(Football news) Two weeks ago, Adi Hutter’s team was held to a 0-0 stalemate by Le Havre, while Luis Enrique’s team ascended to the top of the rankings after defeating Reims 3-0 in their most recent match.
PSG looked to a familiar face to dispatch Reims with complete ease as they looked to make amends after their five-game winning streak was ended in a 2-1 Champions League loss at AC Milan. This was their second defeat in two European away games this season.
With just three minutes remaining, Kylian Mbappe broke the deadlock with a spectacular side-footed volley, setting up a record-breaking hat-trick with two more goals from Carlos Soler and Bradley Barcola in the second half. This came amid rumors that Real Madrid was officially giving up on the 24-year-old player.
As the World Cup champion was previously tied with Zlatan Ibrahimovic on seven Ligue 1 trebles, Mbappe is the only player in the present century with an equal number. On Friday, he might help PSG pull farther ahead of his old team in first place.
Having bounced back from playing catch-up in the first few weeks of Enrique’s tenure, PSG now sit atop the table with a one-point lead over Nice and a three-point lead over their next opponents, Monaco. They have won five straight games in the top flight, scoring three goals in each of those games.
PSG’s current five-game winning streak is already the longest in Ligue 1 history as of 2023. Notably, they have won all five of their previous home games in all competitions without giving up a goal, which is disheartening for the supporters of Monaco who saw their team defeated by a newly promoted team the previous time around.
Monaco’s away-day shortcomings nearly cost them dear during their match against Le Havre, who were granted a stunning penalty with no fewer than 10 minutes on the clock in second-half injury time, two weeks after they were defeated 2-0 on Lille’s turf.
Samuel Grandsir appeared to be making up for Adi Hutter’s team’s lack of killer instinct throughout the game when he went up to the 12-yard line, but Philipp Kohn easily stopped the Le Havre attacker’s meek attempt by diving the right way and holding onto the ball to secure a piece of the victory for his side.
