AP, Paris :
Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe scored hat tricks as league leader Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) crushed bottom club Guingamp 9-0 on Saturday.
Neymar netted twice while Thomas Meunier was also on target as PSG avenged Guingamp’s League Cup quarterfinal win earlier this month.
The rout equaled PSG’s record league win: 9-0 away to Troyes in 2016, when Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the star. The capital club won a French Cup game 10-0 in 1994.
PSG, which has a huge tally of 62 goals in 19 games, is now 13 points ahead of second-place Lille with two matches in hand. However, the day was marred by a left-ankle injury suffered by midfielder Marco Verratti, who limped off after 18 minutes.
“I’m sad … I think it’s serious,” coach Thomas Tuchel said. “It’s possible he’ll be out for a few weeks. He’s gone to the hospital and we can’t say anything more for the time being.”
PSG, already depleted in midfield, travels to Manchester United in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 game on Feb. 12.
Tuchel’s team produced a feast of attacking football.
“I’ve never seen that, 9-0 in the league,” he said. “We played with a lot of quality and got better as the game went on. We did things simply, quickly.” Neymar opened the scoring in the 12th after taking down a long pass from Dani Alves, cutting inside a defender and finishing sharply with his right foot. He then set up Mbappe in the 37th after they swapped passes and his fellow striker side-footed the ball in.
Just before halftime, Mbappe grabbed his second after Cavani tackled defender Felix Eboa Eboa on the edge of the penalty area and the loose ball rolled to him.
Guingamp forward Marcus Thuram – son of France great Lilian – was occasionally a threat but it was a dominant first-half display by PSG. After the break, Guingamp fell apart as Cavani netted a second-half treble, Neymar had a goal confirmed after video reviews showed it crossing the line, and Mbappe swept home from close range to get his hat trick.
Mbappe moved further ahead in the league scoring charts with a career-best 17; Cavani has 14 and Neymar 13.
