"Mbappe is washed without Messi", "No Neymar, no party" - Twitter explodes as PSG suffer shock 3-1 defeat to Lens

Football fans provided a myriad of reactions on social media as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) suffered their first defeat of the 2022-23 club season.

The Parisians, who lead the Ligue 1 standings, took on second-placed RC Lens at the Stade Bollaert-Dellelis on Sunday, January 1. Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute through Hugo Ekitike, they suffered a 3-1 defeat in a contest where they managed 16 shots and six on target.

Christophe Galtier's side were notably without Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr. Messi is yet to return to training after his FIFA World Cup success with Argentina, while Neymar was suspended. The Brazilian was sent off in PSG's previous match, a 2-1 win over RC Strasbourg in which Kylian Mbappe scored a late winner.

In the absence of Messi and Neymar, Mbappe was expected to lead the Parisians, but could not do so. This in turn prompted several fans to criticize both the French superstar and his club on Twitter. One of them wrote:

"MBAPPE IS WASHED WITHOUT MESSI 😭"

Another tweeted:

"No neymar no party"

One fan wrote:

"can’t even beat Lens in uber eats 🤣🤣"

Here are some more reactions to the match:

This was PSG's first defeat of the 2022-23 campaign. They had won 14 and drawn two of their first 16 Ligue 1 matches, while winning four times and drawing twice in their six UEFA Champions League group-stage games. It was also their first league defeat since March 2022 when they lost 3-0 away to AS Monaco.

Despite their latest reverse against Lens, the Parisians are still four points clear at the top of the Ligue 1 table.

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How did Kylian Mbappe fare for PSG against RC Lens?

PSG were fortunate to get all three points against RC Strasbourg on December 28. They had to play the final half an hour with 10 men, and needed an injury-time penalty from Kylian Mbappe to win the match.

Without Neymar Jr. and Lionel Messi, who have been influential in their superb start to the season, Mbappe had to lead the charge against RC Lens on Sunday. However, the Frenchman struggled to have any real impact on proceedings.

He had two shots on target, but those amounted to an xG of just 0.14. Mbappe also registered one key pass and completed two dribbles, but won just five of his 12 ground duels.

Christophe Galtier confirmed after the game that Mbappe will miss PSG's next game, a Coupe de France clash against Chateauroux (via Marc Mechenoua). Achraf Hakimi, who also started against Lens, is set to miss that game as well.

The Parisians will instead need an improved display from both players when they take on Angers SCO in their next Ligue 1 clash on January 11.