PSG defeat Troyes 3-1, increase their lead in the league
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PSG visited Troyes for MD34 of the Ligue 1 and won the matchup easily 3-1 on the road to get closer to winning their 11th league title, a historic one in France and something never done before by any other team playing in the French top-flight division.
This is an important victory as it allows Paris Saint-Germain to regain a six-point margin over second-place Lens after their victory against OM earlier this weekend. With four games left and just 12 points left to fill their respective bags, PSG already have half of the job done.
📽 Relive the best moments of the match against Troyes!
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) May 8, 2023
MBAPPE ⚽️
VITINHA ⚽️
FABIAN RUIZ ⚽️
🔴🔵 #𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐏𝐒𝐆 | 𝟏-𝟑 pic.twitter.com/5vDqQt8dzH
It was quite a tumultuous week at PSG that started with Lionel Messi's unsanctioned trip to Saudi Arabia and continued with multiple injuries, Christophe Galtier and his men played a serious game against a club in Troyes condemned to Ligue 2 relegation.
On Sunday, at the Stade de l'Aube and without the suspended Messi, Paris Saint-Germain secured a 3-1 win against Troyes. With this victory, the visitors now have 78 points and are six points ahead of Lens (72), who are in second place in the Ligue 1 after beating OM and overtaking Marseille in the standings.
The four goals witnessed by those watching live on location or on their streaming devices came from Kylian Mbappe, Vitinha, and Fabian Ruiz on PSG's side with Chavalerin getting one for Troyes in their losing effort.
Mbappe tied Alexandre Lacazette in the top-goalscorers table, each having 24 goals through MD34. The PSG forward has needed only 30 games compared to Lacazette's 31, while he's also scored fewer goals than the latter from the penalty spot.
After this win, PSG will host Ajaccio in MD35 at the Parc des Princes on Saturday night, while second-place Lens will be facing Stade de Reims one day earlier trying to inch closer to Paris Saint-Germain in the table before PSG's game kicks off on Saturday.
PSG dominated the game from the get-go and Christophe Galtier's men took control of the match without much trouble or challenges posed by Troyes.
Not even 10 minutes into the game, Verrati found Mbappe in space and the Frenchman finished the play with a left-foot strike putting his team ahead in the eighth minute.
Despite their early lead, PSG didn't relent and kept pushing, continuing to dominate the game and nearly doubling their advantage thanks to Fabian Ruiz (on two occasions) as well as Danilo and Mbappe.
Towards the end of the first half Troyes took some risks and nearly scored with Mama Balde, forcing Gianluigi Donnarumma to make a great save.
Already in the second half, PSG remained in control of the game. Hugo Ekitike found Marco Verrati, but the midfielder missed that chance. It was later, though, when Vitinha extended PSG's lead by taking advantage of a rebound from his own header and putting the ball in the back of the net.
Next. Troyes 1-3 PSG: Individual Grades of the Paris Saint-Germain players. dark
Troyes would see Chavalerin cut the distance in half for his team but shortly after, Fabian Ruiz scored the defining goal of the day, sealing the victory by PSG on the lawn of their foes.