Despite all the drama of ‘Penaltygate’, Paris Saint-Germain continued their perfect start to the Ligue 1 season with an emphatic 7-1 win over Lille this weekend.
After being fined for their on-field tiff, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar put their differences aside as they combined for plenty of Ligue 1 2022 highlights.
As for Monaco, their start to the season has gotten worse as they suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at home to Lens.
Meanwhile, Marseille and Nice are still not done in the transfer window and are close to sealing a couple more moves.
Read on below as SBOTOP rounds up the latest news and updates from the French top flight.
Mbappe, Neymar lead PSG rout of Lille
Paris Saint-Germain continued their dominant start to the Ligue 1 season as they thrashed Lille 7-1. The defending champions have now won their first three games, scoring an impressive 17 goals.
Kylian Mbappe, who was in the middle of the highly publicised penalty dispute with Neymar last time out, immediately got the rout going as he scored after just nine seconds – the fastest goal in a competitive match in the club’s history – and went on to score a hat-trick.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian bagged a brace and had three assists, including the last two to set up Mbappe. Neymar is having a brilliant start to the season and is Ligue 1’s leader in both goals (5) and assists (6).
Mbappe and Neymar were recently fined by head coach Christophe Galtier for their antics, but their fine performance suggests they have put their personal problems to bed – for now, at least.
Monaco’s miserable month continues
Monaco’s disappointing month continued as they were handed a humiliating 4-1 home defeat by Lens.
The Monégasques have now won just one of their first three Ligue 1 matches and one of their first five competitive matches this season. They were knocked out of the Champions League by PSV in the third qualifying round.
Monaco went down to 10 men for the second straight league match as right-back Vanderson was sent off for two yellow cards.
With both him and midfielder Youssouf Fofana suspended, the Ligue 1 2022 betting odds will be stacked against them even more in their next match, which will be away to in-form French champions PSG.
Marseille close to sealing Eric Bailly loan move
Marseille have reportedly reached an agreement with Manchester United on a loan deal for defender Eric Bailly.
Bailly, 28, is out of favour at Old Trafford and is way down the United centre-back pecking order behind Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, and Victor Lindelof.
Bailly will be reunited with former Manchester United teammate Alexis Sanchez, who moved to Marseille earlier this month on a free transfer from Inter Milan.
Coach Igor Tudor has a host of new players at his disposal, with the club also adding midfielder Jordan Veretout, right-back Jonathan Clauss, and Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares during this transfer window.
OM are off to a strong start this season with two wins in three. Despite going down to 10 men, they defeat Nantes 2-1 this weekend thanks to a Nicolas Pallois own goal eight minutes from time.
Arkadiusz Milik heading to Juventus
While Bailly appears to be on his way to Marseille, Arkadiusz Milik looks to be on his way out, with the Polish striker reportedly close to joining Italian giants Juventus.
Milik has long been linked with Juventus dating back to his time in Napoli, and he could finally get his move to the Old Lady, where he would back up Dusan Vlahovic.
The 28-year-old Milik spent the last season and a half on loan at Marseille from Napoli. Marseille had an option to make his deal permanent after his 18-month loan deal expired, which they exercised this summer.
Milik scored an impressive 30 goals in 55 total appearances for OM, including 20 goals in 37 games last season.
Milik also had a decent scoring record in Italy, with 38 goals in 93 Serie A appearances over four seasons with Napoli.
Nice eyeing Nicolas Pepe, Marcelo moves
Nice have had an interesting summer transfer window. They have already brought in a couple of big names in Aaron Ramsey and Kasper Schmeichel, who made their names in the Premier League.
And it appears they are eyeing another Premier League talent in Nicolas Pepe on a possible loan deal. The 27-year-old has had a disappointing time in England after his big-money move to Arsenal. He has just 16 goals and 9 assists in 80 matches over three-plus seasons for the Gunners.
Pepe will look to reignite his career in Ligue 1, where he starred with Lille prior to his move to the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Nice are also being linked with a shock move for veteran left-back Marcelo. The 34-year-old is a free agent after parting ways with Real Madrid, with whom he won a club record 25 titles in 16 years.
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