Christophe Galtier Suffers First Loss As PSG Boss As Kylian Mbappe Struggles Without Co-Stars

Paris Saint-Germain's unbeaten record this season is over after losing to Lens. PSG lost 3-1 as Kylian Mbappe failed to shine without Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Lens 3-1 PSG

Paris Saint-Germain's unbeaten record under manager Christophe Galtier is over after the French champions lost to Lens.

Galtier had overseen 19 wins and four draws in his first 23 matches before Sunday's clash with PSG's nearest title rivals.

Twenty-two of those 23 games had witnessed at least one goal for either Neymar, Lionel Messi or Kylian Mbappe.

But Mbappe was without his two main co-stars at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.

Lionel Messi was still on holiday following Argentina's World Cup triumph, while Neymar was serving a suspension after receiving the fifth red card of his PSG career in a 2-1 win over Strasbourg four days earlier.

Mbappe did not go close to scoring against Lens but Hugo Ekitike came into the side and marked his fourth league start of the season with his second PSG goal.

However, that strike was not enough to deny Lens a victory which saw them reduce PSG's lead at the top of the table to four points.

An action shot from Lens vs PSG :: IMAGO/PanoramiC/Federico Pestellini

Przemyslaw Frankowski fired Lens ahead inside the opening five minutes after Gianluigi Donnarumma had failed to gather Massadio Haidara's cross.

Ekitike pulled PSG level three minutes later, despite protests from Lens that the 20-year-old striker had illegally dispossessed Brice Samba when the keeper had his hands on the ball. 

Lens restored their lead just before the half-hour mark when Lois Openda found the net. Sergio Ramos made a mess of his attempt to intercept a Seko Fofana through-pass and Openda capitalized. He beat Marquinhos with a sharp turn and then Donnarumma with a scruffy finish.

After scoring his team's second goal, Openda assisted their third for Alexis Claude-Maurice with a cute back-heeled pass on 48 minutes.