into the game off a German Supercup win, where they beat VfB Stuttgart 4-3 on penalties after scoring a late equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw over 90 minutes and lift the trophy on Saturday.