MY ACCOUNT
Kylian Mbappe became Paris Saint-Germain’s joint-record scorer and Lionel Messi hit the 700th goal of his senior club career as the Ligue 1 leaders thrashed rivals Marseille 3-0 on Sunday.
Mbappe and Messi exchanged assists as the visitors stormed into a 2-0 half-time lead, with the Argentine’s tap-in taking him to 700 goals in senior football for Barcelona and PSG.
The duo saved the best for after the break, however, with Mbappe volleying Messi’s dinked pass home to join Edinson Cavani on 200 PSG goals on a memorable night for Christophe Galtier’s men.
The result took PSG eight points clear of Marseille at the Ligue 1 summit, easing the pressure which had begun to build on Galtier following their underwhelming start to 2023.
PSG suffered an early setback when a tearful Presnel Kimpembe was carried off injured, but they hit the front 25 minutes in as Messi found space to send Mbappe through on goal, with the striker applying an unerring finish.
Mbappe repaid the favour four minutes later, combining with Nuno Mendes on the break before teeing Messi up for a tap-in with a pinpoint low cross.
Messi should have had a second when he somehow blazed over from just six yards out, before Marquinhos fired narrowly wide of the bottom-left corner after beating the hosts’ offside trap.
Mbappe nodded Vitinha’s cross narrowly wide of the left-hand post six minutes after the restart, but the France star had his landmark goal four minutes later.
A flowing move ended with Messi scooping a wonderful ball into the path of Mbappe, who lashed a left-footed volley beyond Pau Lopez to effectively end the contest.
Alexis Sanchez and Marseille’s Vitinha went close to pulling one back, but Gianluigi Donnarumma denied both with sharp saves to preserve PSG’s clean sheet.
What does it mean? PSG pull clear as Marseille torn apart
With Marseille entering Sunday’s game having posted seven league wins since the World Cup, PSG – who had lost three of their last four on the road – were said to be facing a serious battle to retain their domestic title.
However, Mbappe and Messi stunned a boisterous home crowd into silence with a remarkable display as PSG opened up a commanding lead at the top of Ligue 1.
Mbappe claims a share of history
Mbappe had already applied one cool finish and laid on a goal for Messi when he capped a wonderful display by claiming a share of PSG history – joining Cavani on 200 goals for the club with his second-half volley.
The striker has plundered 29 of those goals this season – only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has scored more (33) among players from Europe’s top five leagues.
Messi mesmerises again
PSG were without Neymar after the Brazilian suffered an injury in last week’s dramatic 4-3 win over Lille, but his absence was not felt as Mbappe and Messi linked up in excellent fashion.
Mbappe and Messi have now exchanged 10 assists for one another in Ligue 1 this season, at least four more than any other pair of players in the competition (Mbappe and Neymar are second with six).
What’s next?
PSG host Nantes in their next Ligue 1 contest on Saturday, while Marseille face second-tier opponents Annecy in the Coupe de France quarter-finals on Wednesday.
