PARIS — Kylian Mbappe scored and came
through unscathed along with fellow
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) stars Lionel
Messi and Neymar in their final match before the World Cup, a 5–0 Ligue 1 rout
of Auxerre on Sunday.
اضافة اعلان
PSG coach Christophe Galtier opted not to rest the
attacking trio against the Burgundy side as the champions sought to extend
their lead at the top of the table before the break for the tournament in
Qatar.
And Mbappe scored the opener after 11 minutes in
Paris for his 12th league goal this season after good work by Messi, Moroccan
Achraf Hakimi, and Nuno Mendes.
Carlos Soler nodded in the second after 51 minutes
and then set up Hakimi for the third six minutes later.
Renato Sanches and Hugo
Ekitike added two more in the final ten minutes.
The Parisians move five points ahead of Lens, who
won 2–1 at home against Clermont on Saturday, with Rennes a further five points
adrift in third.
For their final match before the World Cup, the MNM
trio — Messi, Neymar, Mbappe — took to the pitch but did not really sparkle in
a game played without great intensity.
The apathy of the magic trio did not, however,
prevent the champions giving a demonstration of their goal-scoring prowess
before a big break until their next Ligue 1 match on December 28 against
Strasbourg.
Mbappe’s early goal following a beautiful cross from
Messi relayed by Mendes, seem to anaesthetize the Parisian forwards.
No question of taking the slightest risk for the
World Cup players in a tournament which could be the final one for veterans
Messi and Neymar.
Kimpembe return
If Messi made an effort and
even found the post with a curled shot from the left after 66 minutes, Neymar
measured his pace, collapsing at the slightest contact and playing in slow
motion, without any intensity, far from flamboyance of his first part of the
season.
Before Paris pulled ahead in the second half,
Auxerre proved dangerous on front of
Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goal with attempts
by Mbaye Niang (16) and Lassine Sinayoko (21) to get the equalizer for the side
who sit 15th in Ligue 1.
Galtier gave some playing time to French defender
Presnel Kimpembe, who came on for the final quarter of an hour having spent a
month out with an Achilles tendon injury.
It was good news for the France team and Didier
Deschamps nine days before the Blues open their World Cup defense against
Australia on November 22.
His arrival coincided with the exits of Messi and
Neymar after 74 minutes, not unhappy for once to leave the field prematurely.
Messi, who tasted glory in the
Copa America last
year, will be hoping to fire Argentina to World Cup glory for the first time
since 1986.
Mbappe will be one of the key players for defending
champions France in Qatar, and Neymar will spearhead Brazil’s push for a sixth
World Cup crown.
The tournament starts with a match between hosts Qatar and
Ecuador on November 20.
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