Lee Kang-in gave Paris Saint-Germain the lead in the first three minutes in Normandy against Le Havre, only for Gautier Lloris to equalize. But late goals by Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola, along with a Randal Kolo Muani penalty, sealed a 4-1 victory for the reigning French Ligue 1 champions.

It was a comfortable win in the end for Luis Enrique's team, with their substitutes ultimately making the difference as PSG's depth proved too much for a home team that barely avoided relegation last season.

"It is the first game back and it's a very good start," said PSG's Spanish coach.

The French international trio of Kolo Muani, Dembele and Barcola all began the game on the bench, while Portugal midfielder Joao Neves came on at half-time for his debut after joining from Benfica for a fee that could reach 69.9 million euros (about $76.7 million) including bonuses.

Yet Le Havre will wonder what might have been had a Josue Casimir goal – which would have put the hosts in front early in the second half – not been disallowed by VAR for a handball.

"We had highs and lows, but the substitutes did a lot of good for us," added Luis Enrique. "The final score disguises the fact that there are things to improve upon. We gave away lots of easy balls and had we gone 2-1 down, that might have changed everything."

PSG have not made any marquee signings to fill the enormous void left by Mbappe, who departed for Real Madrid in June after scoring 44 goals last season and registering a club-record 256 across his seven years with the team.

It remains to be seen if PSG can repeat their performance from the last campaign, when they swept all of the domestic honors and reached the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League.

The Spanish coach was without several regulars, with left-back Nuno Mendes suspended, while Fabian Ruiz is not yet ready to return after helping Spain win Euro 2024.

There was a debut on the left wing for Ibrahim Mbaye, who is only 16 and was one of three teenagers in PSG's starting line-up alongside Yoram Zague and Warren Zaire-Emery, both 18.

South Korean midfielder Lee opened the scoring when he collected a Goncalo Ramos pass on the right wing, before sending a shot into the far corner with the aid of a deflection.

But the visitors were then dealt a blow as Ramos was forced off with an ankle injury, before his replacement Kolo Muani sent a header crashing back off the bar.

Le Havre, in their first game under new coach Didier Digard, improved as the match went on and Abdoulaye Toure had a goal disallowed for offside just before the half-hour mark.

They were level three minutes into the second half when Lloris, the younger brother of former France captain and goalkeeper Hugo, turned in Christopher Operi's free-kick.

The hosts thought they had taken the lead in the 53rd minute when skipper Casimir ran through to score, but VAR ruled his effort out after a long check for a handball.

Lee struck the frame of the goal before Dembele, who had been sent on for the final 20 minutes, gave PSG the advantage again in the 85th minute with a header from a Neves cross.

Barcola curled in a superb third goal a minute later, before Kolo Muani earned and converted the late penalty to wrap up the win for the visitors at the Stade Oceane.

Last season's runners-up Monaco face Saint-Etienne on Saturday, while Roberto De Zerbi's first game in charge of Marseille will be away to Brest, who surprisingly finished third last season.