SAN FRANCISCO, December 06, (THEWILL) – A landmark Kylian Mbappe strike helped to return French giants Paris Saint-Germain to winning ways in Ligue 1 and seal a 3-1 victory over Montpellier at the Stade de la Mosson on Saturday.
Having picked up just one point from their previous two top-flight games against Monaco and Bordeaux, Thomas Tuchel’s side looked set for more disappointment after Stephy Mavididi had cancelled out Colin Dagba’s opener before half-time.
With Neymar rested, PSG started sluggishly and scarcely got close to Jonas Omlin’s goal inside the opening half an hour. They belatedly woke from their slumber and forged ahead after 33 minutes, Dagba sliding home his first professional goal from eight yards following superb work down the left from Angel Di Maria.
The hosts responded before the interval, though, courtesy of Mavididi’s third goal of the season. The former Juventus forward’s initial shot was blocked by Dagba, but he squeezed his follow-up effort over the line despite the best efforts of Keylor Navas, in goal for PSG.
The ex-Juve man could have doubled his tally later. Only a fine stop from Navas prevented Mavididi from adding a second from close range before half-time.
Moise Kean, on-loan striker from Everton, had two presentable chances to restore PSG’s lead in the early stages of the second half, but his finishes lacked precision.
Brazilian forward Di Maria was denied what would have been a wonderful individual goal in the 67th minute by a smart save from Omlin, but Kean finally got the better of the Montpellier goalkeeper 10 minutes later, thundering into the roof of the net from eight yards.
There was still time for Mbappe to add gloss to the scoreline when he slid home Layvin Kurzawa’s low ball in stoppage time for his 10th league goal of the season that added up to a century of goals in PSG colours.
PSG are up against Istanbul Basaksehir next on Tuesday knowing a draw will be good enough to qualify for the Champions League last 16. Montpellier are on the road to Lens on Saturday for their next engagement.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
