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Paris Saint-Germain were not at their best on Saturday but still managed to beat ESTAC Troyes 4-3 in Ligue 1 at Parc des Princes. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all got on the scoresheet in a goal-filled encounter which really burst into life in the second half.

The French champions twice trailed their visitors through an inspired Mama Balde only for Carlos Soler and then Messi to equalize before Neymar gave the hosts the lead before Mbappe finished the job despite Ante Palaversa's late effort.

Troyes led after just three minutes when Rony Lopes teed up Balde for the first of his two goals through an instinctive finish. Soler leveled 21 minutes later after the Spaniard was played in by Neymar and then took the ball around Gauthier Gallon in the away goal.

Seven minutes into the second half and Troyes were ahead again with Balde assisted by PSG youth academy product Wilson Odobert. The Champagne side's lead would only last three minutes, though, as Ramos helped Messi to line up a superb finish from range to haul a disappointing Parisien side level. Seven minutes later, Messi turned provider to play in Neymar for PSG's third which finally put Christophe Galtier's men in front.

Mbappe's penalty 15 minutes from time made sure of the turnaround but it was harsh on Bruno Irles' Troyes who had more than matched the Ligue 1 leaders for an hour or so. Palaversa headed home in the 88th minute to give the traveling fans a glimmer of hope, but they were unable to find the equalizer.

"We conceded three goals too many," said Galtier after the match. "Attack-wise, we were interesting. However, we were extremely unbalanced. We won precious few balls high up the pitch which opened up avenues for Troyes. Defensively, we made many glaring errors. We must fix this by working through it. We cannot give that much hope to our opponents. If we are required to score four each time, it will be complicated. We must remember our defensive principles."

Despite a positive display in front of goal once more, serious questions are starting to emerge regarding the PSG defense. Maccabi Haifa scored twice in the UEFA Champions League despite taking a beating while Galtier's side shipped three more goals here -- that is five from two outings and poor by any standards.

Granted, Haifa and Troyes are not the most important fixtures in PSG's season but conceding goals against teams of that caliber suggests that stronger sides could fare even better -- especially in Europe.

Presnel Kimpembe looked well off the pace as many would expect after the best part of two months out injured and it will take time to reintroduce him to the regular starting XI. Having Sergio Ramos in and out of the team owing to domestic suspension has not helped either while captain Marquinhos' form has fallen short of his previous best.

Troyes were not lucky to score three either -- both of Balde's goals were well-taken, Ike Ugbo had a good chance to reduce the deficit later and Palaversa's goal was deserved given their determination to keep fighting in a losing battle.

Ultimately, it does not matter greatly here as PSG re-establish their five-point lead over RC Lens at the Championnat summit, but the defensive holes will start to cost points at some point and could really harm their Champions League ambitions later in the campaign.