PSG's perfect start overshadowed by injuries ahead of Champions League opener

PARIS (AP) — Defending champion Paris Saint-Germain extended its perfect start to the French league with a fourth straight win by beating Lens 2-0 on Sunday. But the victory was overshadowed by more injuries for the European champion ahead of its Champions League opener.

PSG, which hosts Serie A team Atalanta on Wednesday, was already without forwards Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué, and finished the game with even more players sidelined.

The European champion was in control throughout the afternoon at Parc des Princes but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lee Kang-in and Lucas Beraldo were all forced to leave the field with injuries.

“The competition that everyone in football loves is coming up,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said. “It is a difficult time for us because we have injured players. We have to wait and see the results for the three players who got injured today. It is about our ability to adapt and we need to respond as a team.”

Bradley Barcola scored both goals for PSG — the first with a fine curling shot from outside the box into the top corner in the first half, and the second after the break with a low finish from distance.

PSG tops the league standings with 12 points from four matches, two points more than second-place Lille. PSG is the only team with a perfect record after 10-man Lyon lost 3-1 at Rennes.

Corentin Tolisso put Lyon ahead in the 14th minute but Rennes rallied impressively in the closing stages. Anthony Rouault scored in the 80th. Substitute Mohamed Meïté struck in added time shortly after his deflected shot had given Rennes the lead.

Lyon, which had not conceded a goal in its three opening games, crumbled after Tyler Morton was sent off in the 75th minute for a tackle from behind.

Teenager Ethan Mbappé, the brother of France superstar Kylian, scored his first goal in the French league, a superb volley deep in injury time that secured a 2-1 win for Lille against Toulouse.

Mbappé, who joined Lille a year ago from Paris Saint-Germain, came on as a substitute with only nine minutes left to play. He connected with a cross in the eighth minute of added time and volleyed the ball into the top corner with his left foot.

The technically gifted left-footed 18-year-old midfielder was hampered by injuries last season.

Lille trailed until the 90th minute when Nabil Bentaleb scored from the penalty spot to level the score after a handball in the box by Rasmus Nicolaisen.

Lille dominated proceedings in the first half and was caught against the run of play after the interval in the 50th minute when Frank Magri broke the deadlock. The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 80th minute after Alexis Vossah was sent off for a dangerous foul on Benjamin André.

Both Mbappé brothers left Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024. While Kylian crossed the border to join the Spanish league, Ethan remained in France and signed a three-year deal with Lille.

A late penalty converted by substitute Joaquin Panichelli in added time gave Strasbourg a 1-0 win against Le Havre, its third league victory so far this season. Strasbourg finished with 10 men following Lucas Hogsberg's sending off.

Also reduced to 10 players after Otavio's red card, promoted Paris FC won a second straight match with a 2-1 win at Brest with goals from Willem Geubbels and Vincent Marchetti.

Still looking for its first win this season, last-place Metz drew 1-1 with Angers.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

PSG's Goncalo Ramos, center, reacts as he receives a yellow card during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Lens at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

PSG's Bradley Barcola,left, celebrates with PSG's Vitinha, scoring his side's opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Le Havre at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Lens' Florian Thauvin, left, challenges for the ball with PSG's Lucas Hernandez, right, during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Lens at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, right, is fouled by Len's Florian Sage during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Le Havre at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

FILE - Lille's Ethan Mbappe during the Champions League round of 16 first leg soccer, between Borussia Dortmund and Lille at the Signa-Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.

Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.

Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.

The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”

Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.

To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.

Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.

Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.

Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.

Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)