Mbappe, Vitinha Score as 10-man PSG Beats Le Havre 2-0

Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #07 Kylian Mbappe runs with the ball during the French L1 football match between Le Havre AC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at The Stade Oceane in Le Havre, north-western France, on December 3, 2023. (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #07 Kylian Mbappe runs with the ball during the French L1 football match between Le Havre AC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at The Stade Oceane in Le Havre, north-western France, on December 3, 2023. (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER / AFP)
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Mbappe, Vitinha Score as 10-man PSG Beats Le Havre 2-0

Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #07 Kylian Mbappe runs with the ball during the French L1 football match between Le Havre AC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at The Stade Oceane in Le Havre, north-western France, on December 3, 2023. (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #07 Kylian Mbappe runs with the ball during the French L1 football match between Le Havre AC and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at The Stade Oceane in Le Havre, north-western France, on December 3, 2023. (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER / AFP)

Paris Saint-Germain had no problem beating Le Havre 2-0 to extend its lead at the top of the French league standings on Sunday despite playing for more than 80 minutes with 10 men after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was sent off for a reckless tackle.
Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Vitinha ensured a seventh consecutive league win for Luis Enrique's team. PSG has a four-point cushion at the top after second-place Nice was handed its first loss this season on Saturday, a 1-0 defeat at Nantes, The Associated Press reported.
Le Havre got off to a strong start with several good moves but lacked accuracy to inflict any damage. The hosts produced 22 shots, but only seven of them were on target.
Donnarumma was sent off following a reckless foul outside his box. The Italy goalkeeper came out of the area as he tried to clear a long ball with a very high tackle, but instead made contact with Le Havre forward Josue Casimir's face.
Referee Bastien Dechepy showed him a red card and Bradley Barcola made way for substitute goalie Arnau Tenas.
PSG broke the deadlock on the break after Lee Kang-in set up Ousmane Dembele down the right side. The winger then crossed the ball for Mbappe, who controlled with his right foot and curled a shot into the net from the edge of the box in the 22nd minute. It was Mbappe's 15th league goal this season.
Vitinha completed PSG's win in the 88th minute from Manuel Ugarte's assist.



Kalimuendo Has Hat Trick in Rennes Rout while PSG Held at Home

Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)
Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)
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Kalimuendo Has Hat Trick in Rennes Rout while PSG Held at Home

Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)
Rennes' French forward #09 Arnaud Kalimuendo celebrates scoring his team's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Stade Rennais FC and Saint-Etienne (ASSE) at the Roazhon Park Stadium in Rennes, western France on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Damien Meyer / AFP)

Striker Arnaud Kalimuendo scored a hat trick and Rennes got back to winning ways in Ligue 1 by thrashing 10-man Saint-Etienne 5-0 on Saturday.
Meanwhile, leader Paris Saint-Germian dropped points at home when it drew with Nantes 1-1.
Rennes coach Jorge Sampaoli's first win with his new team came in his second match in charge after he took over this month, The Associated Press reported.
Rennes had failed to score in more than a month and lost its three previous matches. The result lifted the host one point above Saint-Etienne.
Visiting Saint-Etienne made things difficult for itself when Mathieu Cafaro, who hit the post earlier, was sent off for a handball in the box in the 37th minute.
Kalimuendo put Rennes in the driving seat from the penalty spot two minutes later, and they returned to the locker room with a two-goal lead after Ludovic Blas, who was excellent throughout, found the net in added time.
Kalimuendo added another goal with a nice finish and converted a second penalty to seal his first Ligue 1 hat trick. Amine Gouiri also scored.
“We’re not going to say that everything clicked; we’re not going to get carried away. But it’s true that it feels good to win, to score a lot of goals, and to keep a clean sheet," Gouiri said. “However, we were helped by that red card. We need to enjoy this but not get ahead of ourselves. We have to build on the positives to keep going. It’s good for confidence."
The fiery Sampaoli returned to French soccer following a previous stint with Marseille. Sampaoli was in charge of Argentina at the 2018 World Cup. He has also coached clubs in Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Spain and Brazil. Sampaoli abruptly left Marseille in July 2022 after leading the team back to the Champions League, over a disagreement related to the club’s transfers of players.
PSG held at home PSG could not hold onto an early lead against Nantes at Parc des Princes.
Achraf Hakimi put PSG in front early but the hosts were wasteful against a very defensive Nantes that leveled against the run of the play before the interval. Matthis Abline beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a left-footed shot after dribbling past Willian Pacho.
Donnarumma, who was dropped midweek during a 1-0 Champions League loss at Bayern Munich, made a reflex save near the hour mark to salvage the draw.
Uninspired, Luis Enrique’s team remained unbeaten in the league, extending its lead over second-placed Monaco to seven points. The Principality side travels to third-placed Marseille on Sunday.
Nantes remained 16th, the relegation playoff position.
Brest bounces back The Brittany side recovered from a 3-0 loss at Barcelona in the Champions League midweek by beating Strasbourg 3-1. The result snapped a three-match losing run in Ligue 1, and moved Brest to 10th place.