Mueez Ajao
– Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe both scored as Paris Saint-Germain stretched their mammoth lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 13 points with a 5-1 thrashing of defending champions Lille on Sunday.
– Mauricio Pochettino’s men were given a helping hand by a nightmarish display from Lille goalkeeper Ivo Grbic at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
– Portuguese midfielder Danilo Pereira netted twice, while Presnel Kimpembe also got on the scoresheet.
Also Read: Coupe de France: Nice knock out PSG on penalties
– It was the perfect response for PSG after their French Cup exit on penalties at the hands of Nice in midweek.
– Lille are languishing down in 11th place after a seventh defeat of their title defence.
– The hosts needed to get something from the game to move into the top half of the table, but they made a calamitous start.
– Grbic somehow failed to gather in Nuno Mendes’ low cross despite being under no pressure, and Danilo duly stabbed into an empty net to give PSG a 10th-minute lead.
– Hatem Ben Arfa, making his first start since last April after his surprise move to Lille, set up Sven Botman to equalise before the half-hour mark.
– But PSG were back in front in the 32nd minute as Grbic totally missed Messi’s corner and Kimpembe bundled home from close range.
– Messi grabbed his first goal of 2022 in slightly fortuitous circumstances, as a clearance ricocheted of his shins and played him in on goal.
– Grbic rushed out to close the angle, but the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner coolly dinked the ball into the net to score his second Ligue 1 goal.
– PSG quickly put paid to any thoughts of a second-half comeback from Lille as Danilo scored his second goal.
– The 26-year-old Grbic’s day took another turn for the worse as he followed a fumble with a poor clearance, which Leandro Paredes squared for Danilo to fire a long-range effort into the bottom corner.
– There was nothing the goalkeeper could do to keep about PSG’s fifth goal midway through the second half, though, as Mbappe unleashed a magnificent, curling strike from outside the area into the top corner.
– Earlier on Sunday, Nice missed the chance to retake second place in the table from Marseille as they slumped to a 1-0 home defeat by struggling Clermont.
– Rennes then took advantage, beating Brest 2-0 to move up to fifth, just five points behind Nice in the third and final Champions League spot.
– Bordeaux’s dreadful season continued as they dropped into the bottom two after an embarrassing 5-0 thrashing at Reims.
