Paris come out on top and take a step closer to the title

There are just 3 matches left for us to savour. So we now need to savour every move during this final sprint, living each of them as if it were the last... And on Sunday evening, Paris Saint-Germain travelled to Auxerre with the intention of giving us something to enjoy. Although Lens' victory earlier in the day had buried their hopes of being crowned champions on Matchday 36 of Ligue 1, the objective remained the same: to continue leading the way until the end of the season. To do so, Christophe Galtier sent out a mouth-watering starting eleven, led by the attacking trio of Mbappé, Ekitike and Messi.

The start of the encounter quickly set the scene. The evening's opposition would look to seek revenge after the heavy defeat in the two sides' first encounter this season (5-0), and try to stay out of the relegation zone. The Blue and Whites looked threatening in every contact and created a hostile atmosphere from the very get go inside an electric Stade de l'Abbé-Deschamps.

But the local euphoria didn't last long. It has to be said that Kylian Mbappé had never scored in this stadium, and that Alexandre Lacazette had once again caught up with him in the Ligue 1 Top Scorer rankings. It didn't take long for the n°7 to take the game by the scruff of the neck! He quickly turned an AJA defender inside-out to give his side the lead (0-1, 6'), after an excellent ball from Fabian Ruiz. The appetiser before the main course, given that 2 minutes later, he catapulted the ball into the back of the net after a pass from Leo Messi and a subtle dummy from Hugo Ekitike (0-2, 8'). The league's top scorer and player with the most assists were doing their statuses justice!

Our Rouge et Bleu looked comfortable at the table. But up against them, AJA were still hungry and every duel was as sharp as ever. Raveloson's effort which smashed against Gigio Donnarumma's bar (38') and Da Costa's attempt that was pushed away by the Italian (43') were good reminders: the visitors couldn't afford to fall into the hosts' trap.

And the break didn't dampen the Auxerre spirits, as they stepped up the agression in the duel... As well as in front of goal. And their efforts paid off, as they managed to reduce the deficit immediately after the break, through Sinayoko (1-2, 50'). Our Parisiens had to double down to bounce back: forays from Kylian, Vitinha's arrival, or stops from Gigio (including a precious stop in the 75th) to get back on the right track.

Both sides continued to trade blows and the intensity never dropped. Les Rouge et Bleu deployed all of their strengths to hold on and find a third goal to put them out of sight. They came close, but Kylian Mbappé's third goal was eventually ruled out for offside (93'). Paris maintained their lead, and strengthen their place at the top of the league. Mission accomplished!