Messi scores twice; leads PSG to convincing victory over Montpellier

Paris Saint-Germain, already crowned champions, cruised to a 4-0 victory over Montpellier on Saturday. Lionel Messi scored twice.

Messi scored in the sixth and 20th minutes to bring his Ligue 1 goal total to six. Before the 30-minute mark, Angel di Maria made it 3-0, and Kylian Mbappe added a fourth from the penalty spot in the second half.

PSG leads second-placed Monaco by 15 points with one game remaining in the season. Montpellier is currently in 13th place.

Mbappe, meanwhile, has 15 Ligue 1 goals this season, but is only one goal ahead of Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder in the scoring charts.

Ben Yedder scored a hat trick to put Monaco on the verge of winning a direct Champions League spot for next season as they rallied to beat Stade Brestois 4-2 at home for their ninth consecutive victory in Ligue 1.

Monaco trailed 2-0 after 23 minutes at their Louis II stadium, but Ben Yedder equalized before the interval and scored twice in four minutes early in the second half, with Kevin Volland also on target, to raise them to second position on 68 points with one game remaining.

When Olympique de Marseille lost 2-0 at Stade Rennes, they dropped to third place on goal difference.