PSG's injury woes deepen in win over Auxerre

Paris Saint-Germain returned to winning ways by beating Auxerre 2-0 but Vitinha and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia appeared to suffer injuries in the Ligue 1 victory.

Vitinha teed up Illia Zabarnyi to score but was substituted after 36 minutes to raise fears of the PSG captain joining a lengthy injury list ahead of Wednesday's trip to Barcelona in the Champions League.

Kvaratskhelia was replaced at half-time, seemingly struggling with his thigh, with Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, João Neves and Marquinhos already sidelined.

Lucas Beraldo struck after the interval as the leaders at least claimed all three points after Monday's 1-0 defeat at rivals Marseille, where Marquinhos scored an own goal and injured himself.

Beraldo was brought into the XI to replace his fellow Brazilian at the Parc des Princes, where PSG flew out of the traps, with Kvaratskhelia and Warren Zaïre-Emery spurning early chances.

Beraldo could not direct a header on target from a cross by Vitinha, who was rewarded from his next ball into the box as Zabarnyi scored his first goal following his summer move from Bournemouth.

A corner was worked to Vitinha on the edge of the area and rather than shoot, the Portuguese floated an inch-perfect ball for Zabarnyi to volley beyond Auxerre goalkeeper Donovan Léon in the 32nd minute.

It was Vitinha's last contribution, however, as he was soon withdrawn and replaced by Achraf Hakimi, who took on captaincy duties and was soon into the action after having a shot blocked before the break.

Kvaratskhelia made way at the interval, replaced by Bradley Barcola, who almost made an instant impact after going clean through but with just Leon to beat, he saw his shot well saved.

Beraldo made no mistake, becoming the second PSG centre-back to score, when he got in front of Francisco Sierralta to head home from Senny Mayulu's cross in the 54th minute.

Auxerre might have hit back just before the hour mark as Kévin Danois let fly from just outside the area and while Lucas Chevalier was well beaten, the PSG goalkeeper was bailed out by his post.

Beraldo had his head bandaged following a clash of heads with Sékou Mara before Hakimi seemed to have scored PSG's third after chipping over Leon, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

Teenage forward Quentin Ndjantou came on for his PSG debut and tested Leon late on, while Chevalier had to be at his best in stoppage time to preserve his clean sheet as he excellently denied Mara.