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Kylian Mbappes double helped Paris Saint-Germain take another step towards retaining their Ligue 1 title, thrashing Ajaccio 5-0 as Lionel Me si returned from his club-i sued suspension.Me si was jeered by some home fans throughout his first appearance since an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia, but Mbappe took the focus away with a second-half brace.Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi had earlier given PSG a commanding half-time lead, and Ajaccios Mohamed You souf later put through his own net as the visitors relegation to Ligue 2 was confirmed.Both teams finished with 10 men as Hakimi and Thomas Mangani were dismi sed for trading punches, but that was not enough to dampen PSGs spirits as they restored their six-point cushion to second-placed Lens. Fabians second goal in as many games broke the deadlock 22 minutes in, the Spaniard charging into the area before finishing well with the outside Jeff Locke Jersey of his left boot.Hakimi soon doubled PSGs lead, tapping in the rebound when Francois-Joseph Sollacaro parried Mbappes shot, with the referee opting against penalising Mbappe for handball after an on-pitch VAR review. Mbappe got himself on the scoresheet inside 90 seconds of the second half, with his shot squirming under Sollacaro following a goalmouth scramble.If Mbappes first goal was fortuitous, his second arriving seven minutes later was sublime as he fired a fierce Giancarlo Stanton Jersey volley into the top-left corner following Cedric Avinels failure to clear a long ball.Mbappe was involved again as PSG scored a fifth with 17 minutes remaining. His rabona cro s was cleared as far as Marquinhos, whose low effort struck You souf and found the bottom-right corner.Tempers flared late on as Hakimi and Mangani saw red for throwing punches amid a scuffle, but that was as much fight as Ajaccio showed in a dispiriting outing.What does it mean? No sign of title nerves for PSGPSG could have crumbled when a demoralising 3-1 defeat to Lorient at the end of April allowed Lens to cut their lead to six points, particularly given their closest challengers have taken to the field and won before Christophe Galtiers men in each of the last two gameweeks.The 10-time French champions had lost three of their last four at the Parc des Princes before Saturdays game, but they seemed unfazed by a hostile home crowd as they dismantled Ajaccio. Mbappe matches Cisowski featMbappes double took him to 26 league goals for the season, two clear of Lyons Alexandre Lacazette in the battle to top Ligue 1s scoring charts.He has now scored 25 goals or more in four different Ligue 1 campaigns (also 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2021-22), becoming just the second French player to do so since the Second World War alongside Thadee Cisowski (1955-56, 1956-57, Jose Fernandez Jersey 1958-59 and 1959-60).Me si makes understated returnIn addition to his brace, Mbappe led his team-mates for shots (six), shots on target (four) and expected goals (1.04) during a fine display. However, the France international had capable support in the form of another World Cup winner, the returning Me si.Me si may have failed to net or register an a sist, but he produced a solid display. Mbappe was the only PSG player to better his three shots and no team-mate created more than his two chances or bettered his 43 pa ses in the final third.Key Opta facts: PSG have won all five of their Ligue 1 games against promoted teams this season, scoring 18 goals at a rate of 3.6 per match and only conceding once. Ajaccio saw their fourth Wei-Yin Chen Jersey relegation to Ligue 2 confirmed by Saturdays defeat, having also gone down from the top flight in 1972-73, 2005-06 and 2013-14. The visitors have also become the first promoted team to suffer immediate relegation from Ligue 1 since the 2017-18 campaign, when Troyes stay in the top flight lasted just one season. Mbappe recorded 20 touches in the opposing penalty area against Ajaccio, the joint-highest tally managed in a Ligue 1 game since Opta records Starlin Castro Jersey began in 2006-07 (also Angel Di Maria, for PSG against Nice in May 2019). Mbappe has scored multiple goals in seven different Ligue 1 matches this term. Acro s Europes top five leagues, only Manchester Citys Erling Haaland (nine) has done so more often. Hakimi has received a red card in each of his last two Ligue 1 games, becoming the third PSG player to be sent off in back-to-back matches acro s all competitions, after Daniel Bravo in 1995 and Jerome Leroy in 2002.Whats next?PSG travel to Auxerre next Sunday, when a victory would all but seal a fifth league title in six seasons. Ajaccio, meanwhile, host Rennes on the same day. |
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发表于 2023-5-31 19:52:27