Author: Barkha Roy See More
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 by nine points after beating Lens 3-1 at the Parc des Princes. The match saw Salis Abdul Samed sent off early on, leaving Lens with ten players. PSG took advantage of the situation and scored three goals, one from Kylian Mbappé, one from Vitinha and one from Lionel Messi. However, Lens didn’t give up easily and pulled a goal back through Przemyslaw Frankowski’s penalty.
The match also saw Mbappé break PSG’s all-time goalscoring record by scoring his 139th league goal, making him the club’s top scorer in the league. Mbappé’s goal came in the 31st minute, when he turned quickly and curled a first-time shot into the bottom right-hand corner after receiving a pass from Vitinha.
Six minutes later, Vitinha extended PSG’s lead with a 25-yard shot from the same corner. In the 40th minute, Messi scored from a tight angle after Mbappé had kicked him in the heel, making it 3-0 to PSG.
Despite playing with ten men for most of the match, Lens didn’t give up and managed to score from a penalty scored by the VAR. PSG midfielder Ruiz was deemed to have handled the ball after a corner, and Frankowski scored from the resulting penalty in the 60th minute.
PSG defender Marquinhos was the only Brazilian player on the pitch, and his performance was average. He had a poor showing in the previous game and looked nervous at the start of this match. However, he improved as the game went on and showed excellent vision by overcoming four obstacles and hitting 97% of his passes. He was forced to engage in some defensive maneuvers to contain the speedy Lois Openda.
The win brought some relief to PSG coach Christophe Galtier, who has been under scrutiny for the team’s recent poor performances. PSG have suffered eight defeats in all competitions under his leadership, and Galtier’s job could be at risk if the reigning champions had failed to secure the three points in this match.
The win was a significant step for PSG in retaining the league title. Meanwhile, Lens suffered their first defeat after a run of four consecutive wins. They’ll be looking to get back to winning ways when they face Monaco next week.