Paris St-Germain 0-0 Lorient: French champions struggle in absence of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar

Kylian Mbappe watched Saturday's game against Lorient from the stands

Paris St-Germain began their Ligue 1 title defence without Kylian Mbappe and Neymar as they were held by Lorient.

The future of the superstar pair is uncertain as both are linked with moves away, and they were left out of the squad for the season opener.

PSG missed prize attackers as they dominated possession but struggled to create significant chances.

Defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte came closest to scoring for the hosts but his strike flew wide in stoppage time.

It was not the ideal start for new PSG manager Luis Enrique, who was appointed as Christophe Galtier's replacement in the summer.

Also watching on from the stands was France forward Ousmane Dembele, who joined PSG from Barcelona for £43.5m earlier on Saturday.

Dembele's international team-mate Mbappe is not training with PSG's first-team squad after informing the club he would not extend his deal with the club beyond next summer.

PSG want to sell Mbappe rather than let him leave for free when his deal ends, but the 24-year-old is widely believed to be holding out for a financially lucrative free transfer to Real Madrid next summer.

Neymar, meanwhile, has been linked with a return to Barcelona.