Mbappé on target as 10-man PSG blank Le Harve

PARIS (AP):

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) had no problem beating Le Havre 2-0 to extend their lead at the top of the French league standings yesterday, despite playing for more than 80 minutes with 10 men after goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was sent off for a reckless tackle.

Goals from Kylian Mbappé and Vitinha ensured a seventh consecutive league win for Luis Enrique’s PSG, who have a four-point cushion at the top after second-place Nice were handed their first loss this season on Saturday, a 1-0 defeat at Nantes.

Le Havre got off to a strong start with several good moves but lacked accuracy to inflict damage. The hosts produced 22 shots, but only seven were on target.

Donnarumma was sent off following a reckless foul outside his box. The Italy goalkeeper came out of the area as he tried to clear a long ball with a very high tackle, but instead, made contact with Le Havre’s forward Josue Casimir’s face.

Referee Bastien Dechepy showed him a red card, and Bradley Barcola made way for substitute goalie Arnau Tenas, who was happy to keep a clean sheet on his debut.

PSG broke the deadlock on the break after Lee Kang-in set up Ousmane Dembele down the right side. The winger then crossed the ball for Mbappé, who controlled with his right foot and curled a shot into the net from the edge of the box in the 22nd minute. It was Mbappé’s 15th league goal this season.

Vitinha completed PSG’s win in the 88th minute from Manuel Ugarte’s assist.

Goals from Takumi Minamino and Wissam Ben Yedder gave Monaco a hard-fought 2-0 win against Montpellier.

Monaco moved within two points of their Côte d’Azur rivals Nice.

Minamino put the hosts in front in the ninth minute against a gritty Montpellier, who were later reduced to 10 players following Boubakar Kouyate’s dismissal after a VAR check with 21 minutes left to play. Ben Yedder made it 2-0 in stoppage time.

Just one point behind Monaco, Lille remained in fourth place after beating Metz 2-0 with goals from Yusuf Yazici and Jonathan David.

The northern side scored both goals in first-half stoppage time and stayed in control after the interval.

Elsewhere, Romain Del Castillo scored a brace as Brest beat Clermont 3-0, while Toulouse and Lorient drew 1-1.