Ligue 1 Report: PSG v Saint-Etienne 26 February 2022

Feb 27, 2022 - 12:01 am

By SL International

Ligue 1 Report: PSG v Saint-Etienne 26 February 2022

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi played starring roles as Paris Saint-Germain got back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory over Saint-Etienne.

Result: Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Saint-Etienne

Date: 26 February 2022

Venue: Parc des Princes

PSG retained the fearsome front trio of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe after they were thrashed by Nantes the last time out while Danilo Pereira took the place of Marco Verratti who was suspended.

Mauricio Pochettino's charges had a slow start as the visitors punished their sloppiness in the 16th minute after Denis Bouanga took possession away from Pereira, went clear on goal and gave St. Etienne the lead with a clinical finish.

The Parisians woke up from their slumber and were holding the visitors in their own half for the better part of the second stanza but it took them up until just before the halftime break to finally level matters, as Mbappe latched onto a delightful through ball from Messi and fired a strike past the hands of goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni.

Mbappe gave PSG a two-goal lead two minutes into the second half with another finish in the box after another defence-splitting pass from Messi. As a result, Mbappe equalled Zlatan Ibrahimovic's record of 156 goals for the club.

— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 26, 2022

Mbappe quickly turned provider, as Pereira made up for his earlier error and gave the hosts a two-goal cushion five minutes later with a powerful header from the Frenchman's cross with the outside of his boot.

PSG continued to put the visitors under pressure and denied them chances on counter-attacks, as shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma was hardly tested in goal.

Pochettino could afford to rest Mbappe and Neymar in the closing stages, as they were replaced by Julian Draxler and Mauro Icardi.

Angel Di Maria almost made it 4-1 for the Parisians three minutes before time with a chipped effort that was tipped over the crossbar by Bernardoni, as the hosts extended their lead at the top of the table to 16 points.