Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Edinson Cavani flexed their muscles as Paris Saint-Germain romped to victory over 10-man Metz in Ligue 1 on Friday night – their first outing since putting together the most expensive forward line in the history of football.
Mbappé, who will cost PSG £166m next summer, marked his first appearance with a bullet finish from the edge of the area, while £200m man Neymar scored his fourth in four games with a wonderful swerving effort and Cavani – a relative snip at £55m four years ago – grabbed two.
Last placed Metz had threatened a shock at Stade Saint-Symphorien by equalising through Emmanuel Rivière, who passed up an open net at 1-1. But they were then comprehensively outclassed after Benoit Assou-Ekotto was harshly dismissed for a physical challenge on Mbappé. Once the red card opened the door, PSG barged through it with verve and skill.
The away side’s opener came when Cavani latched on to Neymar’s exquisite 31st-minute pass, delivered nonchalantly with the outside of the boot, and rounded the goalkeeper, Eiji Kawashima. It was Metz who scored next, as PSG opened up far too easily to the prompting of Mathieu Dossevi, who held off Meunier and picked out Riviere.
After the sending-off of Assou-Ekotto for what was a strong but seemingly well-judged challenge, it was Mbappé who scored the second as he scooped the ball into the box and then met the subsequent clearance with a devastating strike from a yard outside the area.
All was one-way traffic from that point onwards, with Cavani clattering the crossbar before Neymar fired home a flat, curling effort from 30 yards.
Cavani’s second was less of a picture, a messy but effective finish after Yuri Berchiche’s cross, and Lucas Moura came off the bench to add the gloss after his initial attempt came off the post.
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