Kylian Mbappe marked his 25th birthday with a brace as Paris Saint-Germain beat Metz 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Wednesday to reach the halfway stage of the season five points clear at the top of the table.
Vitinha gave PSG the lead early in the second half at the Parc des Princes before Mbappe made it 2-0 with a superb strike in off the underside of the crossbar.
Matthieu Udol pulled one back for the struggling visitors but Mbappe pounced on a short backpass to round the goalkeeper and make it 3-1 towards the end.
His birthday was made even more memorable when his 16-year-old brother Ethan came on for his senior debut in stoppage time.
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PSG therefore end the year with a comfortable five-point cushion over nearest challengers Nice, who defeated Lens 2-0 on Wednesday thanks to two late goals from Nigerian striker Terem Moffi.
Monaco are seven points behind the leaders in third place after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Toulouse, with Wissam Ben Yedder scoring both of their goals.
Meanwhile Lyon climbed out of the bottom three as they beat Nantes 1-0 thanks to an Alexandre Lacazette goal to claim their third consecutive victory.
AFP