Thibault Camus/AP
PSG forward Kylian Mbappe was injured in pain in the French League one match against Montpellier.
Kylian Mbappe twice missed Paris Saint-Germain’s penalty and then blazed through an open goal when the ball fell back to him in his second attempt on Thursday (NZT).
The World Cup star then left injured midway through the first half against Montpellier. PSG recovered to win 3-1 to go five points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
PSG were awarded a penalty in the seventh minute of replay when central defender Christopher Jullien was adjudged to have tackled Sergio Ramos.
HEAVEN PLAYS
Kylian Mbappe netted twice as France hit the stage with the win.
Copa Benjamin Lecomte saved Mbappe’s first attempt and, after the referee ordered it to be received, he did brilliantly past Mbappe’s efforts to push the right post.
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Mbappe somehow missed an open goal when the rebound fell to him and he fired the ball into the high post.
Mbappe, who scored two penalties in his debut for France in the World Cup finals and one in the penalty shootout loss to Argentina, looked sleepy.
Mbappe then sat down and pointed to his left thigh following the challenge.
Thibault Camus/AP
Injured PSG star Kylian Mbappe is helped from the field.
He was substituted on the 21st and was able to walk the field with the medical staff. The TV also showed the camera rubbing the back of his left thigh as a green to worship the place.
But PSG coach Christophe Galtier was optimistic, saying Mbappe “took a blow behind the knee”.
“Is it a bruise? We don’t know yet. It doesn’t look very serious,” said Galtier, “so we don’t worry too much.”
Ramos also went off injured after about 30 minutes.
Argentina star Lionel Messi slotted home PSG’s second goal with a neat finish in the 72nd minute after being set up by Fabiano Ruiz, who put PSG ahead in the 55th.
Striker Arnaud Nordin pulled one back in the 89th and, with the team pushing at home, 16-year-old substitute Warren Zaire-Emery drove the ball home for 3-1 in stoppage time with his first goal for the club.
“It’s the first goal in the first division, so I’m very happy,” Zaire-Emery said after becoming PSG’s youngest scorer. The Mediterranean turns 17 March.
PSG to Bayern Munich in the first leg of the round-of-16 match in the Champions League on February 15.
