Kylian Mbappe bagged a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain moved top of Ligue 1 with a 3-0 win over Reims on Saturday evening.
Ligue 1
Result: Reims 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain
Date: 11 November 2023
Venue: Stade Auguste Delaune
PSG refreshed the side that lost against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, with five changes, as Nordi Mukiele, Carlos Soler, Fabian Ruiz, Goncalo Ramos and Lee Kang-In were brought in. Former Orlando Pirates defender Marshall Munetsi was recalled in midfield for Reims.
The Parisians had a perfect start after Mbappe gave them the lead within the first three minutes with a side-footed volley from a cross by Ousmane Dembele.
There were end to end attacks after that and Munetsi had a glorious chance on 20 minutes after going one-on-one with goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma but he fired his shot high and wide.
The game continued to open up and Mbappe had another chance for the visitors ten minutes before the interval but dragged his shot just wide at the near post.
Reims were spirited going forward and came close again just before the interval after Donnarumma snuffed out a point-blank range shot by Amir Richardson and preserved PSG's lead going to the break.
The game continued to produce fireworks from the interval as Emmanuel Agbadou came very close to levelling matters for the hosts just before the hour-mark with a bullet header that was brilliantly kept out by Donnarumma.
However, Luis Enrique's charges showed their class just after that as Mbappe doubled their advantage and got his brace with a tap-in at the back post after a cross by Soler, from a long build-up from the back.
Enrique had the luxury of saving some legs and bringing on fresh energy in the last 15 minutes, as Dembele was replaced by Bradley Barcola and five minutes later Lucas Hernandez came on for Soler in a defensive and tactical change.
The substitutions had the desired effect, as Mbappe put the game to bed for the Parisians and completed his brace eight minutes before time with a strike in the box after a square pass by Barcola.
Mbappe came close to making it 4-0 for PSG in the last minute with a cracking shot that came off the crossbar, as the three goals were enough to wrap up the win.
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