LIGUE 1
Mbappé and Messi help PSG take a step closer to Ligue 1 title
The Parisian side now hold a nine point lead at the top of the table following a 3-1 win over second placed Lens at Parc des Princes on Saturday.
A difficult week for PSG is over. After the accusation of racism against head coach Galtier, the Parisian team were rampant in a first half where they put three past closest pursuing side Lens to secure their stranglehold on the Ligue 1 summit.
Mbappe, Vithna and Lionel Messi were on target to score first-half goals as Paris St Germain beat 10-man Lens 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on Saturday to increase their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table to nine points.
Lens faced an uphill task after Salis Abdul Samed was shown a straight red card in the 19th minute for a reckless tackle as he caught Moroccan international Achraf Hakimi on the ankle.
PSG’s response was swift, the champions seizing the advantage to smash in three goals in a nine-minute spree.
France striker Mbappe made the breakthrough in the 31st minute when he swivelled and hit a pass from Vitinha in off the post with his strike making him PSG’s all-time record league scorer, taking his tally to 139, one more than Edinson Cavani managed.
Vitinha made it 2-0 six minutes later with a long-range screamer that left Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba with no time to react.
Messi then got in on the act in the 40th minute after Mbappe backheeled the Argentine through to fire in at a tight angle and put PSG 3-0 up at the break.
Lens hit back in the second half with a consolation goal from the penalty spot on the hour, Polish winger Przemyslaw Frankowski calmly stepping up to send Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way.