Verratti injured as PSG smashes nine past Guingamp
Paris Saint-Germain tied its record Ligue 1 winning margin with a 9-0 victory over Guingamp at the Parc des Princes, but Marco Verratti hobbled off with an apparently serious injury.
Despite losing to a late Guingamp penalty in a remarkable Coupe de la Ligue meeting last week, the result never looked in doubt for PSG in an altogether different affair as Neymar scored a double while both Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani hit the simplest of hat-tricks.
Yet an already depleted midfield, featuring Dani Alves out of position, was further limited by Verratti's first-half withdrawal after taking a kick, nursing his left foot as he headed off the pitch.
With a crunch Champions League clash with a reinvigorated Manchester United to come in less than a month, Thomas Tuchel's delight at the form of his attackers will undoubtedly be offset by real concerns in the middle of the pitch.
PSG led from its first real opening as Neymar provided a moment of inspiration, running onto Dani Alves's lofted pass and selling a dummy to a backtracking defender before slamming high past Marc-Aurele Caillard.
But Thomas Tuchel's men did not have it all their own way and Verratti soon departed after a clash with Felix Eboa Eboa, although Neymar could continue after himself suffering a knock.
Neymar was central to PSG's best work and created its second with a surge into the area, teeing up Mbappe to find the bottom-right corner. The Frenchman then netted again before the break as a blocked Eboa Eboa clearance left him with a simple finish.
An initially more ponderous second half soon gave way to further home goals as Cavani converted from Juan Bernat's cross before rising to nod in Angel di Maria's dinked centre.
Neymar joined his strike partners on a brace as he wriggled through and slid a finish under the goalkeeper, with Guingamp ultimately doing well to keep the deficit to single figures as Cavani bundled in his hat-trick goal - awarded only after a VAR referral had overruled a non-existent foul - and Mbappe turned in number eight.
Thomas Meunier added his name to the scoresheet with an 83rd-minute drive that earned this side a slice of PSG history as it equalled a record set when it sealed the title against Troyes in 2016.
