Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain defeated rivals Marseille 3-0 on Sunday, as Kylian Mbappe set a new joint-record for goals scored and Lionel Messi scored his 700th goal for a senior club.
As the visitors sprinted to a 2-0 halftime lead, Mbappe and Messi traded assists. Messi’s tap-in gave him 700 goals in senior football for Barcelona and PSG.
The pair saved their best for last, though, as Mbappe scored PSG’s 200th goal on a memorable night for Christophe Galtier’s team by volleying in Messi’s dinked pass to join Edinson Cavani in the feat.
The outcome put PSG eight points ahead of Marseille in the Ligue 1 standings, relieving Galtier of some of the pressure that had been mounting due to their lacklustre start to 2023.
200 – Kylian Mbappé has scored 200 goals for Paris in all competitions, matching Edinson Cavani’s record. History. #OMPSG pic.twitter.com/Tnee7KVFGm
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) February 26, 2023
PSG suffered an early setback when a tearful Presnel Kimpembe was carried off injured, but they hit the front 25 minutes in as Messi found space to send Mbappe through on goal, with the striker applying an unerring finish.
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Mbappe repaid the favour four minutes later, combining with Nuno Mendes on the break before teeing Messi up for a tap-in with a pinpoint low cross.
Messi should have had a second when he somehow blazed over from just six yards out, before Marquinhos fired narrowly wide of the bottom-left corner after beating the hosts’ offside trap.
Mbappe nodded Vitinha’s cross narrowly wide of the left-hand post six minutes after the restart, but the France star had his landmark goal four minutes later.
A flowing move ended with Messi scooping a wonderful ball into the path of Mbappe, who lashed a left-footed volley beyond Pau Lopez to effectively end the contest.
Alexis Sanchez and Marseille’s Vitinha went close to pulling one back, but Gianluigi Donnarumma denied both with sharp saves to preserve PSG’s clean sheet.