The fourth official has indicated three minutes will be added to the end of the match for stoppages.
88'
W. Zaïre-Emery enters the game and replaces Marquinhos.
Zaire-Emery comes on for PSG, giving Marquinhos an early rest.
87'
Messi cleverly slips the free-kick low into the penalty area for Mbappe, who turns and fires a shot that’s blocked behind for a corner instinctively by a sliding Sotoca.
86'
Haidara mistimes his challenge and catches Hakimi on the back of the leg, giving PSG a free-kick 30 yards from goal on the right flank.
84'
David Pereira da Costa enters the game and replaces J. Gradit.
Costa comes on for Gradit in a late change for Lens.
83'
Fofana slips free of Ruiz’s marking and continues to drive through midfield looking to spark a counter-attack but he’s called for a foul during an attempt to shield possession from Vitinha.
79'
Play is stopped momentarily for Marquinhos, who has gone down in his own penalty area holding his face after receiving a swipe from Openda. It was clearly not a malicious attempt from the striker who was in the process of duelling for an aerial ball, though he did appear to catch his opponent in the eye.
77'
Juan Bernat enters the game and replaces Nuno Mendes.
A change at left wing-back for PSG sees Bernat come on for Mendes.
75'
Donnarumma is furious with his defence, with as many as five players watching Fofana lay the ball off for Frankowski on the edge of the penalty area. The winger’s curling effort is a difficult one for the goalkeeper to deal with as the Italy international is forced to use his fingertips to push the strike over the crossbar.
Minute
Description
73'
M. Haïdara enters the game and replaces D. Machado.
Machado makes way for Haidara in Lens' third substitution of the contest.
71'
Ruiz steps up and has a strike at goal from 20 yards out, but the effort is put far too centrally to trouble Samba, who stoops low to make the save.
70'
Sotoca looks to play a high pass into the penalty area for Openda but his precision is off as he hits the ball directly into the arms of the awaiting Donnarumma.
68'
Again a long ball over the top allows Openda to get into PSG’s penalty area, with his low shot to the near post once again winning a corner thanks to Marquinhos’ sliding block.
66'
Frankowski works the set-piece short to Fofana, whose low delivery in towards the near post is easily cut out by Ramos.
64'
Despite playing with a man fewer for 40 minutes and seeing under 30 percent possession in the second half, Lens have registered three more shots on target than their opponents since the restart. PSG are doing their best to control the tempo and keep the ball, though they haven’t really tested Samba and seem to be looking to wind down the clock.
62'
Vitinha scampers towards goal but looks to shift it to his left for Mbappe instead of striking towards goal himself, allowing Danso to cut across and scuff the ball away.
60'
Penalty goal scored by P. Frankowski for Lens!
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT! 3-1! Frankowski converts the penalty after winning it for his side, stepping up on the hour mark and confidently sending Donnarumma the wrong way to cut the deficit to two!
56'
Messi lets Pereira’s pass run beyond him to throw off Fofana in midfield but the Lens captain reads the intent of his opponent and remains strong in order to win the ball, before being awarded a free-kick just ahead of his own penalty area.
54'
Sotoca slips a pass into the channel for Openda, who latches onto the ball ahead of Marquinhos and chips a disguised effort towards goal. Despite having little to do, Donnarumma remains focused and jumps up to make a clean catch.
52'
Frankowski cuts inside with intent ahead of Vitinha after a lovely move to win a yard of space but his incisive pass through the lines for Openda is immediately cut out by Ramos.
50'
Frankowski’s cross from deep on the right wing is headed away by Ramos but controlled by the chest of Onana in midfield. The substitute looks to volley a pass out to the far side in search of Sotoca but he mis-hits his effort and puts it directly out of play for a PSG throw-in.
48'
Vitinha and Hakimi attempt to work a one-two pass on the edge of the penalty area but the midfield puts the ball too far ahead of his team-mate, with Machado coming across to ensure his side win a goal-kick.
46'
F. Sotoca enters the game and replaces A. Thomasson.
J. Onana enters the game and replaces A. Fulgini.
Onana comes on for Fulgini in a half-time change for Lens.
Sotoca replaces Thomasson in a swap on the right wing for the visitors.
Lens get the match restated from the kick-off!
45' +1
HALF-TIME: PSG 3-0 LENS.
44'
The fourth official indicates one minute will be added to the end of the half for stoppages.
42'
Machado gets into an advanced position on the left flank but he’s unable to do anything to win space ahead of Hakimi, with the wing-back blocking the initial cross before stealing back possession and charging up the pitch.
40'
L. Messi has scored a goal for PSG! Assist by K. Mbappé.
SIMPLY SENSATIONAL! 3-0 PSG! It’s an incredible build-up and finish inspired by Messi, who receives the ball in a central position 25 yards from goal and rolls away from Frankowski to continue cutting inside. The Argentina captain then plays a simple pass to Mbappe, who uses a backheel flick to play his team-mate through on goal. With Vitinha standing on the penalty spot, Messi opts to go for goal himself, slotting it past the goalkeeper with ease!
Mbappe adds an assist to his earlier goal, with the influential forward playing a part in two of PSG's three goals so far.
39'
It’s been a half to forget for Lens, who are now two goals and a man down with just over five minutes to go until the half. It’s going to be a long evening for the visitors, who could be in line to concede more should the hosts continue to find room to operate.
37'
Vitinha has scored a goal for PSG! Assist by Nuno Mendes.
PSG DOUBLE THEIR ADVANTAGE! 2-0! It’s a screamer from Vitinha, who receives a pass in midfield following a short-corner routine and uses the six yards of space he’s afforded to step in and blast a shot that beats Samba at his far post!
