PSG launched their Champions League title defence in devastating fashion, thrashing Slovan Bratislava 6-1 as hat-trick hero Ferran Torres stole the show.
Ferran Torres bagged a superb hat-trick (31′, 47′, and 57′) alongside a masterclass from Ousmane Dembele (17′ and 23′), who registered a brace and two assists, as PSG dismantled Slovan to kick off the defence of their back-to-back European crowns (2025 and 2026) in devastating style.
Luis Enrique’s side put the result beyond doubt inside the opening half-hour, sending an ominous warning to their continental rivals: the hunger remains intact to emulate Real Madrid, Ajax, and Bayern Munich by lifting three successive European Cups.
Following this emphatic victory, the Parisians will resume their Champions League campaign in October with considerably sterner tests on the horizon: Manchester City away and Barcelona at the Parc des Princes.
PSG found in Yaya Toure’s Slovan Bratislava the ideal tonic to shake off a stuttering start to their domestic campaign, having registered two draws and a defeat in Ligue 1. The holders produced a vintage display of total football, with full-backs Nuno Mendes and Hakimi bombing forward as wingers, Vitinha dictating the tempo from midfield, an incisive Dembele, and an uncontainable Ferran Torres.
It took the hosts just 17 minutes to break the deadlock. A thunderous strike from Mendes rattled against the crossbar, allowing Dembele to pounce on the rebound and convert. The 2025 Ballon d’Or winner, who was recently shortlisted for the 2026 accolade, doubled the advantage shortly after when Spanish starlet Dro Fernandez—handed a start ahead of Joao Neves—floated in a delivery that deflected off a defender and looped kindly for Dembele to head home.
Firmly in control with only 23 minutes on the clock, the reigning two-time champions refused to let up. Eight minutes later, Dembele turned provider as Ferran Torres tapped home his cross. Spain’s World Cup hero opened his European account with a clinical first-time finish, offering Toure’s charges zero respite.
Straight after the restart in the 47th minute, Akliouche slalomed through the Bratislava defence before picking out Ferran, who took an assured first touch and dispatched a low, angled effort into the net. The Spaniard rounded off his ‘hat-trick’ and PSG’s fifth in the 57th minute, meeting Dembele’s corner with an emphatic first-time finish.
Former Racing forward Suleiman Camara pulled back a consolation with a fine solo effort that left Ukrainian defender Zabarnyi flat-footed, but fellow World Cup winner Fabian Ruiz brought down the curtain on the rout by sweeping home PSG’s sixth in the 88th minute.
