Paris Saint-Germain will go into the FIFA World Cup break with a five-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table after hammering Auxerre 5-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Ligue 1
Result: Paris Saint-Germain 5-0 Auxerre
Date: 13 November 2022
Venue: Parc des Princes
PSG were boosted by the return of Lionel Messi from his Achilles tendon injury, as he joined Neymar and Kylian Mbappe upfront while Nordi Mukiele and Carlos Soler were also recalled.
The Parisians were patient on the ball in the opening exchanges but it took just 11 minutes for Mbappe to give them the lead with a lifted toe-poke at the near post after a cross by Nuno Mendes.
The game came to life as M'Baye Niang had a golden chance to level matters for Auxerre six minutes later after latching onto a through ball over the defence but he was denied by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in a one-on-one.
The visitors had to soak up a lot of pressure after that as Christopher Galtier's charges took control of the game and denied the fearsome front trio of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe clear chances.
Auxerre crafted a good opportunity on the stroke of half-time after escaping the pressure, as Hamza Sakhi received a cross in a good position at the near post but he scuffed his shot wide.
PSG had a perfect start in the second stanza as Soler doubled their lead within six minutes with a glancing header from close-range range after a cross by Mendes.
Auxerre committed numbers forward after that and they were punished just before the hour-mark as Achraf Hakimi was sent through on goal by Soler and fired home a composed finish to put the game to bed.
The Parisians reserved their energy in the latter stages, as they sat deep in their own half to see out the game and Galtier took the opportunity with 15 minutes left to rest Messi and Neymar, as they were replaced by Pablo Sarabia and Hugo Ekitike.
However, after making a number of substitutions as well, PSG had an extra step going forward, particularly on counter-attacks, as Renato Sanches made it 4-0 nine minutes before time after receiving a pass from Ekitike in the box.
Auxerre were capitulating late on, as Ekitike also got on the scoresheet after an error at the back to round off the scoring with his first league goal of the season/
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