Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe celebrates 25th birthday. Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Metz 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Wednesday, putting the club five points clear at the midway point of the season.
PSG struggled in the first half after being held 1-1 at Lille the previous Saturday but Vitinha opened the scoring early in the second half by turning in a cross from Lee Kang-in.
Mbappe then grabbed center stage, making it 2-0 with a fantastic drive from the edge of the box off the underside of the crossbar.
For the struggling visitors, Matthieu Udol pulled one back, but Mbappe pounced on a short backpass to round the goalkeeper and make it 3-1 toward the finish.
His 16-year-old brother Ethan made his senior debut in stoppage time, making his birthday even more memorable.
PSG finished the year with a five-point lead over Nice, who defeated Lens 2-0 on Wednesday due to two late goals from Nigerian attacker Terem Moffi.
Monaco moved into third position, seven points behind the leaders, after rallying from behind to win 2-1 at Toulouse, with Wissam Ben Yedder scoring both goals.
Despite having Aleksandr Golovin sent off early in the second half, the principality team held on to take all three points.
Malian international Kamory Doumbia had the evening’s best individual effort, scoring four goals, all in the first half, as Brest defeated Brittany rivals Lorient 4-0.
Brest moved up to fourth place, a Champions League qualifying spot, above of Lille, who were defeated 2-1 away at Patrick Vieira’s Strasbourg.
Fireworks
Marseille are sixth after a 1-1 draw at Montpellier, with Jordan Veretout scoring their goal in a game that was delayed for five minutes in the second half due to fireworks at one end of the stadium.
Montpellier was docked a point after a firework thrown from the same stand damaged the opposing team’s goalkeeper during a home match against Clermont earlier this season.
“These guys are idiots, it’s incredible,” Montpellier coach Michel Der Zakarian said on Wednesday.
“I’m not sure what you mean. You’re meant to be there to cheer on your team, not to light off fireworks.”
Will Still’s Reims overcame Le Havre 1-0 thanks to Japanese international Keito Nakamura, while Rennes scored twice late on to beat basement club Clermont 3-1.
Meanwhile, Lyon moved out of the bottom three with a 1-0 win over Nantes, thanks to an Alexandre Lacazette goal.
It was the third consecutive victory for a team that had only won once all season, and the result put them two points ahead of Toulouse, who are now in the relegation play-off spot.