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| Lionel Messi #30 of Paris Saint-Germain celebrates his goal with Kylian Mbappe #7 of Paris Saint-Germain and teammates during the Ligue 1 match between Paris Saint-Germain and RC Lens at Parc des Princes on April 15, 2023 in Paris, France. |
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi have scored a goal each as Paris Saint-Germain beat 10-man Lens 3-1 to move nine points clear at the top of the French league.
It was a significant goal for Mbappe, who earlier this season became PSG’s all-time leading scorer when he beat Edinson Cavani’s 200-goal mark.
His strike on Saturday against second-placed Lens made the 24-year-old France forward the outright all-time top scorer for PSG in Ligue 1 with 139 goals. Cavani registered 138.
Overall, Mbappe has now hit the net 203 times for Paris.
Marseille can move above Lens with a home win against Patrick Kisnorbo’s struggling Troyes on Sunday, with seven games of the season remaining.
Lens were in complete control until midfielder Salis Abdul Samed was sent off for a reckless challenge on right back Achraf Hakimi in the 19th minute.
Mbappe scored his league-leading 20th goal of the season when he collected a pass from midfielder Vitinha and turned quickly before hitting a first-time shot into the bottom right corner in the 31st minute.
Vitinha doubled the lead six minutes later with a long-distance strike.
PSG’s superstars combined in the 40th minute, Mbappe backheeling a pass to Messi who fired home for his 15th league goal of the campaign.
Lens continued to press in the second half, despite being a player down.
A handball from PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz gave the visitors a penalty on the hour mark, which Poland winger Przemyslaw Frankowski duly dispatched.
The win eased a little of the on-field pressure on PSG coach Christophe Galtier after eight defeats this year across all competitions.
This week Galtier vehemently denied allegations he had made racist and anti-Muslim comments when in charge of Nice last season.
Also on Saturday, Rennes beat Reims 3-0 to move up to fifth.
Belgium winger Jeremy Doku scored twice for Rennes inside the first 20 minutes, with defender Arthur Theate making it 3-0 midway through the second half.
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