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Reuters
Reuters
Sport

Kean on the spot as PSG open up four-point lead in Ligue 1

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Montpellier v Paris St Germain - Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France - December 5, 2020 Paris St Germain's Moise Kean celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Moise Kean scored his fifth goal in seven Ligue 1 appearances to inspire Paris St Germain to a 3-1 win at Montpellier as the French champions opened up a four-point lead at the top of the table on Saturday.

Italy striker Kean struck in the second half after Stephy Mavididi had cancelled out Colin Dagba's opener ahead of the break, before Kylian Mbappe wrapped up the game in stoppage time with his 100th goal for PSG.

PSG have 28 points from 13 games but second-placed Olympique de Marseille have two games in hand, and third-placed Lille have an opportunity to narrow the gap to two points when they host Monaco on Sunday.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Montpellier v Paris St Germain - Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France - December 5, 2020 Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their third goal with Layvin Kurzawa REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Montpellier are sixth on 23 points, two ahead of seventh-placed RC Lens who beat Stade Rennais 2-0 away earlier on Saturday.

Thomas Tuchel fielded a surprising 5-3-2 formation with Angel Di Maria and Kean up front as Mbappe started on the bench and Neymar was rested ahead of Tuesday's key Champions League game against Istanbul Basaksehir.

Dagba put the visitors ahead in the 33rd minute, scoring from inside the box from Di Maria’s cutback.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Montpellier v Paris St Germain - Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France - December 5, 2020 Montpellier's Teji Savanier shoots at goal from a free kick REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Montpellier hit back four minutes before the interval when Mavididi beat Keylor Navas at the far post after Dagba had saved the Englishman’s first attempt on his goal line.

PSG had three chances early in the second half but Idrissa Gueye and Kean, twice, lacked accuracy.

Di Maria came closer in the 69th with a low shot but Jonas Omlin fully stretched to deny the Argentine as PSG struggled to make their domination count.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Montpellier v Paris St Germain - Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France - December 5, 2020 Paris St Germain's Moise Kean celebrates scoring their second goal with Leandro Paredes REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Kean, however, restored the capital side's advantage on 77 minutes with a powerful crossed shot at the end of a counter attack before being substituted by Mbappe, who tapped in from Layvin Kurzawa's cross to put the result beyond doubt.

The home side pushed harder in the finale but PSG remained compact at the back to claim their first league victory in three games.

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Montpellier v Paris St Germain - Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France - December 5, 2020 Paris St Germain's Timothee Pembele in action with Montpellier's Il-Lok Yun REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Clare Fallon)

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