PSG were 4-0 up at Villarreal after 16 minutes, the fastest four goals in Champions League history

Paris Saint-Germain were 4-0 up at the Estadio de la Cerámica before the 17th minute was out. Opta timed the fourth at 16 minutes and 2 seconds, which makes PSG the fastest team ever to score four in a Champions League match, and they finished the night 6-0 winners over Villarreal.

The old record belonged to Real Madrid, who took 20 minutes to get four against Dinamo Zagreb in 2011. PSG did it without Ousmane Dembélé, Marquinhos and Nuno Mendes, and with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia out long-term after tearing his ACL in last month’s win over Barcelona.

Eight minutes that ended it

João Neves opened the scoring from close range in the ninth minute, after a corner. Then Villarreal fell apart. Désiré Doué made it 2-0 in the 12th minute from a Maghnes Akliouche pass, Senny Mayulu scored a minute later, and Fabián Ruiz turned in Akliouche’s second assist of the night in the 17th. Villarreal kept giving the ball away, playing out from the back or in their own half, and PSG punished almost all of it.

There was no fightback. Ruiz got his second five minutes after half-time, a low finish from a Vitinha pass. In the 74th minute Luis Enrique sent on David Boly, a 17-year-old defender making his Champions League debut. Four minutes later Neves picked him out on the right side of the box and Boly scored his first senior goal.

Four games, four wins, 20 goals

PSG had already scored 14 in their first three games of the league phase, so they have 20 from four, with five conceded. For now they are the only team with maximum points after four rounds, and this was their tenth straight win in all competitions.

Luis Enrique was more measured than the scoreline. “I obviously wasn’t expecting that, but you get matches where you start in that way,” he told Canal Plus. He also said he does not particularly like blowout scores because his side always respect the opponent, and that the real competition starts in February or March.

He has a point about February. PSG have won the last two Champions Leagues, and they know better than anyone that the table in November guarantees nothing. Still, I’d be more worried about this side if I were Real Madrid or Arsenal now than I was a month ago. They just scored six away from home with four first-choice players, their captain among them, missing.

A bad night for Villarreal

Villarreal finished third in La Liga last season. In Europe they have now lost three of their four games, and the 3-1 home win over Napoli is their only victory. On this evidence, getting into the top 24 looks like a long shot.

PSG play Roma and then Aston Villa in the Champions League before the end of the year.

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