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Kylian Mbappe granted leave by Paris Saint-Germain after first defeat of the season

Kylian Mbappe granted leave by Paris Saint-Germain after first defeat of the season

PSG slipped to their first league defeat of the season

Kylian Mbappe has been given time off by Paris Saint-Germain following Sunday's shock 3-1 defeat to Lens.

The Ligue 1 leaders slipped to their first loss of the campaign against Lens, who are four points behind PSG in the table.

Przemyslaw Frankowski opened the scoring for Lens inside five minutes before Hugo Ekitike equalised three minutes later.

Lens retook the lead just before the half hour mark thanks to a slick counter and finish from Lois Openda.

Sergio Ramos attempted to win possession back high up the pitch, but Openda left him on the floor before firing past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Lens added a third shortly after the break via Alexis Claude-Maurice to seal a massive win.

Mbappe, who returned to PSG three days after scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup final, failed to have much influence on the contest.

The 24-year-old did score the winning penalty against Strasbourg last week in his first game since that heartbreak in Qatar.

PSG manager Christophe Galtier confirmed in his post-match interview Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi, who helped Morocco finish fourth at the World Cup, will be taking a break over the next few days.

Mbappe durin PSG's defeat to Lens. (Image
Alamy)

He explained: "Hakimi and Mbappe will have a few days off. The plan was that they could play these two games. They will now recover."

It's expected the duo will be back for PSG's game against Rennes on January 15.

In the meantime, PSG will face Chateauroux in the French Cup and Angers in Ligue 1 action.

Lionel Messi is yet to return after winning the World Cup with Argentina, with Galtier admitting he's still in his home country.

Mbappe and Hakimi will be absent for PSG's next two games. (Image
Alamy)

The 56-year-old added: "There are individual cases with the players who went very far. Achraf Hakimi played in every game at the World Cup for Morocco. He was in the team of the World Cup. He wanted to get back as quickly as possible, as did Kylian Mbappe.

"He also turned in some brilliant performances and was the top goalscorer at the World Cup. After speaking to him and all my different teams who stayed in regular contact with the players, Kylian Mbappe wanted to join back up with us pretty quickly.

"As for Lionel Messi, who had a brilliant tournament, given they won the competition, he went back to Argentina for the celebrations."

Featured Image Credit: Paris Saint-Germain/Twitter & Alamy

Topics: Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain, Ligue 1, Achraf Hakimi