Saint-Etienne 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain: Pochettino’s first game ends with a Tie

Under Mauricio Pochettino, Paris Saint-Germain struggled to get off to a successful start because they were held to a 1-1 draw by Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1.

In the final PSG game of 2020, Thomas Tuchel oversaw a 4-0 defeat of Strasbourg, but it was not enough for the German to retain his job as the defending champions sat seventh.

And as a somewhat lethargic PSG failed to build on Moise Kean’s 22nd-minute equaliser, Pochettino was unable to mastermind a win to kickstart his reign.

🙌⚽️#ASSEPSG pic.twitter.com/fUvYv0rkAk

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) January 6, 2021

Within the opening 10 minutes, both goalkeepers were called into action as Keylor Navas denied Harold Moukoudi at one end, before Moise Kean tested Jessy Moulin at the other.

Yet in 19 minutes when PSG played themselves into trouble, Pochettino’s tenure had his first setback, Idrissa Gueye’s slip pounced on by Denis Bouanga, with Hamouma providing a tidy finish over Navas.

However, as Marco Verratti played in Kean to smash in the first goal of the Pochettino period on the turn, PSG hit back within three minutes.

Before half-time, Mathieu Debuchy’s low strike forced Navas into a smart stop, and in the second period, PSG’s goalkeeper came to their rescue again, blocking Bouanga’s route to goal.

With 20 minutes left, Navas was beaten, but the crossbar held Bouanga’s header out.