Barcola, Mbappe on Target as PSG beat Lens with inspired Donnarumma

Paris Saint-Germain continued their impressive form, making it 11 games without defeat across all tournaments, with a gritty 2-0 victory away, at Lens, in Ligue 1. The result sees the Parisians move eight points clear at the summit as they tighten their grip on another League crown.

There was early drama when PSG defender Danilo gave away a seventh-minute penalty for a rash foul in the area. However, Przemyslaw Frankowski saw his spot-kick kept out by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Frankowski went close again soon after with an audacious overhead kick which sailed over. Despite the missed chances, Lens were on top during the opening exchanges, forcing Donnarumma into action multiple times.

Against the run of play on 30 minutes, PSG youngster, Bradley Barcola, calmly slotted home for only his second senior goal, latching onto Kylian Mbappe’s incisive pass. Things went from bad to worse for eighth-placed Lens when Jonathan Gradit saw red following a VAR review for denying a goalscoring opportunity.

Even down to 10, the hosts continued taking the game to Luis Enrique’s men. Donnarumma was called upon numerous times to keep out Lens’ attacking endeavours. Going forward, PSG themselves struggled for fluency, with Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz both wasting decent chances.

As the game entered stoppage time, PSG finally made sure of the points through Mbappe. Ousmane Dembele threaded an excellent pass in behind for the French phenomenon to apply a composed finish from a tight angle. The 2-0 win makes it four on the bounce in all tournaments for the league leaders. Lens meanwhile saw their run of four straight home victories halted.