Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc paid tribute to his side for recovering from the first-half sending off of Adrien Rabiot to still start their Ligue 1 title defence with a win.
Rabiot was dismissed 28 minutes into the capital club's opener at Lille for two swift yellow cards, but Lucas Moura's goal earned the visitors a 1-0 win.
"Given the scenario, winning with 10 men is a very good result," Blanc said on the club website.
"It's the first game of the season and we are still finding our form, but our individual and collective quality saw us control the game. We have to be careful because you can't always win playing 10 versus 11."
Lucas' goal certainly highlighted the quality at PSG's disposal, even without the missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Angel Di Maria, as Edinson Cavani, Blaise Matuidi and Lucas combined before the Brazilian raced through to score.
Blanc said Rabiot could feel hard done by with his first booking, picked up for a strong sliding tackle on Florent Balmont, but admitted the second for a shirt tug was his own fault.
"The first card seems harsh because, although it's strong, he took the ball. It is an action that does not deserve punishment from what I saw," he said.
"A youthful error, he was at fault for the second one.
"It was detrimental to the team, but it may have helped to galvanize us. At 10 against 11 you do not panic, stay compact, defend well."
On the signing of Di Maria, who completed his move from Manchester United on Friday, Blanc said: "I am glad and lucky to see that the club can recruit a player of this quality."
Defender David Luiz was pleased to see the champions get off to a winning start.
The Brazil defender said: " The important thing is to keep improving to try and win every competition that Paris St Germain plays in.
"It's in these types of matches that we progress. We have a lot of ambition this season. This first goal of the season for Lucas bodes well for the future."
Source: PA
