Mbappe stars as PSG brushes aside US Orleans
Kylian Mbappe’s red-hot scoring run continued as he bagged a brace to steer Paris Saint-Germain into the Round of 16 of the Coupe de France after a 4-1 win at US Orleans.
Mbappe seized upon some static defending to open the scoring just after the quarter-hour mark but PSG did not have it all its own way against a side that sits 12th out of 18 teams in the third tier.
It was not until after the hour PSG doubled its lead from the spot through Mbappe but despite taking his tally to 10 goals in his past six matches, the France captain continued to make his mark.
He turned provider for Goncalo Ramos and while Nicolas Saint-Ruf pulled one back, Mbappe then teed up 17-year-old substitute Senny Mayulu for his first goal for PSG two minutes from time.
PSG boss Luis Enrique admitted his hesitancy at the state of the pitch as he rang the changes to his line-up although he retained Mbappe, who bagged a treble in a 9-0 win at Revel in the previous round.
It was unsurprisingly the 25-year-old who broke the deadlock in the 16th minute, reacting quickest to drive beyond Owen-Cesaire Matimbou from Randal Kolo Muani’s centre after some flat-footed defending.
If PSG thought the floodgates would open, it was left disappointed as Orleans’ backline repelled everything that was thrown at it for the remainder of the half.
While Orleans became more of an attacking force after half-time, Steve Solvet’s handball in the area allowed Mbappe to double PSG’s lead from the penalty spot after 63 minutes.
Mbappe’s teasing cross to the back post was met by the diving head of Ramos to take PSG out of sight.
To its credit, Saint-Ruf pulled one back from a corner in the 86th minute to give Orleans something to show for its evening’s work.
But having been introduced minutes earlier, Mayulu restored PSG’s three-goal lead after being put through by Mbappe.
