Neymar gets sent off, but Mbappe seals the deal for PSG
Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty in injury time to give Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 win over Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Wednesday. Afterward, he said he would never get over France’s loss to Argentina in the World Cup final.
After scoring a hat trick in the championship game but losing on penalties to the South Americans, Mbappe was back in action 10 days later.
While making his first appearance since Brazil’s World Cup elimination in the quarterfinals, PSG had Neymar sent off for two yellow cards.
Some of PSG’s stars appeared to be suffering from a hangover after their victory over Qatar, as they conceded an own goal after 51 minutes after captain Marquinhos put the home team ahead with a header.
Just after the hour mark, Neymar was shown two yellow cards: the first for a petulant flick in the face of a Strasbourg player, the second for a blatant dive in the penalty area.
Mbappe, who had been a constant threat for PSG, missed two great opportunities.
In the 96th minute, however, he was brought down in the penalty area and scored the game-winning goal from the spot.
Mbappe said after the game, “I think I’ll never get over it.
‘As I said to my teammates, there is no reason the club should pay the price for the failure of the national team, they are two very different situations,’ he continued.
Even after Argentina’s World Cup victory, PSG didn’t include Lionel Messi in their starting lineup.
As a result of this win, PSG now leads Lens by eight points; Lens will need to defeat Nice on Thursday to remain competitive.
Moreover, PSG declared that 30-year-old Italian midfielder Marco Verratti has extended his contract with the club until 2026.
Even though Clermont only had ten players on the field, Lille still managed to beat them 2-0 thanks to a penalty kick from Angel Gomes and an insurance goal from Mohamed Bayo in the final seconds of extra time.
Lyon pushed forward in their pursuit of a European spot with a 4-2 road victory over Brest.