Mbappe scores twice as PSG beat St Etienne

PARIS : Kylian Mbappe's double led Paris St Germain's recovery as they came from a goal down to beat struggling St Etienne 3-1 on Saturday and extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 16 points.

French forward Mbappe scored either side of halftime and then turned provider for Danilo Pereira to head home at the back post for the third goal.

St Etienne had collected 10 points from their previous four Ligue 1 matches to move from bottom of the standings to outside the relegation zone. They took a 16th-minute lead through Denis Bouanga and held it until three minutes before the break when Lionel Messi set up Mbappe for the equaliser.

The same combination then put PSG ahead two minutes into the second half and five minutes later Danilo Pereira doubled the lead.

Earlier on Saturday, Nice moved second after a 0-0 draw at fifth-placed Racing Strasbourg.

Nice have 46 points to PSG's runaway tally of 62 after 26 games.

Olympique de Marseille, who are third on goal difference, can regain second place in the standings if they avoid defeat at Troyes on Sunday.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)