With a 3-0 win over over fourth-place Reims on Saturday, Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick to propel Paris St. Germain to the top of Ligue1. One point ahead of PSG, the champions, in the standings with a total of 27 points.
How PSG Progressed?
Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick helped Paris St. Germain take the lead in Ligue 1 as the team defeated fourth-place Reims 3-0 on Saturday.
With 27 points, champion PSG is one point ahead of Nice, who drew goalless at Montpellier on Friday. After three minutes, Mbappe scored by neatly placing a low shot in the bottom corner of the net after receiving an unmarked cross at the back post. Minutes later, Junya Ito headed a cross, giving Reims the impression they had equalized, but the flag for offside was raised.
In the 59th minute, Mbappe doubled the lead for the visitors by dribbling past his defender and putting in a low cross-section at the far post.
The 24-year-old French forward scored his third goal 8 minutes from time with a first-time effort from inside the penalty area.
More about the Game and Players:
Mbappe, against the flow of play, doubled his team’s advantage at the end of a move initiated by Dembele, who brought up Carlos Soler of Spain to set up Mbappe for an easy finish. In the 72nd and 76th minutes, Donnarumma made two more outstanding stops, and Nice was punished once again before the break when Mbappe took his time to finish a play with his right foot after Bradley Barcola had picked him out in the box.
Mbappe nearly added a fourth goal with a strong shot that struck the bar from the edge of the box. PSG’s past five league games have seen them score three goals or more each time.
Despite PSG’s superior possession rate, Reims outperformed PSG for the remaining part of the first half. Ito, who was constantly at risk on the right side, made Donnarumma save two times before Azor Matusiwa took advantage of a careless pass from the PSG goalkeeper to attempt a shot that went wide. In the 39th minute, after PSG players had trouble clearing the ball from a corner, Donnarumma was decisive once more, this time blocking an effort by Amir Richardson with an impulsive stop.
Reims had good possession times and scoring chances, but PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma stopped them. Shortly after the interval, the Italian goalkeeper saved Joseph Okumu’s header and stopped Amir Richardson at close range.
