Paris Saint-Germain defeated Metz 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Wednesday to go five points clear of the leaders at the halfway point of the season thanks to a brace from Kylian Mbappe, who celebrated his 25th birthday.
PSG, who had been held 1-1 at Lille the previous weekend, struggled in the first half before Vitinha headed home a cross from Lee Kang-in to open the score early in the second half.
Then, Mbappe stole center stage as he scored a spectacular goal from the edge of the box that went in off the underside of the crossbar to make it 2-0.
For the struggling visitors, Matthieu Udol pulled one back, but Mbappe scored his 18th league goal of the season late in the game after pouncing on a short backpass to round the goalie and make it 3-1.
Stoppage time saw his 16-year-old brother Ethan make his senior debut, adding even more special memories to his birthday.
With two goals from Nigerian striker Terem Moffi late in the game on Wednesday, Nice overcame Lens 2-0, giving PSG a comfortable five-point lead over their closest rivals at the conclusion of the year.
After rallying from behind to win 2-1 against Toulouse, Monaco is now seven points off of the leaders in third position. Wissam Ben Yedder scored both of Monaco’s goals.
Despite having Aleksandr Golovin sent off early in the second half, the principality team managed to hold on and win all three points.
Brest defeated rivals Lorient 4-0 thanks to an individual performance of the evening from Mali international Kamory Doumbia, who scored four goals in the first half.
As a consequence, Brest moved up to fourth place and a Champions League qualifying spot, ahead of Lille, who lost 2-1 on the road at Patrick Vieira’s Strasbourg.
fireworks
After overcoming an early deficit to draw 1-1 against Montpellier, Marseille is now in sixth place. The match was delayed for five minutes in the second half due to fireworks that went off at one end of the stadium. Jordan Veretout scored the goal for Marseille.
During a previous season incident at home versus Clermont, Montpellier lost a point when the goalkeeper of the visiting team was struck by a firework hurled from the same stand.
“It’s unbelievable how stupid these guys are,” lamented Montpellier coach Michel Der Zakarian on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure I get it. It is not your place to light fireworks at the stadium; you are here to cheer on your side.”
Will Still’s Reims overcame Le Havre 1-0 because to a goal from Japanese international Keito Nakamura, while Rennes upset bottom-of-the-table Clermont 3-1 thanks to two goals in the last minute.
Thanks to a strike from Alexandre Lacazette, Lyon defeated Nantes 1-0 and moved up out of the bottom three.
A squad that had only won once this season secured its third straight win, and the outcome moved them two points clear of Toulouse, who are currently in the relegation play-off spot.