Mendes is credited with the assist for PSG's second goal, finding Vitinha in acres of space.
35'
PSG are no longer in a rush to break down the Lens defence, with the opening goal giving the hosts a chance to build up more slowly. Looking to make their opponents run, Galtier’s side are knocking it about ponderously in midfield, prodding and poking the back line for any weak points.
33'
Fulgini takes a corner-kick from the right flag deep towards Danso, who powers a headed effort towards goal that’s saved easily by Donnarumma.
31'
K. Mbappé has scored a goal for PSG! Assist by Vitinha.
THE HOSTS TAKE THE LEAD! 1-0 PSG! Vitinha and Mbappe get their connection spot-on to devastating effect to give Galtier’s side a first goal of the game. Messi plays a simple pass forward for Mbappe, who immediately uses his first touch to find Vitinha. The midfielder reciprocates with a return-ball that the striker turns on and hits with an off-balance strike that clatters off the post and goes in!
Vitinha's quick thinking gives him the assist for PSG's opener!
30'
Messi delivers an outswinging effort for PSG’s first corner of the match but it’s easily beaten away by Danso, who prevents Samba from being called into action.
29'
Medina steps up into midfield and plays a lovely ball over the top of the defence for Openda. The striker drifts out to the left to pick up possession before cutting inside ahead of Marquinhos and forcing Donnarumma into a low, diving stop at his near post.
23'
With Lens forced to drop deeper to protect Samba, the onus will be on PSG to bring the match to their opponents. There will be much less space in-behind the defence for Mbappe and Hakimi to exploit, which puts increased pressure on the midfield in order to break down the low block.
21'
Haise’s job on the Lens touchline has been made infinitely more difficult, with his side now down to 10 for over an hour. The visitors will have to remain tactically organised and compact if they wish to take anything from the game, with a draw a seemingly fantastic result based on the circumstances.
19'
S. Abdul Samed goes off after a red card!
LENS ARE DOWN TO 10 MEN! Abdul Samed is sent off! The visitors lose possession high up the pitch, with Hakimi tracking back to win the ball just outside his own penalty area. After taking a step he’s immediately brought down by Adbul Samed, who clearly stomped on his opponent’s ankle - coming nowhere near the ball.
17'
The ensuing set-piece is a disappointing near-post effort that’s awkwardly prodded by Thomasson - back into his own half for Gradit to retrieve.
15'
Fulgini’s inswinging free-kick is met by the head of Pereira, who pops the ball up and over for a corner-kick.
11'
Fulgini’s latest outswinging corner-kick is dealt with by Ramos, rising highest to take the pressure off his goalkeeper.
10'
Vitinha again looks to play an incisive forward pass, with Mbappe his intended target this time. The France international immediately plays a lovely volleyed effort forward for Hakimi, who is unable to prevent it from going behind for a goal-kick.
8'
Vitinha fizzes a pass into the feet of Messi, who lays it off for Mbappe on the edge of the penalty area with his first touch. The move immediately triggers the Lens defence to step up, with Danso winning the ball back with a timely interception.
6'
Fulgini’s outswinger is nodded away by Marquinhos, but only as far as Openda, 20 yards from Donnarumma’s target. The striker attempts to tease in a cross to the far post but it’s hit with too much power and sent directly behind for a goal-kick.
5'
Frankowski chips a clever pass to the byline for Thomasson, who cleverly scoops the ball up and off Pereira for a second corner of the game.
1'
Paris Saint-Germain get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the Ligue 1 fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and Lens!
Paris Saint-Germain got back to winning ways last weekend, beating Nice 2-0 after suffering two-consecutive defeats at the hands of Rennes and Lyon without registering a goal. Despite the poor run of results, PSG remain ahead of today’s opponents by a margin that could stretch to nine points, should the hosts manage to claim all three points.
Two points ahead of Marseille in third, second-placed Lens have done brilliantly well to maintain their chase of PSG all season. Winners in their last four-consecutive matches - conceding just once in that time - Franck Haise has his side five points ahead of Monaco; the only team in a position to threaten Lens’ Champions League spot.
LENS XI (3-4-3): Brice Samba; Jonathan Gradit, Kevin Danso, Facundo Medina; Przemyslaw Frankowski, Salis Abdul Samed, Seko Fofana, Driver Machado; Adrien Thomasson, Lois Openda, Angelo Fulgini.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s take a look at how the two sides are lining up - starting with our hosts!
PSG SUBS: Alexandre Letellier, Sergio Rico, Juan Bernat, Hugo Ekitike, El Chadaille Bitshiabu, Ismael Gharbi, Ilyes Housni, Warren Zaire-Emery.
LENS SUBS: Jean-Louis Leca, Jean Onana, Massadio Haidara, Florian Sotoca, Alexis Claude Maurice, Lukasz Poreba, Jean Onana, David Pereira Da Costa, Remy Labeau Lascary, Ismael Boura.
It will take a monumental effort for Lens to get back in the game now, with Haise certainly more focused on keeping the score respectable. Fresh legs will be needed in order to combat Hakimi and Mendes, with Sotoca and Haidara likely entrants in the second half. With the result more or less secured, Galtier can afford to rotate his side a bit and provide opportunities for the inexperienced members of the squad on the bench; namely Zaire-Emery and Bitshiabu.
That concludes our commentary of the Ligue 1 fixture between Paris Saint-Germain and Lens! We hope you’ve enjoyed it!
PSG are in action again on Friday, when they travel to play Angers. Lens return home to take on Monaco in a week.
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