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A Kylian Mbappe brace helped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) secure a 3-1 comeback victory over Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1 on Saturday (February 26) evening.
The hosts fell to a 3-1 defeat to Nantes in their last league game and looked on their way to suffering another loss when Denis Bouanga put the visitors ahead. However, a Kylian Mbappe brace and Danilo Pereira's strike saw PSG restore order to claim a comfortable and deserved victory.
Saint-Etienne started the game brightly and deservedly went ahead in the 16th minute through Bouanga. The Gabon international dispossessed Pereira just outside the penalty area before firing past Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The goal gave the visitors extra impetus as they asked questions from PSG and forced a few saves from Donnarumma. However, they received a sucker punch just three minutes before halftime.
Lionel Messi was the provider, with his delightfully threaded through ball allowing Kylian Mbappe to finish with a powerful shot from 10 yards out.
The hosts claimed the lead just two minutes after the restart and it was their two star forwards who combined once again. Messi skipped across the challenges of two Saint-Etienne defenders and laid the ball out for Mbappe to strike.
The France international did not need a second invitation and managed to score his 156th goal in PSG colors. The strike took him level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the second-highest goalscorer in the Parisians' history. Only Edinson Cavani sits ahead of him on 200 goals for the club.
Pereira then made amends for his first-half error and sealed the result in the 52nd minute, heading home from Mbappe's cross.
PSG went close to adding a fourth, with Neymar Jr. and Georgino Wijnaldum both hitting the woodwork. Second-half substitute Angel di Maria also forced a couple of saves from goalkeeper Paul Bernardoni.
The victory saw the capital side open up a 16-point lead at the summit of the standings. They now look primed to successfully wrest back the title, having lost it to Lille last season.
Here is a rundown of how Mauricio Pochettino's men fared in the game.
PSG player ratings against Saint-Etienne
Gianluigi Donarrumma - 7/10
The Italy international could do nothing about the game's opening goal but made five saves on the night to prevent his side from conceding more goals.
Nuno Mendes - 7.5/10
Mendes proved to be an attacking threat for PSG and created one chance, while also making six tackles to help out defensively. He also made two interceptions and won an impressive six out of seven ground duels.
Presnel Kimpembe - 7/10
Kimpembe made five clearances and one interception and was the busier of PSG's two centre-backs. He impressively won six of his seven duels in the game.
Marquinhos - 6/10
The Brazil international received a late booking for dissent against the referee. It was the only blemish on what was an otherwise fine defensive display from Marquinhos, who made four clearances and two tackles. He also had a passing accuracy of 96%.
Thilo Kehrer - 5.5/10
The 25-year-old spent only 45 minutes on the field and did not offer too much in attack before making way for Angel di Maria at the break. Kehrer played decently on defense, making three tackles and winning five of his seven ground duels.
Danilo Pereira - 7.5/10
Pereira made a huge error that gifted Saint-Etienne the opener. He made amends for that with a well-taken goal and gave an action-packed display at both ends of the field. Pereira ended the game with a key pass, two tackles, two interceptions and two clearances.
Idrissa Gueye - 7/10
The AFCON champion helped PSG control proceedings in the middle of the park against Saint-Etienne. Gueye also shielded the defense by making four tackles and two interceptions. He was shown a yellow card 11 minutes into the second half.
Georgino Wijnaldum - 6.5/10
The Netherlands international was not as involved in the game as his midfield partners. However, he hit the post in the fourth minute of injury time with a shot from the edge of the box and created one big chance on the night.
Neymar - 6.5/10
Neymar did not hit the target with any of his three shots on the night. He, however, hit the woodwork and also created two chances before making way for Julian Draxler in the 83rd minute.
Kylian Mbappe - 9/10
Mbappe continues to revel in his role as PSG's talisman, despite being surrounded by several superstars. The 23-year-old's brace took him level with Wissam Ben Yedder at the summit of the Ligue 1 scorer's chart with 14 goals.
His assist for Danilo Pereira also made him the first player to reach double figures for goals and assists in the league this term.
Lionel Messi - 8.5/10
Although the goals have dried up for the Argentine maestro this season, his creativity is still at an all-time high. Messi's pair of assists against Saint-Etienne means he has provided six assists this year, the most by any player in Europe's top five leagues.
The assists were among the game-high six chances he created, but he hit the target with only one of his four shots on the night.
Substitutes
Angel di Maria - 7/10
The former Real Madrid man saw just 45 minutes of action after replacing Kehrer. However, he had an eventful game that saw him hit the target with two of his three shots taken. Di Maria also laid out a key pass.
Juan Bernat - 5.5/10
Bernat came on for Mendes with nine minutes to go and made one clearance in the time he spent on the field.
Julian Draxler - 6/10
The Germany international spent seven minutes on the field after replacing Neymar. Draxler created one chance from a set-piece that was not converted.
Mauro Icardi - 5.5/10
Icardi had just four touches of the ball, one of which was to set up a teammate for a shot at goal after coming on for Mbappe in the 83rd minute.
