PSG 2-0 Monaco: Kylian Mbappe scores twice against his former club to give Les Parisiens a 13-point lead in Ligue 1

Kylian Mbappe starred against his former club Monaco to extend Paris Saint-Germain's lead at top of the Ligue 1 summit to 13 points after a 2-0 victory at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappe struck twice in the first half to end Monaco's eight-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.

PSG's first win in their last three Ligue 1 matches puts them well clear of second-place Marseille on 45 points. Monaco, meanwhile, remain eighth in Ligue 1 on 26.

Monaco began brightly with the lively Sofiane Diop striking the inside of the post in the first two minutes, but it was PSG who took the lead through Mbappe from the spot.

Former Everton right-back Djibril Sidibe clumsily tripped up Angel Di Maria inside the box and the penalty was awarded after a VAR review. Mbappe stepped up and calmly slotted his finish low to Alexander Nubel's right to put the hosts deservedly ahead.

Monaco continued to push forward for an equaliser and had more of the possession in an end-to-end first half, but Mbappe would get his 144th PSG goal just before half-time.

Youssouf Fofana's sloppy horizontal pass was intercepted by Lionel Messi who stormed forward and slid the ball through to Mbappe to curl into the bottom corner.

PSG dropped off considerably in intensity in the second half, but Monaco were unable to cause the hosts any significant problems.

Messi came close to scoring his second Ligue 1 goal but his shot in the 71st minute skidded narrowly past Nubel's right post. Ultimately it did not matter as Mauricio Pochettino's side marched on to their 14th Ligue 1 victory of the season.

TALKING POINT - A familiar pattern to PSG's performance

PSG's abundance of attacking talent is obvious, but whether it be because of lack of fitness or desire Les Parisiens played the second half at a far slower tempo than in the first and gave Monaco far greater room to manoeuvre.

PSG were fortunate to be relatively untroubled by Monaco in the second half, and the gulf in individual quality was evident, but the hosts' half-baked effort to kill the game off would not cut it in the Champions League knockout stages and Pochettino must get his players working harder if they wish to secure an elusive Champions League title at the end of the campaign.

MAN OF THE MATCH - Kylian Mbappe

Rarely not the star man for PSG, the 22-year-old's electric pace frightened the Monaco backline on the counter-attack and his two goals were very well taken.

Mbappe looked highly motivated all evening to impress against the side he spent five years at, and fittingly left the pitch to a standing ovation from the PSG home support in the 88th minute after a fine display.

PLAYER RATINGS

PSG: Donnarumma (6), Hakimi (6), Diallo (6), Marquinhos (5), Bernat (6), Gueye (5), Verratti (6), Wijnaldum (5), Di Maria (7), Messi (7), Mbappe (8)

Subs: Herrera (N/A), Paredes (N/A), Icardi (N/A)

Monaco: Nubel (5), Sidibe (4), Maripan (5), Disasi (5), Henrique (5), Fofana (4), Tchouameni (6), Golovin (5), Diop (7), Martins (6), Ben Yedder (6)

Subs: Jakobs (6), Boadu (5), Jean Lucas (5), Matazo (6), Isidor (N/A)

KEY MOMENTS

2' - OFF THE POST! Monaco so nearly take an early lead! Diop steals the ball off Verratti deep inside the PSG half. He plays a neat one-two with Ben Yedder inside the box before firing his shot beyond Donnarumma, but it smashes off the inside of the post! What a start that would have been from Monaco!

8' - VAR! Di Maria cuts in and shoots on the edge of the box but his shot deflects over the bar. From the following corner, Di Maria goes down in the box and there will be a VAR check for this. Di Maria looks to have been caught by Sidibe as he surged into the area. The Argentine stays down on the ground. Referee Benoit Bastien is going over to the video monitor to have a closer look. It looks a penalty as Sidibe stuck his left boot out and tripped Di Maria up.

11' - PENALTY TO PSG! And it's a yellow card for Sidibe. Mbappe will take the spot-kick.

12' - GOAL! MBAPPE PUTS PSG IN FRONT! Mbappe slots his penalty low to the Nubel's right into the bottom corner against his former club. It's 143 goals in 193 games for Mbappe at PSG.

45' - GOAL! MBAPPE GETS HIS AND PSG'S SECOND! Messi picks up a sloppy horizontal pass from Fofana and he lays it off to Mbappe who curls his shot into the bottom corner beyond Nubel!

71' - JUST WIDE! A wonderful Messi-Mbappe one-two ends up with Messi looking to slot the ball into the bottom corner, but it's a fraction wide of Nubel's right post.

KEY STATS