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Paris Saint-Germain took a big leap towards the Champions League knockout stage as they thundered to a 5-0 victory over Club Brugge at the Jan Breydel Stadion on Tuesday night.
Kylian Mbappe stole the spotlight after he came on as a second-half substitute, as he netted a record-breaking hat-trick for the Ligue 1 giants. His goals took the Parisien outfit's tally to five after loan signing Mauro Icardi scored a brace to kick-start their rout of the Belgian giants.
The reigning French champions are now top of Group A with nine points from three games, five ahead of second-placed Real Madrid who edged out Galatasaray 1-0 in the group’s other game last night.
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Thomas Tuchel's men have proven themselves to be adept at both sides of the field on the European stage, having plundered in nine goals and conceded none. They only need a point from their Group A home match against Brugge in November to secure their qualification into the next round.
Without further ado, we take a look at three reasons why PSG comfortably won against Brugge:
#1 A deadly substitution – Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe completely took the game away from Club Brugge merely minutes after he was introduced into the thick of the action in the second half. The 20-year-old was involved in all four of PSG’s goals since coming on, netting three times and setting up one.
The France international doubled his side's lead as he netted his first goal in the 61st minute before providing the assist for Icardi’s second goal just two minutes later.
The World Cup winner, who has been struggling with injuries this season and had previously scored just thrice in seven appearances, found the back of the net for the second time in the 79th minute before rounding off the scoring by completing a sensational hat-trick four minutes later.
Mbappe's hat-trick saw him surpass Lionel Messi as the youngest player to score 15 goals in the competition, at 20 years and 306 days.
The PSG sensation, who made a comeback from the sidelines by playing just seven minutes in PSG’s 4-1 win over Nice in Ligue 1 last Friday, looked fresh. His frightening pace was too hot for the Club Brugge defenders to handle, and a performance like this is certain to boost his confidence level for the remainder of the season.
#2 Club Brugge lacked bite in the final third
Club Brugge may have played well in patches, but PSG’s defence had a relatively easy task in keeping them from scoring. Thomas Tuchel's back-four of Thomas Meunier, Thiago Silva, Presnel Kimpembe and Juan Bernat performed their duties splendidly as they helped PSG keep a third consecutive clean sheet in the Champions League.
The reigning Ligue 1 champions are yet to concede a goal in the European competition this season.
PSG encountered a scare mid-way through the second half when it looked like their defence was finally breached by Krepin Diatta. The Senegalese midfielder found the back of the net, but the goal was ultimately ruled out for handball.
That effort was the only time Club Brugge managed to get the better of their opponents' backline. The likes of Emmanuel Bonaventure and Percy Tau huffed and puffed but failed to make any significant impact in the final third.
Club Brugge, who drew 2-2 with Real Madrid in their previous Champions League outing, failed to find the back of the net for the second time in Europe this season - following their goalless draw with Galatasaray in Game-week 1.
#3 PSG's front three of Mbappe, Icardi and Di Maria were on song
Despite the fact that Mauro Icardi, Kylian Mbappe and Angel di Maria were on the field together for a total of 13 minutes, they managed to show the world just how devastating they can be when they are in sync.
Mbappe came on as a 52nd-minute substitute in place of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, with the scoreline then being 1-0. And Icardi was taken off in the 65th minute after PSG added two more goals to their tally.
Club Brugge had no idea how to stop the combination play between the three as they constantly changed positions and bamboozled the Belgian giants’ defence.
The trio were involved in two goals during the brief time they played together. While Mbappe headed home from close range after Di Maria’s effort was partially parried out by Simon Mignolet, Icardi completed a brace after latching on to a pass from the Frenchman.
Mbappe ended the night with three goals and an assist to his name, while Di Maria was directly involved in four goals despite not being on the scoresheet himself.
