Mbappe strikes as PSG sink 10-man Lens to stretch Ligue 1 lead

Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward #07 Kylian Mbappe celebrates his team’s victory after the French L1 football match between RC Lens and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, northern France on January 14, 2024. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)

Kylian Mbappe scored and Gianluigi Donnarumma saved a penalty as Paris Saint-Germain surged eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over last season’s runners-up Lens.

Bradley Barcola gave PSG the lead with his second goal for the French champions after Donnarumma had kept out an early spot-kick from Przemyslaw Frankowski at the Stade Bollaert.

Mbappe struck a minute from time with his 19th league goal of the season as PSG took full advantage of slip-ups this weekend by Nice and Monaco.

“I was pleased with the whole match, I think my team is competitive each time and today was no exception,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique.

“You want madness but I want control.”

Lens are a far cry from the team that finished a point behind PSG last term, but their home form remains strong and they had an 11-match unbeaten run snapped just before the winter break.

However their hopes of fighting back suffered a critical blow when Jonathan Gradit was sent off late in the first half following a VAR review for bringing down Barcola as the last defender.

With the focus intensifying on Mbappe and his future plans, Lens had the chance to strike first as Danilo fouled Elye Wahi inside the area after just five minutes.

Frankowski drilled his kick right down the middle but the giant Donnarumma stayed put and blocked the ball with his knees.

The Italy goalkeeper then batted away a shot from Wahi before excellent defensive work from Danilo helped spring Mbappe to set