Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Metz: Kylian Mbappe celebrates 25th birthday with fine double in Ligue 1 win

Birthday boy Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris Saint-Germain overcame a spirited Metz side to maintain their lead at the top of Ligue 1 heading into the winter break.

Mbappe, the young up-and-comer now somehow 25, was barely a threat in the first half, but that all changed after the break as he scored twice – the first an absolute screamer – after Vitinha’s opener.

Matthieu Udol had reduced the deficit to 2-1 before Mbappe’s second, but PSG made their quality count to remain five points clear after second-placed Nice beat Lens.

PSG dominated possession in the first half but had little to show for it, Vitinha’s blocked shot the closest they went as Metz repeatedly threatened on the counter-attack – the visitors even hitting the woodwork when Danilo headed against his own crossbar.

Meanwhile, Mbappe – the league’s runaway top scorer – was reduced to shots from distance after he somehow failed to connect with Bradley Barcola’s cross.

Cue a rise in tempo after the break, with PSG breaking the deadlock in the 49th minute when Lee Kang-in’s cross found Vitinha for his fifth Ligue 1 goal of the season.

And then the inevitable: Mbappe shaking off those first-half woes with a stunner from 20 yards out, the ball dipping at the crucial moment to leave Metz goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja flummoxed.

Udol’s header made for a nervy finale until Mbappe put the game to bed, and now PSG go into the festive break well on course for a third straight league title.

Whether Mbappe actually likes this No. 9 role will rumble on beyond the winter break despite his two-goal haul – as he only really found joy when he started to drop back and, essentially, try to do it all himself.

From a frustrated figure trying his luck from distance, this trick eventually paid off, while his second was a real poacher’s goal when he read the situation well.

Nevertheless, you get the sense Mbappe would be happier back out wide and come the New Year he may hope PSG’s out-and-out strikers start to come good and share the goalscoring load. They are some distance behind him in the standings – he has 18 Ligue 1 goals, Vitinha is second with five.

Who else? Although this only really applies to the second half. He was the difference in the end, as he so often is.

PSG: Donnarumma 6, Marquinhos 6, Skriniar 6, Danilo 6, Ugarte 6, Vitinha 8, Zaire-Emery 7, Lee Kang-in 8, Barcola 7, Kolo Muani 6, Mbappe 8. Subs: Hernandez 6, Asensio 6, E. Mbappe n/a, Soler n/a, Ramos n/a.

Metz: Oukidja 7, N’Duquidi 7, Traore 6, Herelle 7, Udol 6, Jean Jacques 6, Maiga 6, N’Doram 6, Van Den Kerkhof 8, Sabaly 6, Asoro 6. Subs: Camara 6, Elisor 6, Sane 6, Jallow n/a.

11’ BIG CHANCE! – Chaos in the Metz box. It’s some heroic defending from Herelle though as he gets his head down to a dangerous in-swinging cross. Mbappe then looks to get to the loose ball but it eventually falls for Vitinha, whose shot is blocked.

15’ OFFSIDE – NO PENALTY! – It looks as though referee Ruddy Buquet has a huge decision to make with Mbappe going down in the box after taking the ball past goalkeeper Oukidja. But… a huge reprieve for Oukidja as the offside flag rightly goes up with Mbappe just straying off. It probably would have been a penalty.

25’ OFF THE BAR!!! – And it’s Metz who almost take the lead! On the counter it’s Van Den Kerkhof again, and his cross is headed by Danilo into the ground and then onto his own crossbar. What a calamity that almost was.

49’ GOAL! PSG 1-0 METZ (VITINHA) – The breakthrough the hosts were after, and it’s a quality cross from Lee Kang-In moments after he tripped himself up. He cuts inside and then finds Vitinha, who strokes the ball home with a lovely volley from eight yards out.

60’ GOAL! PSG 2-0 METZ (MBAPPE) HE GETS HIS BIRTHDAY GOAL! AND WHAT A STUNNER IT IS! – He’s tried his luck a few times from there, and this time it pays off – Mbappe takes his time, picks his spot and curls a sensational effort into the far top corner from around 20 yards out.

72’ GOAL! PSG 2-1 METZ (UDOL) – Metz are back in it! Camara takes the corner to a cacophony of whistles and a glancing header from Udol goes in at the back post – stunning the fans into silence.

83’ GOAL! PSG 3-1 METZ (MBAPPE) – It’s that man again… and that’s game over. Mbappe reads the situation so well there, and he pounces on a poor back-pass before lifting the ball over Oukidja and passing it into the empty net.

PSG have now won 45 of their 78 Ligue 1 matches against Metz – their highest tally against a single opponent.

PSG also make it 13 wins straight over Metz in Ligue 1 – scoring 41 times on that run.