Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi were both on target as PSG came away with a comfortable 3-0 win away to Ajaccio.
Defending champions PSG kept up their unbeaten streak in Ligue 1 with a 3-0 win away to Ajaccio on Friday night. The win solidifies their grip on the top spot at the end of 11 games this season.
Despite a raft of unavailable players, Christophe Galtier’s side had enough quality and depth to come away with a comfortable win. The win takes Paris Saint-Germain’s unbeaten streak across all competitions to 26 games. This is the third-longest unbeaten streak in the club’s history.
Ajaccio, to their credit, started off well and took the game to PSG. However, it was the visitors who drew first blood, with Mbappe breaking the deadlock in the 24th minute. The goal swung the tie in PSG’s favour, and it was smooth sailing thereafter.
The Frenchman failed to make the score 2-0 before the break as the visitors crafted one goalscoring opportunity after another. Mbappe went from scorer to creator in the 78th minute as he fed Lionel Messi for PSG’s second of the night.
6 – Lionel Messi has delivered six assists to Kylian Mbappé with Paris in Ligue 1 2022-23, the highest tally of assists delivered from one player to another among the European Top 5 leagues this season. Bromance. #ACAPSG pic.twitter.com/gY3m6YKP4V
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 21, 2022
Messi returned the favour four minutes later as Mbappe scored his second of the night to wrap up the match 3-0. PSG can now go into their UEFA Champions League clash against Maccabi Haifa with renewed confidence. The Hard Tackle looks at how the PSG players fared on the night.
Gianluigi Donnarumma: 6/10
It was a largely quiet night for the Italian custodian, as he had little to do. Donnarumma was called into action just once and did well to parry Youcef Belaili’s goal bound effort in the second half.
Achraf Hakimi: 6/10
The right-back showed much more energy and initiative than what he managed to do in recent weeks. He almost grabbed himself an assist in the first half, but instead saw Kylian Mbappe miss an empty net. There were moments of unease where Youcef Belaili caused him some problems.
Nordi Mukiele: 6/10
It was not the summer signing’s best performance, but he held himself up well at the back and adopted a no nonsense approach. Mukiele handled whatever was thrown at him with ease and now has an opportunity to stake a claim for a starting spot on a regular basis.
Marquinhos: 7/10
The PSG captain organised his backline well and dealt with the Ajaccio attack with minimal fuss. Marquinhos’s positioning was spot on, and he dealt efficiently to snuff out any opposition attacks.
Juan Bernat: 6/10
He was defensively suspect and gave Ajaccio some joy down his flank. Bernat got forward whenever possible and forced a fine save early in the second half.
Fabian Ruiz: 7/10
The former Napoli man was excellent in his role and helped recycle possession with ease. Good on the ball and efficient with his decisions, Ruiz is coming into his element as a PSG star.
FABIAN RUIZ IS THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO PSG IN A LONG TIME OMG HE'S CRAZY GOOD.
— 🦅 (@Ani7ii) October 21, 2022
Marco Verratti: 6/10
The Italian international started out poorly and earned himself an early warning. Thankfully, it did not come to bite PSG as Verratti composed himself and improved as the match went on. By his standards, however, it was a substandard display.
Renato Sanches: 4/10
The Portuguese international was poor on the night and rarely combined well with his teammates. While he did improve marginally after the break, it was not enough to make a difference. It came as little surprise that Sanches was pulled after the hour mark for Vitinha.
Carlos Soler: 4/10
The Spaniard played the number 10 role on the night but was effectively the invisible man on the field. He got into some good positions but was not on the same wavelength as Messi or Mbappe. Soler clearly is a player to watch out for but his performance on the night was lacking in every department.
Lionel Messi: 8/10
The Argentine was sublime in attack and linked up well with Mbappe. He grabbed himself a goal and two assists on the night, showing excellent awareness and movement. Without Neymar, Messi and Mbappe showed that they are well capable of leading the PSG attack with panache.
8 – Lionel Messi has delivered eight assists with Paris in Ligue 1 2022-23, with only Kevin De Bruyne (9 with Manchester City in Premier League) doing better among the European Top 5 leagues. Caviar. #ACAPSG pic.twitter.com/KiT3zl8LKE
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 21, 2022
Kylian Mbappe: 8/10
The Frenchman was an electric presence in the final third and grabbed himself a brace on the night. Mbappe could have had a hat-trick or more if he was a little more prolific in front of goal. It was far from a vintage performance from the Frenchman and the two goals makes up for his deficiencies in the game.
SUBSTITUTES
Vitinha: 5/10
The summer signing has been a key player for PSG this season but failed to have the same impact on the night. He was a marked improvement upon Sanches, who struggled to get going all night.
Pablo Sarabia: 5/10
Sarabia replaced Soler in the second half and was an improvement over the Spaniard. The Spaniard is still far from his best and will need to up his game significantly.
Hugo Ekitike: N/A
Ekitike replaced Mbappe in the 83rd minute but had little time to make an impact.
El Chadaille Bitshiabu: N/A
A late replacement for Marquinhos.
Warren Zaire-Emery: N/A
He replaced Ruiz in the 83rd minute as PSG saw the game out.
