- PSG recovers from their exit from Europe with a last-second goal from Kylian Mbappe.
- Paris Saint-Germain defeated Brest 2-1.
- PSG now has just the Ligue 1 championship to contend for in the remaining months of the season.
Paris Saint-Germain defeated Brest 2-1 on Saturday thanks to a last-second goal from Kylian Mbappe, a victory that will help them somewhat recover from their Champions League elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich earlier this week.
After being eliminated from Europe’s top club competition in the round of 16 with a 3-0 aggregate loss, PSG now has just the Ligue 1 championship to contend for in the remaining months of the season.
After Mbappe’s effort was parried by Brest goalkeeper Marco Bizot in the 37th minute, they took the lead on their journey to Brittany when Carlos Soler stepped in to score.
But, the home team, which is trying to avoid relegation, equalized before halftime through Franck Honorat, and it appeared as though they would hang on for a crucial point in their battle.
Mbappe, who had just received a caution for elbowing Brest player Haris Belkebla in the calf, was then given a clear shot at goal by Lionel Messi, who beat Bizot to the ball to score.
Despite a lackluster effort, PSG’s victory allows them to increase their lead over nearest rival Marseille, who plays Strasbourg on Sunday, to 11 points at the top of Ligue 1.
PSG coach Christophe Galtier told Canal Plus, “People can say it is a little victory but it is a victory. Not everything was perfect but we had lots of chances and we shouldn´t let the fact we needed a last-minute winner hide that,”
“To come here and win three days after our disappointment against Bayern was very important. We are in a fight for the title. The context is obviously not favourable but winning was the main thing.”
PSG was without a number of players at the Stadium Francis-Le Ble, including Neymar, as they attempted to win what would be a French record 11th league title and a ninth in the Qatar era.
The Brazilian is recovering from surgery in Doha to repair torn ankle ligaments and is not anticipated to play again this year.
Following Paris’ 2-0 loss in the second leg of their match against Bayern in Germany on Wednesday, three players were added to the starting lineup for Paris. One of those players was Spanish international Soler.
The former Valencia player came close to starting the scoring early on, but Bizot deflected his strong drive from a Messi assist onto the post.
Then Soler did score to give his team the lead, but Honorat quickly equalized after controlling a long ball forward by Romain Del Castillo and fending off Sergio Ramos and Timothee Pembele.
Messi was well-saved by Bizot in the second half, but the Dutch goalkeeper was unable to stop Mbappe from scoring the game-winning goal, bringing his season total for goals for his club to 31 across all competitions.
With 19 goals, he is tied for first place in Ligue 1 with Jonathan David of Canada, who notched a hat-trick for Lille in their 3-3 draw with Lyon on Friday.
In the other game on Saturday, fifth-place Rennes and Auxerre drew 0-0.
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