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Mbappé nets hat-trick as PSG celebrate

Mbappé nets hat-trick as PSG celebrate

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Publish on 04/21 at 00:00 - S. WILLIS

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Kylian Mbappé scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain celebrated becoming champions for the eighth time with a 3-1 home win over Monaco.

Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 AS Monaco 

THE MATCH

Having missed three chances to seal the title - against Strasbourg, Lille and Nantes - PSG knew they had retained their title even before kicking off against 2017 title winners Monaco. A week ahead of the Coupe de France final, PSG were boosted by Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria being fit enough for bench duty.

Paris Saint-Germain wore special shirts in homage to Notre Dame cathedral, badly damaged in a fire at the start of the week, with all the players sporting 'Notre-Dame' above their numbers. Firefighters who'd helped put out the blaze were special guests of the club.

Monaco, still requiring points to make sure of Ligue 1 Conforama survival, had the first chance (7') when Rony Lopes' slightly scuffed shot still required a decent save from Alphonse Areola. Former Monaco starlet Mbappé (15') put PSG in front when he exchanged passes with Moussa Diaby and concluded a blistering counter with a smart finish beyond Diego Benaglio, on early for the injured Danijel Subasic.

Neymar and Cavani return

Mbappé (33') fired just past the post when clean through but did not have to wait long for his second (38') as he finished off a fine move, set up by Dani Alves. Injured against Strasbourg in the Coupe de France in January, Neymar returned from his foot injury for the second half, stepping off the bench to replace Layvin Kurzawa.

Mbappé's explosive pace left Kamil Glik trailing (53') and the World Cup winner hit the post. Moussa Diaby then had a goal disallowed for offside (55') when Neymar had supplied the final ball. Mbappé completed his hat-trick (56') with a tap-in from a Dani Alves right-wing cross.

Cavani came on for the last 17 minutes but there was soon more injury woe for PSG as Marco Verratti exited with an ankle injury, replaced by Julian Draxler. Monaco, now with only one win in seven games, scored a consolation when Alexsandr Golovin scored (80') following a Thilo Kehrer error.

THE PLAYER: Kylian Mbappé

Mbappé became the first French player to strike 30 times in a single Ligue 1 Conforama season since Jean-Pierre Papin in 1989-1990 and looked hungry having been rested against Nantes. Monaco couldn't cope with their former star and the French international could have scored six.

THE STAT: 4

PSG have won their last four Ligue 1 Conforama meetings with Monaco, having been successful in only one of the previous 15 encounters.

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