French Roundup: Mbappe scores late winner as PSG edges Brest

PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappe scored twice to reach 251 goals in his club career as defending champion Paris Saint-Germain edged Brest 3-2 on Sunday to stay a point behind leader Nice in the French league, with the day later overshadowed by the Lyon team bus being attacked which resulted in the game at Marseille being postponed.

Nice had beaten Clermont 1-0 to move into first place on Friday and retained the top spot after Monaco lost 2-0 at Lille two days later.

Mbappe scored the winner in the 89th minute with his league-leading 10th goal this season. The France striker converted the rebound after host goalkeeper Marco Bizot had saved his penalty, which was awarded after a video review showed that Lilian Brassier had tripped Randal Kolo Muani.

Mbappe was shown a yellow card for taunting Brest supporters while celebrating his goal. There was no love lost between them as the supporters replied with insulting chants.

“It’s a bit ridiculous,” Brest coach Eric Roy told Amazon Prime Video. “There are a lot of stadiums where it could have gone really bad … There are things that you must not do when you are a top-level player.”

PSG midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery opened the scoring in the 16th by evading a challenge from Hugo Magnetti on the edge of the box to unleash a powerful strike into the top corner.

Mbappe doubled the lead after a counterattack in the 28th. South Korea winger Lee Kang-in fed Mbappe, who cut inside to score with his signature move, shooting through the legs of centreback Brendan Chardonnet to beat Bizot. It was Mbappe's 250th club goal in all competitions, spanning his career at Monaco and PSG.

But Brest rallied by exposing PSG’s weakness in the air. The hosts capitalized on lackluster PSG defending to pull one back in the 43rd as Kenny Lala had plenty of time to make a cross for Benin striker Steve Mounie, who beat Danilo to the ball for a downward header.

Brest winger Jeremy Le Douaron equalized off a corner in the 52nd by running to the near post to head into the far corner.

PSG had a narrow escape as Brest was the better team in the second half and could have taken the lead. Le Douaron missed a chance in the 67th as he met a cross from Mounie only to scuff his shot wide.

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma then had to make a double save in the 70th, parrying a powerful strike from Pierre Lees-Melou before diving to stop a low effort from Le Douaron.

LYON TEAM BUS ATTACKED

The league game between Marseille and Lyon was postponed after the Lyon team bus came under attack from fans throwing projectiles, and coach Fabio Grosso suffered a head injury.

The Lyon bus was hit on the way to Stade Velodrome, shattering some windows. Grosso was injured by falling shards of glass and needed medical treatment with his face bleeding heavily.

Grosso suffered a deep cut above his left eye that required stitches and a large bandage wrapped around his head.

ROAD DEFEAT FOR MONACO

Monaco dropped to third place with its first defeat on the road this season. Lille winger Edon Zhegrova shone against Monaco, setting up Ivan Cavaleiro for a close-range volley in the 32nd and Bafode Diakite for a low strike into the far corner in the 42nd. Lille consolidated fourth place, pulling within two points of Monaco.

Also Sunday, Montpellier beat Toulouse 3-0 to move two points clear of the relegation playoff spot. Nigerian striker Akor Adams netted twice to raise his league tally to seven goals, trailing only Mbappe.

Rennes lost ground in the race for European spots by drawing with Strasbourg 1-1. South Africa forward Lebo Mothiba scored in the 81st to cancel out a half-volley by Rennes left back Adrien Truffert in the 22nd.

Metz drew with Le Havre 0-0 to snap a four-game losing run but remained in the relegation playoff spot.