Lionel Messi bagged a brace as Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Montpellier 4-0 at the Stade de la Mosson on Saturday night.
Result: Montpellier 0-4 Paris Saint-Germain
Date: 14 May 2022
Venue: Stade de la Mosson
Presnel Kimpembe and Neymar missed out through injury, as Sergio Ramos got a rare start alongside recalls for Ander Herrera and Georginio Wijnaldum.
Messi got PSG off to the perfect start as the Argentine bagged his fourth league goal of the season with a first-time finish after being set up by Mbappe.
The lead was doubled in the 20th minute, as Messi bagged his second on the night after collecting a pass over top by Mbappe before rounding the Montpellier goalkeeper to slot into an empty net.
Angel di Maria got his name on the scoresheet six minutes when Maxime Esteve deflected Mbappe's cross into the path of the Argentine, who scored via deflection.
Montpellier, meanwhile, did look lively on the break on a few occasions but they were often let down by their decision-making in the final third.
It was more of the same in the second half as the visitors awarded a penalty just before the hour mark for Arnaud Souquet's foul on Mbappe, who stepped up and converted the effort despite Messi being on a hat-trick.
With PSG comfortably leading, Mauricio Pochettino opted to introduce a couple younger players as Xavi Simmons and Edouard Michut replaced Herrera and Wijnaldum for the final 20 minutes.
The French champions continued to dominate in the latter stages of the second half, but they were unable to add to their tally while Montpellier posed no real threat to Gianluigi Donnarumma as the encounter finished 4-0 to the visitors.
