Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain thrashed Montpellier 6-2 on Sunday.
Mbappe, who is leaving the club at the end of the season, was outstanding as PSG killed off a Montpellier fightback with four second-half goals at the Stade de la Mosson.
Vitinha and Mbappe got PSG off to a fine start but the hosts hit back before the break with an Arnaud Nordin header and Teji Savanier penalty.
Mbappe responded with two more after the break, either side of a Lee Kang-in strike, and Nuno Mendes completed the scoring late on to leave PSG 12 points clear at the top.
Montpellier began confidently with Leo Leroy calling Gianluigi Donnarumma into action and Wahbi Khazri shooting over but PSG were soon ahead with a fine Vitinha strike.
The Portuguese received the ball from an Mbappe pass some 30 yards from goal and wrongfooted the defence with a jinking run before curling a shot into the bottom corner.
Montpellier tried to find a quick response but Lucas Mincarelli missed the target and PSG doubled their lead with the first of Mbappe’s treble in the 22nd minute.
The France captain burst clear from the halfway line and exchanged passes with Randal Kolo Muani before finishing from a tight angle.
Mbappe threatened again soon after but this time Dimitry Bertaud was equal to his effort and Montpellier replied.
Nordin served warning when he forced a save from Donnarumma in the 26th minute and he did better on the half-hour when he headed in an awkwardly bouncing ball after PSG failed to clear a cross.
The hosts then got themselves right back into the game with a controversial penalty on the stroke of half-time.
Danilo Pereira’s poor backpass was seized upon by Tanguy Coulibaly and he was adjudged to have been fouled after colliding with Donnarumma.
Donnarumma protested his innocence, claiming he had blocked a shot before the coming together, but the decision stood after a VAR check. Savanier rifled into the roof of the net from the spot.
PSG, and particularly Mbappe, stepped up a gear after the break.
The visitors reclaimed the lead on 50 minutes when Mbappe clipped a superb shot into the top corner from outside the area and another quickly followed.
This time Lee did the damage after playing a one-two with Kolo Muani and curling in from distance.
Mbappe completed his hat-trick just after the hour when he latched onto a long ball from Vitinha and lashed a shot past Bertaud.
Vitinha and Nuno Mendes had further chances as PSG threatened more before Montpellier were denied a penalty after Mousa Al-Tamari went down under a challenge from Mendes.
Mendes wrapped up the scoring after a rapid counter-attack in the 89th minute.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Toulouse: Neves stars in comfortable home win
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday.
Following Monaco's 3-2 win over Brest earlier in the day, Luis Enrique's side responded emphatically to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
After a dominant start, PSG got themselves ahead in stunning fashion when Achraf Hakimi's cross was brilliantly driven first-time into the bottom corner by Joao Neves.
But Toulouse provided a threat after the break and should have drawn level in the 70th minute through Shavy Babicka, but he fired over with only Matvey Safonov to beat.
That mistake ultimately proved costly with the hosts doubling their advantage eight minutes from time when Beraldo took advantage of some poor defending to finish inside the box.
The triumph was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time through substitute Vitinha, who danced into the box before finishing high into the corner from close range.
Luis Enrique's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League, with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich awaiting on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Party in Paris
PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 continued on Friday, with Luis Enrique's side now having lost just one of their last 41 matches in the top-flight (W30 D10).
Neves was a particular standout for the hosts, winning more duels (nine), registering the joint-most shots on target (two) and the joint-most final third entries (seven) during the game.
Despite the scoreline, PSG were perhaps fortunate to emerge victorious. Though Luis Enrique's side accumulated 17 shots to Toulouse's 11, it was the visitors who ended the contest with a higher expected goals (xG) total, managing 1.39 to the Parisiens' 1.35.
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
