After an early sending-off left the visitors with a mountain to climb, a stunning Lionel Messi goal guided Paris Saint-Germain to a 3-1 home triumph over Lens on Saturday, putting an end to any doubts about the conclusion of this season’s Ligue 1 title fight.
Lens, who started the day six points behind league leaders PSG in second place, seemed the better team until Ghana midfielder Salis Abdul Samed was sent off in the 19th minute for a risky challenge on Achraf Hakimi.
That altered everything, and before halftime, the hosts were out of sight with to three goals in 10 minutes from Kylian Mbappe, Vitinha, and Messi, with Przemyslaw Frankowski netting a penalty for Lens.
Mbappe scored first, then Vitinha’s long-range shot extended PSG’s lead in the 37th minute.
Messi’s goal made it 3-0, the Argentine finding a pocket of space outside the box, sending a pass to Mbappe, and then receiving the France striker’s backheel return before sliding past goalkeeper Brice Samba and into the far corner.
The result puts the incumbent champions nine points ahead with seven games remaining, implying that it is only a matter of time before PSG secures a French record 11th league title.
