Cape Argus

Mbappe goes top of PSG table

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KYLIAN Mbappe became Paris SaintGerma­in’s all-time top scorer with his 201st goal for the club as the Ligue 1 leaders warmed up for their crunch trip to Bayern Munich with a 4-2 win over Nantes on Saturday.

The France superstar had equalled Edinson Cavani’s previous record mark of 200 goals with a brace in last week’s win at Marseille and went one better by netting in stoppage time at the Parc des Princes.

Mbappe reached the record in just 247 appearance­s since signing from Monaco aged 18 in 2017.

Uruguay star Cavani needed 298 games, and seven years, to establish the previous record in 2020.

The 24-year-old Mbappe was handed a trophy by the club after the game to mark his record in an on-field presentati­on.

“I play to make history and I have always said I wanted to make history in France, in the capital of my country, in my city, and I am doing that. It’s magnificen­t, but there is still a lot to be done,” Mbappe, who finished the game as captain, told broadcaste­r Canal Plus.

“For me, as a native Parisian, this is special.

“If someone had said to me I would score the goal to beat the record while wearing the captain’s armband, I would not have believed it.”

The Qatar-owned club next go to Bayern for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

PSG trail 1-0 from the first leg against the Bavarians and failure to progress to the quarter-finals in Europe would put a major dampener on the end of their season.

Injured Moroccan star Achraf Hakimi, meanwhile, watched from the stands at the Parc des Princes a day after he was charged with rape following accusation­s made by a 24-year-old woman.

Neymar was also a spectator and will not be back for the match against Bayern, while centre-back Presnel Kimpembe is set to miss the remainder of the season with an achilles injury.

Coach Christophe Galtier lost two more defenders to injury in the second half against Nantes, with skipper Marquinhos and stand-in right-back Nordi Mukiele both having to come off.

 ?? | EPA ?? KYLIAN Mbappe.
| EPA KYLIAN Mbappe.

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