French talent Kylian Mbappe created as many as three goals to power Paris Saint-Germain to its fifth straight French League Cup tile after easing past his former club AS Monaco 3-0 here.
In a repetition of the final where PSG won 4-1 last season, the 19-year-old sensation won a spot kick less than 10 minutes into Saturday evening's match, before teeing up Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani at Matmut Atlantique Stadium, reports Xinhua news agency.
Mbappe tumbled to the turf following a contact with Monaco centre back Kamil Glik early in the duel. Match referee Clement Turpin resorted to Video Assistant Referee (VAR), before awarding PSG a penalty, which Cavani comfortably converted on eight minutes.
Mbappe continued to threaten Monaco with his speed. He fed Di Maria an astute cross that tore up his opponents' defence, and the Argentine winger didn't waste the chance of doubling up the lead in the 21st minute.
PSG continued to get the upper hand in the second half. Cavani's goal was ruled offside after he latched onto Mbappe's cross, but the Uruguayan forward managed to seal the victory for Ligue 1 leaders with five minutes to go, as he collected Mbappe's pass, steadied himself, and swept the ball past goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.
PSG improved its record collection of tournament trophy to eight, including five in a row from 2014.
The French league powerhouse was riding on a 40-match winning streak in two domestic Cups, with its most recent loss in Cups dating back to a 2-1 loss to Montpellier in French Cup in January 2014.
With an almost unassailable 17-point margin, PSG was well on its way to regaining league glory from the hand of Monaco.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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