Kvaratskhelia makes debut in PSG draw

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made his Paris Saint-Germain debut on Saturday and set up a goal for Ousmane Dembele, but the Ligue 1 leader was held to a 1-1 draw by Reims.

The in-form Dembele put PSG ahead at the Parc des Princes with his eighth goal in his last seven appearances, only for Japanese star Keito Nakamura to level soon after.

PSG was unable to follow up its superb midweek win over Manchester City in the Champions League with another victory, but it remains undefeated domestically this season, and moves provisionally 10 points clear of Marseille atop Ligue 1.

Reims has won just once in 12 league outings, yet this was its second draw of the season against PSG, as Luis Enrique's side perhaps had its head elsewhere.

The Parisians go to Germany to play VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday, needing a draw to be certain of progressing to the knockout phase of the Champions League, and Enrique rotated his squad to that end.

Achraf Hakimi, Marquinhos, Willian Pacho, Joao Neves, Vitinha and Bradley Barcola were rested, with the latter's place being taken by Kvaratskhelia.

"He is a player who you can see is different when he gets the ball,"Enrique said of the Georgian.

"I hope this was just the first of many matches for the club, and I think it was positive, although, of course, he lacks rhythm after a month without playing."

Kvaratskhelia, making his first PSG appearance since arriving from Napoli last week for a reported 70 million euros ($72m) is not yet eligible for the Champions League.

He saw Goncalo Ramos almost put the home side ahead in the first half with a shot that was diverted onto the post by goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf.

Kvaratskhelia then played a key part in setting up the opener two minutes after the interval, cutting in from the left and playing a one-two, before teeing up Dembele to score with a deflected shot.

However, Nakamura finished off a fine move to bring Reims level nine minutes later with his eighth goal of the season, leaving the game deadlocked.

AFP