ReutersMbappe double helps PSG beat 10-man Nimes and top Ligue 1
Paris St Germain left it late to wrap up a 4-0 win at 10-man Nimes with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice as the French champions moved top of the Ligue 1 standings on Friday ahead of their Champions League opener against Manchester United. Mbappe opened the scoring before the break and joined Alessandro Florenzi and Pablo Sarabia in netting inside the final 12 minutes to put PSG on 15 points from seven games, four days before hosting United at the Parc des Princes.
ReutersLens beat nine-man Saint Etienne 2-0 to go second in Ligue 1
Lens secured a 2-0 win over nine-man Saint Etienne and moved up to second place in Ligue 1 thanks to goals from Gael Kakuta and Florian Sotoca after the visitors were hit with red cards for Timothee Kolodziejczak and Wahbi Khazri on Saturday. Kolo was the first to be sent off after conceding an early penalty with a clumsy tackle that injured Ignatius Ganago. Referee Bastein Dechepy viewed a replay of the incident before brandishing the red card at the 29-year-old defender, with Kakuta firing Lens into the lead with the spot kick.
ReutersLille beat Nantes 2-0 to go top in Ligue 1
Unbeaten Lille went provisionally top of the Ligue 1 table with a comfortable 2-0 home win against Nantes thanks to an own goal and a late penalty on Friday. Defender Nicolas Pallois deflected a Mehmet Celik strike into his own net and Burak Yilmaz converted a second-half spot kick, putting Lille on 11 points from five games. Nantes, who have not beaten Lille in five years, are 14th on five points.
ReutersFit-again Thauvin fires Marseille to win in Ligue 1 opener
Olympique Marseille striker Florian Thauvin scored a first goal in more than a year and set up two others to help his side to a winning start in their 2020-21 Ligue 1 season with a 3-2 success at Brest on Sunday. The France international, who recovered from a long-term ankle ligament injury in March, only for the season to be cancelled, netted for the first time since May 2019 as his deflected shot from the edge of the box looped into the top corner. Croatian defender Duje Caleta-Car added a second inside half an hour from Thauvin's free-kick, before Romain Faivre pulled a goal back for Brest.