Bradley Barcola struck twice to fire Paris Saint-Germain back to the top of Ligue 1 with a 2-0 win over Lens on Sunday, while Ethan Mbappé netted a dramatic stoppage-time winner for Lille.
The champions maintained their perfect start to the season, recording a fourth straight victory, but Luis Enrique’s joy was tempered by injuries to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Lee Kang-in and Lucas Beraldo ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League opener against Atalanta.
Barcola opened the scoring after 15 minutes with a curling strike from the edge of the box, before adding a second six minutes into the second half with another precise finish from distance. PSG’s control was never in doubt, but the enforced substitutions soured the night at the Parc des Princes.
Earlier, Lille staged a thrilling turnaround to beat Toulouse 2-1. Trailing as the match ticked into added time, Bruno Genesio’s side levelled through a Nabil Bentaleb penalty before 18-year-old Ethan Mbappé — younger brother of former PSG star Kylian — volleyed in the winner eight minutes into stoppage time.
It was Mbappé’s first Ligue 1 goal on his 11th appearance since joining Lille last summer. “Last year was tough with injuries,” he said. “To come back with a goal — there’s no better way to start.”
The victory briefly lifted Lille to the summit on 10 points, but PSG’s win later in the day restored their place at the top. Lyon, who also boast a 100 per cent record, could leapfrog both with a win at Rennes.
Elsewhere, Strasbourg edged Le Havre 1-0 thanks to Joaquin Panichelli’s late penalty, Paris FC beat Brest 2-1, and Metz drew 1-1 with Angers.