Kylian Mbappe became Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time top scorer in Ligue 1 as he helped them to a crucial 3-1 win over 10-man title rivals Lens on Saturday.
The forward made the most of Salis Abdul Samed’s 19th-minute dismissal to net his 139th top-flight goal for PSG and overtake Edinson Cavani’s haul, beating Brice Samba inside the box.
Further goals from Vitinha and Lionel Messi helped Christophe Galtier’s side refocus on the pitch at Parc des Princes amid a week of off-field distractions.
Most importantly, it sees them open up a nine-point gap over Franck Haise’s visitors, who face a monumental task to rein in the champions with seven games to go.
A cagey opening quarter exploded into life when Lens found themselves abruptly a man down, after Abdul Samed was shown a straight red for crunching into Achraf Hakimi’s ankle.
PSG wasted little time in making their advantage count, with Mbappe driving his history-making goal in off the right post in the 31st minute as the prelude to a purple patch.
Vitinha buried a 25-yard rocket past Samba in the 37th minute to double the lead, before Messi played a one-two with Mbappe and slotted past the keeper three minutes later.
Hopes of a further rout did not come to fruition following the break however, and Lens were gifted a penalty lifeline when VAR cited Fabian Ruiz for a handball shortly before the hour mark.
Przemyslaw Frankowski duly sent Gianluigi Donnarumma the wrong way, and from there the visitors proceeded to punch above their weight in a lively last half-hour.
But there was to be no great comeback, and with three more points in their back pocket, it is PSG who hold all the cards heading into the final stretch of the season.
PSG player ratings (3-5-2)
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7/10 – Wasn’t really needed until late on to keep Openda at bay.
CB: Marquinhos – 6/10 – Looked a little nervy when put under pressure but will have been thankful to see that press fade away.
CB: Sergio Ramos – 7/10 – Controlled Lens’ threat well, whether in the air or on the ground.
CB: Danilo Pereira – 7/10 – Moved up into midfield when in possession and that overload, especially after the red card, proved vital.
RM: Achraf Hakimi – 6/10 – Not as active down the right as you’d expect, perhaps because he was crunched for the sending off.
CM: Carlos Soler – 5/10 – Not Soler’s best performance. Found it hard to get involved.
CM: Vitinha – 8/10 – A really impressive performance with a fantastic goal.
CM: Fabian Ruiz – 6/10 – Fine. Nothing more than fine. Needs to step it up if he wants to stay at PSG.
LM: Nuno Mendes – 8/10 – A massive threat down the left. Always looked capable of grabbing an elaborate assist or two but bagged a simple one for Vitinha.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 9/10 – Really came to life after the red card with both a goal and an assist in the first half.
ST: Lionel Messi – 8/10 – Roamed around in midfield to pull the strings and finished off a glorious move with Mbappe.
Substitutes
Juan Bernat (77′ for Mendes) – 6/10
Warren Zaire-Emery (88′ for Marquinhos) – N/A
Manager
Christophe Galtier – 5/10 – Needed the red card to get PSG on top but didn’t always look convincing even then. This game was decided by moments of magic from his players, rather than any tactical genius.
Lens player ratings (3-4-2-1)
GK: Brice Samba (4); CB: Jonathan Gradit (5); CB: Kevin Danso (5); CB: Facundo Medina (6); RM: Przemyslaw Frankowski (7); CM: Salis Abdul Samed (2); CM: Seko Fofana (7); LM: Deiver Machado (6); AM: Adrien Thomasson (5); AM: Angelo Fulgini (6); ST: Lois Openda (6)
Substitutes: Florian Sotoca (6), Jean Onana (6), Massadio Haidara (5), David Costa (N/A)
