Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele each scored twice to all but seal Paris St-Germain’s defence of their Ligue 1 title with a comfortable win at Lorient.
Dembele put PSG ahead with a fine finish, added to by Mbappe’s audacious flick to establish a 2-0 half-time lead.
In a sensational piece of skill, Mbappe controlled the ball in a tight space near a corner flag, nutmegged Nathaniel Adjei and produced a perceptive low cross to set up Dembele’s tap-in after 61 minutes.
Mohamed Bamba headed a terrific consolation goal for Lorient with 17 minutes remaining, capitalising on a cross from fellow substitute Benjamin Mendy.
Mbappe scored his second in the 90th minute, cutting inside from the right and swerving a shot under goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo’s dive.
The Uefa Champions League semi-finalists will be confirmed as champions if second-placed Monaco fail to beat fourth-placed Lille later on Wednesday (20:00 BST).
Read our other football news stories here:
De Zerbi dismisses fatigue talk
Arteta lauds two-goal Havertz
O’Neil says VAR future could be considered
Lorient v PSG: Paris on brink
Lorient are second-bottom and winless in five matches but Ayman Kari should have at least come closer to ending their three-game run without a goal when the PSG loanee swiped an early shot wide after an attack along the right found him unmarked inside the visitors’ box.
The 19-year-old will hope for better auditions to further his chances of breaking through at his parent club, and Mbappe swiftly showed him how to find the target with a 16th-minute attempt from just outside the penalty area which was palmed away by Mvogo.
PSG took the lead after 19 minutes, Senny Mayulu winning possession beyond the halfway line, cantering forward and supplying Dembele, who cut inside from the right and curled a precise low shot beyond Mvogo.
Mbappe was in on the act three minutes later, initially sending Nuno Mendes away on the left while charging into the box to receive a return pass which he angled in improvisationally to leave Mvogo beaten at his far post again.
KYLIAN MBAPPE 👏👏
The PSG star produces a moment of magic to set-up Ousmane Dembele for his 2⃣nd goal of the evening! pic.twitter.com/nQgtFs7UKt
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 24, 2024
Gianluigi Donnarumma preserved Paris’ lead with a superb save to stop Tiemoue Bakayoko’s free header from flying past him before the break, and Mbappe’s magnificent trickery to create the third goal was the highlight of the second half, although wing-back Panos Katseris raced forward to test Donnarumma with a fierce late shot which the Italy international turned behind.
Monaco are the only team who can catch Paris but cannot do so unless they win all of their five remaining matches.
Should Monaco win at home to Lille, PSG can extend their own record to 12 French top-flight titles by winning at home to third-bottom Le Havre on Saturday (20:00 BST).
They are away to Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final next Wednesday.
