Two missed penalties, a skied sitter and being taken off injured after just 21 minutes was all it took for Kylian Mbappe to have a nightmare evening as his Paris St-Germain side beat Montpellier 1-3.
The France striker had an early spot-kick saved and then – after a reprieve – saw his retake cannon off the post, only for him to fire the rebound over an empty net.
Mbappe limped off holding his hamstring soon after, less than a fortnight before PSG’s Champions League last-16 first-leg tie with Bayern Munich.
Speaking after the game, coach Christophe Galtier suggested the injury was down to a knock rather than a muscle problem.
“He took a knock to the back of the knee or the back of the thigh, so we’ll see,” said Galtier. “I’m not too worried. It’s a bruise or a contusion, we don’t know yet.
“With the run of matches we don’t want to take risks with a very busy fixture list, but it doesn’t appear that serious.”
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Achraf Hakimi also had an opener ruled out for the league leaders after the break before Fabian Ruiz broke the deadlock, poking home from close range.
Lionel Messi then slotted a second in from close range, after a first-half effort was ruled out for offside, before Arnaud Novin and Warren Zaire-Emery exchanged goals late on.
The win moves PSG five points clear at the top Ligue 1.
