FRENCH superstar Kylian Mbappe insisted that he “should have scored more” despite netting four times in a magnificent individual display as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Lyon on Sunday.
The 19-year-old scored four goals in the space of 13 second-half minutes as a 5-0 victory saw PSG set a new French top-flight record of nine straight wins to start a season.
Mbappe – who won the early penalty from which Neymar put PSG ahead – missed several earlier chances as he was thrice denied when one-on-one with Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes and struck the post before grabbing his first goal just after the hour mark.
Presnel Kimpembe’s VAR-assisted red card had threatened to complicate matters for Thomas Tuchel, only for Lyon’s Lucas Tousart to receive his marching orders on the stroke of half-time.
Mawell Cornet almost scored a freak equaliser when he deflected Thiago Silva’s clearance onto the woodwork but, having hit the upright himself, Mbappe finally had his goal after the hour – his low strike rattling in off the inside of each post.
That opened the floodgates, Mbappe tucking in a second from Marquinhos’s cut-back before rounding off an incredible hat-trick with a high finish past Lopes.
There would be more drama – Mbappe drilling home at the culmination of Neymar’s mazy run – while Gianluigi Buffon was forced into a save to deny Memphis Depay a late consolation.
“I missed opportunities, I should have scored more,” he told Canal+. “I keep working and I never doubted. I knew I had the support of my team-mates. I often say that as long as an attacker is creating chances, everything is fine.” Mbappe took the World Cup by storm in the summer, becoming the first teenager since Pele in 1958 to score twice in the final and winning the award for the tournament’s best young player.
He has started the new Ligue 1 season in similar fashion and already has eight goals to his name from just five appearances.
Watch Mbappe’s 4 goals in the video below.
