Victory Triumphs for Lille in the Champions Trophy curtain-raiser

French champions by surprise Lille defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions Trophy season opener in Tel Aviv. Xeka, a Portuguese midfielder, scored the game-winning goal just before halftime with a powerful strike from outside the penalty area that gave PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas no chance.

PSG arrived in Tel Aviv without Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Angel di Maria, and new star additions Sergio Ramos of Spain and Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy, despite having won the previous eight Champions Trophy matches. PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye was ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19. Georginio Wijnaldum, who was recruited on a free transfer from Liverpool and came on with twenty minutes to play, made a spirited debut. PSG had chances, and on 76 minutes, Mauro Icardi had the ball in the Lille net, twisting a beautiful clip from close range, but what would have been a peach of an equalizer was ruled offside.