Strasbourg beats the French football championship of Lens
PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappe scored two goals and three assists as Paris Saint-Germain beat Lorient 5-1 and maintained their 12-point lead over Marseille to inch ever closer to a 10th league title of France record on Sunday.
There are eight rounds left.
Mbappe provided the spark in the final third from the fourth minute with a dribble and a low shot which goalkeeper Matthieu Dreyer saved. Shortly after, the French striker fed Neymar, who opened the scoring.
The lead doubled in the 28th when Mbappe scored with his signature move, faking a curler into the far corner before breaking into the near corner.
When Lorient striker Terem Moffi cut the lead in the 56th by leaping from a sloppy back pass from Achraf Hakimi to drop the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, PSG supporters loudly booed the lack of concentration of their team.
Mbappe dashed Lorient’s hopes of a comeback by taking his league tally to 17 goals, dribbling past Julien Laporte to burrow the ball into the bottom corner in the 67th.
Six minutes later, Mbappe returned the ball to Lionel Messi, who fired under the crossbar for 4-1. Mbappe made his 13th assist as he brought on Neymar for the final goal in the 90th minute.
“We have to bring this 10th league title back to the supporters, to the club. It’s important,” Mbappe said. “We have the opportunity to write history.”
PSG have relied heavily on Mbappe’s brilliance this season. However, his contract expires this summer and Mbappe is yet to commit to any club.
“I haven’t made a decision yet,” Mbappe said. “I’m still thinking because there are new factors (…) I don’t want to be wrong. I want to make the right choice.”
Marseille cemented their second place by rallying relegation-threatened Saint-Etienne 4-2 in a match full of blunders.
Gabon striker Denis Bouanga gave Saint-Etienne the lead in the ninth minute by firing on goalkeeper Pau Lopez, who made an embarrassing handling error.
But Saint-Etienne self-destructed by conceding two penalties and scoring an own goal.
Marseille’s third successive league victory opened a three-point gap on third-placed Rennes, while Saint-Etienne remained in the relegation zone, one point from safety.
The top two clubs qualify for the Champions League while the third-placed club qualifies.
Strasbourg emerged as a surprise contender in the race for European places after beating Lens 1-0 to climb to fourth place.
Strasbourg extended their unbeaten streak to eight games to level on points with Nice and just two points behind Rennes. The team’s best finish in the last 20 seasons was 10th in 2020.
“The ambition is to do the best we can until the end of the season,” said Strasbourg coach Julien Stephan. “We never put pressure on ourselves. I don’t see why we should put more pressure on ourselves today. We just want to have fun. »
Monaco edged Metz 2-1 and France international Wissam Ben Yedder took their league-leading tally to 18.
On his French league debut, Brazilian winger Tete kept Lyon’s slim European hopes alive in a 3-2 victory over Angers. Lyon lost the lead twice despite two goals from striker Moussa Dembele.
Nantes handed Clermont a fourth straight defeat, 3-2, Brest won mid-table Montpellier 2-1, and Troyes beat Reims 1-0 in injury time to move away from the relegation zone.
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