Mbappe hits twice as PSG thrash Dijon 4-0
Paris/Xinhua: Kylian Mbappe scored a brace and set up another goal for Mauro Icardi as run-away French Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain cruised past relegation-threatened Dijon 4-0 on Saturday.
Thomas Tuchel's side kept leading the table with 68 points on 27 games, 13 clear of the second-placed Marseille. Dijon remained at the 17th, tying the 18th-ranked Nimes with only 27 points from the same games.
To avoid transmission of the coronavirus, which has contaminated 100 people in the country, the players didn't shake hands before the meeting and no children accompanied the players when they came out of the tunnel.
Pablo Sarabia scored the opener only three minutes into the game at the Parc des Princes, before PSG's Argentine winger Angel Di Maria limped off with a what seemed like a thigh injury.
Tuchel has made four changes to his side that saw off Bordeaux last weekend as Neymar was serving a one-match ban after receiving a red card in that game, while Marco Verratti is also banned and skipper Thiago Silva was out of action for three weeks due to a thigh injury.
Dijon goalkeeper Alex Runarsson produced a series of great saves to hold the score at 1-0, but Mbappe eventually doubled the lead for PSG in the 74th minute after rounding the Iceland international following a slick ball through from Julian Draxler, who replaced Di Maria's position on the field.
The French striker finished a brace in the stoppage time to increase his season's league tally to 18 goals, one ahead of Monaco's Wissam Ben Yedder on the top scorers list. The 21-year-old also sent an assist in the 76th minute to set up Icardi's 12th goal of the Ligue 1 campaign.Elsewhere, Rennes coasted to a 2-0 win over bottom-side Toulouse to strengthen their grip on the third place with four points clear of Lille.
Montpellier moved up to the fifth with a 3-0 victory over Strasbourg while Angers won 1-0 away to Brest. Amiens lost to Metz 1-0 at home.
Ben Yedder's penalty secured a 1-1 draw for Monaco against Stade Reims at home.
(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
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