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PSG beat Angers 2-1 in Ligue 1 on Friday (April 22) to edge closer to the title. Kylian Mbappe struck a first-half brace, while Sada Thioub pulled one back for the hosts late on.
The leaders were in cruise control in the opening half and took only nine minutes to break the deadlock, with Mbappe converting from six yards out. Seventeen minutes later, the Frenchman doubled PSG's advantage, latching onto a sublime cross from Lionel Messi before rounding out Angers goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni to fire into the top corner.
Angers, languishing at the foot of the table, improved after the break. They created some good chances to push their mighty visitors on the back foot, and Thioub pulled one back for them in the 89th minute.
However, it was too little too late as Les Scoites succumbed to their 24th top-flight defeat of the season to remain last in the standings, while PSG moved 11 points clear at the top.
On that note, here are the five talking points from the game:
#5 A game of two halves
PSG may have won the game as expected. Angers, though, belied their league standing to put up a great fight in the second half. The momentum shifted after the break, making for an intriguing game of contrasting halves.
The Parisians were in control in the first, starting the game quicker, holding possession and creating chances. Indeed, it took them only nine minutes to go in front, with Mbappe tapping home from close range.
Towards the half-hour mark, the Frenchman doubled PSG's advantage with a cool finish from a defence-splitting pass from Lionel Messi, and the game seemed to be over as a contest.
Angers, for all their struggles this season, were staring at another potential humiliation but turned the tide after the break and wrestled back control. They pressed their mighty visitors with some unlikely attacking menace.
Their pressure finally paid off in the dying embers of normal time when Sada Thioub capitalised on some poor defending from PSG to knock the ball from point-blank range. What was turning out to be an embarrassing result for the bottom-dwellers eventually ended as a respectable loss.
#4 Kylian Mbappe leads Golden Boot race
With two more goals for the season, Kylian Mbappe has once again gone in front in the Ligue 1 Golden Boot charts with 22 strikes, two more than Lillle's Jonathan David.
His first of the night was a scrappy finish. The forward couldn't make a decent first-touch but recovered quickly to fire the ball home, but his second was top-notch.
Having won the top-scorer award in the last four seasons, the 24-year-old is now aiming for a fifth in a row but faces close competition from David and Alexandre Lacazette, who's on 19 for the season.
#3 There's hope for relegation-battling Angers to avoid drop
A staggering 24th defeat of the league season means Angers remain rooted at the foot of the standings with just 14 points. However, their performance in the second half against PSG showed that all's not lost yet.
The signs were there when Ibrahima Niane forced a crucial save from Gianluigi Donnarumma just two minutes into kick-off. Les Scoistes, though, demonstrated their potential after the break.
The hosts took the game to PSG and fought hard for the ball, winning back possession a few times early in the second half and forcing the Parisians into conceding free-kicks and corners.
Angers looked deadly from set-pieces, and only some last-minute intervention kept them from finding the net as Christophe Galtier's side were on the tenterhooks. Their persistence finally paid off when Thioub pulled one back, thumping home from six yards out after latching on to a headed cross from Abdallah Sima.
If they can produce this kind of form consistently, there's a chance they could climb out of the relegation zone and retain their top-flight status.
#2 Lionel Messi bags brilliant assist
There were no goals for Lionel Messi on the night, but that doesn't mean he had a poor outing. The Argentine assisted Mbappe's second goal with a lovely pass that took out the entire Angers defence.
The move started with Achraf Hakimi setting Messi up on the break. The former Barcelona ace scampered a few steps forward before lifting a superb pass over the Angers backline. Mbappe timed his run perfectly to connect with it and rounded the goalkeeper before firing into the top corner.
It was Messi's 15th league assist of the season. Having struck 15 goals in the competition, he's now the first player in Europe's top five leagues this season to score and assist as many.
#1 No. 11 on the horizon for PSG
With a third straight win and 24th overall, PSG have opened up a 11-point gap at the top of the table over second-placed Marseille, who play high-flying Lyon on Saturday (April 22).
Unless the Olympians win that game, PSG are now only 11 points away from clinching the Ligue 1 title, with six games remaining. Should their Le Classique rivals drop points, the Parisians' job will be easier.
Of course, the Parisians could slip up between now and the end of the season, but interestingly, their six remaining fixtures are against teams languishing in the bottom half - Lorient (10th), Troyes (18th), Ajaccio (19th), Auxerre (14th), Strasbourg (17th) and Clermont Foot (11th).
As things stand, PSG could wrap up their 11th title on matchday 35 against Ajaccio.
