Mbappe brace helps PSG sail past Dijon

Kylian Mbappe scored twice to take his tally to 18 goals in Ligue 1 this season as Paris Saint-Germain eased to a 4-0 victory at bottom club Dijon yesterday to keep the pressure on leaders Lille in the title race.
Moise Kean and Danilo Pereira also scored for Mauricio Pochettino’s team, who bounced back from a 2-0 home defeat by Monaco last weekend and moved back up to second place in the table, a point behind by Lille.
The leaders play today home to Strasbourg, while Lyon are two points behind the capital club but can leapfrog them again with a win at Marseille, also today. Fourth-placed Monaco are six points off top spot but can extend their unbeaten run to 12 games when they face Brest in the principality.
Former Monaco striker Mbappe had been kept quiet by his old club last weekend but he got back among the goals against the division’s bottom side, who have now lost their last seven games. Mbappe had scored twice when PSG beat Dijon 4-0 at home in October and repeated the feat here to move onto 23 goals for the season in all competitions.
The victory was achieved in the ongoing absence of Neymar, with the world’s most expensive player missing a fourth consecutive game with a groin injury. He has returned to individual training but, having already missed the first leg, he remains a doubt for the Champions League last-16 return match at home to Barcelona on March 10.
Angel Di Maria, Marco Verratti, Mauro Icardi, Leandro Paredes and Alessandro Florenzi were also missing at the Stade Gaston-Gerard along with long-term injury victim Juan Bernat. On-loan Everton striker Kean kept his place and he opened the scoring inside six minutes, taking a touch and poking the ball home from close range after being set up by Abdou Diallo. Kean, who was also on target twice in the last meeting of the sides, has now scored 15 times for PSG, who could well be convinced to make his loan move into a permanent transfer come the season’s end. Mbappe made it 2-0 in the 32nd minute, converting a penalty awarded for a handball by Bersant Celina.
Julian Draxler then had another goal disallowed for offside but Mbappe scored again six minutes into the second half, sweeping a low, first-time shot into the corner from a Rafinha pass to finish off a flowing move.
Danilo, who is on loan from Porto, wrapped up the win late on as he headed in Draxler’s corner for his first goal in French football, before being replaced by 17-year-old midfielder Edouard Michut who was making his senior debut.
Dijon are eight points adrift at the bottom and nine points away from outright safety. Yesterday’s other game saw Metz win 2-1 at Bordeaux thanks to a stoppage-time goal by Cape Verde international Vagner Dias Goncalves. Metz are now fifth, a position which brings with it qualification for the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League next season. 
Elsewhere in France, Marseille yesterday announced the appointment of Argentine Jorge Sampaoli, 60, as their new coach on a deal to 2023. He is the permanent successor to the sacked Andre Villas-Boas and arrives after a year in charge of Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro. Sampaoli, who coached Argentina at the 2018 World Cup, will not however be on the bench for today’s game against Lyon.
Sampaoli, who led Chile to their first Copa America title in 2015, arrives after less than a year in charge of Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro.
“I have been told all my life that Marseille is a special place for passion,” the former Sevilla boss said in a statement.
“Marseille is a club for the people. We’re not here to hide: we’re going to play hard. In the world, there are places for calm and there are intense places. It is the latter that I want. This club has a soul and that is why we are here.”
Marseille have also named Pablo Longoria as chairman of the executive board to replace Jacques-Henri Eyraud.
Eyraud had come under increasing pressure, with disgruntled fans claiming he had managed the club more like a company than a soccer team since he took over in 2016.
Some supporters broke into the club’s training centre this month in protest against the leadership and a poor run of results.
“This is a new chapter for Marseille, and I personally commit myself to making to make it a real success,” said the club’s American owner Frank McCourt, who is set to meet fans and leaders of fan groups to discuss long-term plans.
Marseille sit seventh in the French league, 20 points behind leaders Lille with a game in hand.  

Ligue 1 results 
Bordeaux 1 (Kalu 14) Metz 2 (Delaine 72, Vagner Dias 90+1); Dijon 0 Paris Saint-Germain 4 (Kean 6, Mbappe 32-pen, 51, Danilo Pereira 82)
Playing today (all kick-offs GMT): Monaco v Brest (1200), Angers v Lens, Lorient v Saint-Etienne, Nimes v Nantes, Reims v Montpellier (all 1400), Lille v Strasbourg (1600), Marseille v Lyon (2000)
Played Friday: Rennes 1 (Terrier 39) Nice 2 (Gouiri 19-pen, Daniliuc 58)