Paris Saint-Germain corrected the amateurs of Pays de Cassel (7-0) with a quintuplet from Kylian Mbappé, Monday in Lens, and will find Olympique de Marseille in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. PSG took advantage of the windfall. This easy victory against a Regional 1 club (6th division) is good for the statistics, after two defeats in three Ligue 1 matches which have raised doubts.
With this first quintuplet in the history of PSG, Mbappé equals an old record. He became co-top scorer in the Coupe de France with Jean-Pierre Papin, both having scored 29 goals in this competition.
First quintuplet in the history of PSG
More than Mbappé, it is above all the Parisian defense which needs insurance at the moment, after having again yielded four times to Ryad in a friendly match (5-4), Thursday, but it had nothing to do against enthusiasts. The Flandriens dreamed for half an hour before giving in suddenly, conceding four goals in eleven minutes, from “Kyky” (29th, 35th, 40th) and Neymar (33rd). Mbappé twice more (56th, 79th) and Carlos Soler (64th) increased the score. Kyky also signed the first quintuplet of a PSG player.
The next round, around February 8, is more tricky for PSG, the eighth “classic” in the Coupe de France over the last 22 seasons. Paris has won them all… And on February 26 the two rivals meet again at the Vélodrome stadium in Ligue 1. The “Vél” should be full, like the enclosure of Artois, which welcomed its neighbors from the plain of Flanders.
Imperial Mbappé
The players of the US Pays de Cassel were initially as big as the giants of Flemish folklore who paraded before the match. Best Casselois on the ground, midfielder Nicolas Bruneel, briefly pro at US Dunkirk, recovered balls and sometimes advanced his team with a few inspired gestures. But after Mbappé’s first goal, a deflected shot by captain Alexis Zmijak, a construction entrepreneur, the dike gave way.
It remained to the public the pleasure of carrying Neymar, who returned it well. A first time on the ground, the Brazilian was whistled by the stadium (19th), accusing him of playing comedy. Furious that a hand was whistled against him in the face of Clément Boudjema, “Ney” was warned a minute later for a foul on the Flandrian N.8 (26th). Then himself victim of a late tackle from Bruneel, the Brazilian again heard whistles when he missed his free kick (31st) or sent a shot in the clouds (39th).
On his nice goal, after a series of dribbles full of ease, Neymar in turn chambered the public, his hands behind his ears. But as often the star was Mbappé, imperial, applauded at the announcement of the teams, like everywhere in France since his unfortunate hat-trick in the World Cup final. This may not be the case in Marseille…