Messi and Mbappe sparkle as PSG breeze past Lens

Messi and Mbappe sparkle as PSG breeze past Lens

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 22:00 - 15.04.2023

The dynamic duo of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe were on fire for PSG as they defeated Lens 3-1 at the Parc des Princes to take a significant step towards another Ligue 1 title.

Paris Saint-Germain overcame the 10 men of RC Lens 3-1 thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe, Vitinha, and Lionel Messi

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

How it happened

Lens had matched PSG stride for stride until the 19th minute when referee Willy Delajod showed Salis Abdul Samed a straight red card for a poor challenge on Achraf Hakimi. 

Soon after, Nuno Mendes cut through the heart of Lens’ defence in an indication of what was to follow, although the wing-back eventually dragged his shot wide.

Mbappe the record breaker

Unsurprisingly, the breakthrough came from Kylian Mbappe, whose shot on the turn snuck in off the far post to make him the club’s all-time top goalscorer in Ligue 1.

Vitinha doubled the hosts' lead when he scored his first-ever PSG goal with an audacious strike from range that flew through the crowd and past Brice Samba in the Lens goal.

PSG looked simply unstoppable by this point, and Lionel Messi played a sublime one-two with Mbappe before applying a clinical finish for his side’s third goal in nine minutes.

Second half action

Lens emerged defiantly from the break despite their precarious position and were rewarded with a penalty when Przemysław Frankowski’s corner delivery was handled by Fabián Ruiz. 

The Poland international stepped up to take the spot-kick and confidently sent Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way

Despite a bit of fight from the visitors, PSG avoided any significant scares on their way to securing back-to-back wins and moving closer to another league title.

Related content