Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) continued their relentless march in Ligue 1, making it three wins from three with a 7-1 thrashing of Lille away from home. Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick, Neymar got two and Lionel Messi and Achraf Hakimi got one apiece.
Last week Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans were left disheartened after a bitter rivalry between Kylian Mbappe and Neymar came out in the open during the team's win over Montepellier, which saw an argument between the two stars over who would take a penalty. Mbappe was also spotted pushing legendary forward Lionel Messi after the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner failed to pass the Frenchman the ball. This fueled the fire of increasing rumours that the 23-year-old sensation does not share the same perspective as the rest of his teammates, and it was only after sporting director Luis Campos intervened that tempers cooled down in the dressing room. And Sunday (August 21) night's 7-1 win over Lille has given enough proof that the ego battles are a thing of the past among them.
Kylian Mbappe netted a hat-trick, Neymar got two and Lionel Messi and Achraf Hakimi got one apiece in PSG's 7-1 Ligue 1 win over Lille at the Stade Pierre Mauroy. The emphatic victory has sent a strong message to critics and football pundits, who dubbed the Frenchman as someone playing to his whims and fancies in a team with legendary players like Neymar, Messi, Sergio Ramos, etc. One such comment came from former Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney: "A 23-year-old player commits to pushing Messi. I have never seen a bigger ego in my life. Someone should remind Mbappe that when Messi was 23, he had already won four Ballon d'Ors."
On Sunday, the French forward opened up the scoring within mere seconds of the match, notching a one-touch goal off of an assist from Messi. During his post-match press conference, manager Christophe Galtier props last season's PSG's U19 squad for being the inspiration behind Mbappe's first goal. "It was a move that we worked on, we found footage from different leagues, and even from our youth team in the Youth League who managed to score that kick-off against Salzburg last season," Galtier said. "We talked about it yesterday, we saw the footage, we practiced it in training, obviously when it succeeds like that after 8 seconds, it's very satisfying," he added.
Mbappe himself cherished his hat-trick. "One fine Sunday evening," the Frenchman wrote in an Instagram post flooded with several comments. "The King is back," noted his younger brother Ethan Mbappe, while other users lauded the first of the three strikes.
The front three of Mbappe, Neymar and Messi enjoyed themselves in Lille, with six goals and four assists. The Brazilian forward lauded the 'Amazing Night' in an Instagram post and also wrote 'GO PSG' in a strong message to fans that the team is geared up for the upcoming season. Neymar's post drew several comments, including one from Brazilian teammate and Manchester United's recruit Casemiro. "Score 2 more please for the man!!" wrote the former Real Madrid icon.
Messi, too joined his teammates to celebrate a glorious night. The Argentine shared a host of photographs reflecting the team's camaraderie, especially among Mbappe and Neymar. Among those who commented on the 35-year-old's post was a compatriot and former Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero, who said, "Nice one Lionel Andrés Messi jeee."
PSG boss Galtier noted that he changed up his attacking setup for the contest at Lille, as Messi and Neymar were a bit further apart on the pitch than in the opening two league matches. Galtier clarified that this was done to "find the best balance possible" on the pitch. "The setup changes with the presence of Kylian Mbappe," he said. "We're trying to find the best balance possible. Leo, Kylian and Ney played like this last season but in a different formation. Tonight, they played for each other. Even when the game was decided, they tracked back and worked together. I enjoyed their desire to play together," the Frenchman added.
PSG is off to quite a convincing start to the new Ligue 1 campaign, with 17 goals scored in three fixtures played. Next up for the Parisian club will be a home clash against an AS Monaco side that holds 11th place in the Ligue 1 standings.