Metz, (France): Kylian Mbappe scored a superb goal on his debut for Paris St Germain (PSG) and Edinson Cavani netted twice as the Ligue 1 leaders stretched their perfect start to five wins with a 5-1 rout of 10-man Metz in an entertaining clash here Friday.
Having moved to PSG from champions Monaco in a loan deal, the 18-year old prodigy made an instant impact.
Mbappe scored PSG’s second with a ferocious low strike from the edge of the penalty area after the home side had left back Benoit Assou-Ekotto harshly sent off early in the second half for a challenge on the French teenage sensation.
The other goals were scored by Edison Cavani (2), Neymar and substitute Lucas Moura. Such was the impact of Cavani Mbappe and Neymar on the opposition defence that Metz at times were left haplessly watching. It could have been worse for the home side had Cavani not hit the post in the first half and Neymar not shot over from close twice in the second session.
Cavani showed his lethal touch in the 31st minute when he rounded Metz keeper Eiji Kawashima and fired PSG ahead with a clinical finish after he was put through by Neymar. However, the home side equalised much against the run of play in the 37th minute through Emmanuel Riviere.
After Mbappe had scored the second for PSG, Neymar made it 3-1 with a crisp shot from 20 metres before Cavani grabbed his second of the night and seventh of the campaign. Moura the bundled in the fifth in the dying minutes after yet another defence-splitting pass from Neymar.
European football had been in recent times dominated by the trio of attackers like BBC (Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo) of Real Madrid and MSN (Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar). If Friday’s match is any indication then there is another troika developing – CMN (Cavani, Mbappe and Neymar). Good for PSG, but definitely a nightmare for others.
reuters
