Kylian Mbappe becomes Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time top goalscorer
Kylian Mbappe became Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time leading goalscorer with a 201st strike for the Ligue 1 champions in their 4-2 win over Nantes at the Parc des Princes.
The 24-year-old scored the final goal for Christophe Galtier’s men to cement his name in Parisian folklore, surpassing Edinson Cavani’s previous record of 200 goals for the club.
Mbappe had equalled Cavani’s double century with his brace against Marseille last weekend, and the World Cup winner has taken just 247 games to score his record-breaking 201 goals for PSG.
In contrast, Cavani bid farewell to PSG having scored his 200 goals in 301 matches, and Mbappe’s effort rounded off a far from straightforward success for PSG against former manager Antoine Kombouare.
It took Les Parisiens just 12 minutes to make their dominance count in the first half, as Lionel Messi coolly finished into the bottom corner before teenage full-back Jaouen Hadjam turned into his own net seven minutes later.
However, Galtier’s men were surprisingly pegged back in a sensational seven-minute spell for the visitors, who pulled one back through Ludovic Blas on the 31-minute mark, as the midfielder caught out Gianluigi Donnarumma at his near post.
Seven minutes before the break, Nantes erased PSG’s two-goal advantage through Ignatius Ganago, who stole in at the back post to head home and level the contest going into the interval.
Nantes’ lead would not last for long, though, as Danilo Pereira headed home from Mbappe’s cross on the hour mark to restore PSG’s lead, and the champions were awarded a penalty just four minutes later for Hadjam’s foul on Nordi Mukiele.
However, upon a VAR review, a free kick was awarded instead – Hadjam had brought Mukiele down just outside the box – but the Frenchman felt the full force of the teenager’s challenge and had to be taken off with 71 minutes gone.
PSG’s everlasting injury crisis went from bad to worse in the 77th minute when Marquinhos limped off, but in the second minute of injury time, the history-making moment would fall into Mbappe’s lap.
A defensive lapse from Nantes allowed Timothee Pembele to launch an attack on the right, and the defender immediately crossed for Mbappe, who spun away from Jean-Charles Castelletto and fired home his record-breaking goal.
The 24-year-old let emotion take over as the congratulatory messages poured in, and he told the media after the game that it was a “privilege” to play for the French champions.
“It’s a privilege to play for Paris Saint-Germain. It’s special to be PSG player as this is my city. I’m here to write history — in France, in the capital, in my country, in my city. It’s beautiful — but I want also collective achievements,” Mbappe said.
Victory for PSG has temporarily taken them 11 points clear of Marseille at the top of the Ligue 1 table, and a trip to Germany now awaits for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich – who hold a 1-0 advantage – on Wednesday.
