Paris Saint-Germain’s star-studded forward line-up achieved a unique hat-trick of hat-tricks as Clermont were put to the sword in a 6-1 thrashing on Saturday.
After thrashing Clermont Foot 6-1 away from home, Paris-Saint-Germain expanded their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table.
On the night, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar scored all of Mauricio Pochettino’s team’s goals, with Lionel Messi picking up three assists in the process.
Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Neymar have not always gelled as well as many at Parc des Princes hoped when the Argentine arrived last summer.
But they put on a spectacular performance over the weekend, with the first two scoring three goals each and Messi contributing three assists.
Three-pronged attack
PSG’s rampage started early, with Messi putting in Neymar for the opener after only five minutes, but Clermont were enraged that the game was not paused to treat a player who remained down at the other end of the ground.
In the first half, Messi provided another assist to Mbappe, who doubled the lead, with Neymar also delivering a superb ball to put in the Argentine.
But it wasn’t until the second half that the visitors truly got into gear.
Neymar converted a penalty in the 71st minute and set up Mbappe’s second goal just seconds later, before the France ace completed his hat-trick with another Messi assist.
And there was still time for him to complete his treble, which he did with seven minutes remaining, with Mbappe providing the assist this time.
The overall picture
With Saturday’s triumph, PSG has a 15-point lead over nearest championship rivals Rennes and Marseille, who play Montpellier later this weekend.
If results go their way, Mauricio Pochettino’s side might clinch the Ligue 1 title in their next three matches, recovering the title they lost to Lille last season.
With his hat-trick, Mbappe surpassed Martin Terrier as the league’s top scorer, putting him on 20 goals for the season.
While Messi has not been his typical merciless self in front of goal this season, he does lead Ligue 1 in assists with 13 in just 18 appearances.
