Mbappe and Vitinha secure a hard-fought victory for 10-man PSG against Le Havre
PSG secured a hard-fought 2-0 win against Le Havre on Sunday, with goals from Kylian Mbappe and Vitinha, even after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma received an early red card.
Despite the victory, PSG had to demonstrate significant resilience to fend off the hosts and extend their lead to four points over second-placed Nice in the table.
After losing a player in the 10th minute, PSG managed to take the lead with an impressive goal from Kylian Mbappe, marking his 15th in the league this season.
However, the victory was only sealed in the final minutes of regular time when Portuguese midfielder Vitinha scored, doubling the score with just one minute remaining.
Despite Le Havre’s early dominance and a series of corners, PSG had to face challenges, including a forced substitution when Fabian Ruiz injured his right shoulder defending a set-piece.
Although Le Havre started brightly and won several early corners, the breakthrough for Paris Saint-Germain came with a long ball that exposed their defense.
Nordi Mukiele’s failure to deal with the clearance allowed Josue Casimir to capitalize, but the progress was abruptly halted by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
In a desperate attempt to clear the ball, the Italian goalkeeper caught Casimir very high on the shoulder just outside the box, leading the referee to show a red card without much choice in the matter.
Despite being a player down and having to sacrifice attacker Bradley Barcola for goalkeeper Arnau Tenas, PSG took the lead.
Ousmane Dembele delivered a precise pass to his captain, and Kylian Mbappe’s first touch maneuvered him inside the defender. With a yard of space, he deceived the goalkeeper from inside the D, scoring via the post.
Opportunities arose for both teams just before the hour mark. Mohamed Bayo had a tame shot at Tenas from a promising position, while Dembele fired across the goal with the ball grazing the far post.
The hosts intensified their efforts, and only a superb save by Tenas in the 64th minute and a crucial sliding interception by Danilo Pereira three minutes later preserved PSG’s lead.
In the 70th minute, Ousmane Dembele and PSG had the prime opportunity to score the second goal of the match, but a retreating Christopher Operi successfully thwarted the winger’s attempt.
Tenas once again came to the rescue of the league leaders with an outstanding double save at his near post, denying Nabil Alioui with 12 minutes left.
The certainty of victory came in the 89th minute when a PSG attack into Le Havre’s territory resulted in Vitinha attempting a long-range shot. A significant deflection caused the ball to loop over the helpless goalkeeper.