Mbappe, Vitinha give 10-men PSG hard fought win at Le Havre

Paris Saint-Germain's Portuguese midfielder #17 Vitinha (C) is congratulated by Paris Saint-Germain's French forward #07 Kylian Mbappe (2L) after scoring PSG's fourth goal during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AS Monaco at The Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on 24 November 2023. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain ground out a tense 2-0 victory away to Le Havre on Sunday courtesy of strikes by Kylian Mbappe and Vitinha, after 'keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma saw red early on.
Despite the two-goal win, PSG had to show great resilience to keep the hosts at bay and move four points clear of second-placed Nice in the table.
After going down to 10 men in the 10th minute, a fine Mbappe goal, his 15th in the league this season, gave the embattled visitors the lead, but the points were only wrapped up right at the end when Portuguese midfielder Vitinha doubled the score with one minute remaining of normal time.
"(I am) very proud of what the team showed, the mentality, the ability to adapt to the different things that happened during the game, and the team spirit," said PSG coach Luis Enrique.
"We showed determination to defend more than usual, and we defended very well.
"We didn't concede too many chances and the ones we did concede were saved by Arnau (Tenas)," added Enrique.
The 22-year-old reserve goalkeeper, who joined PSG in the summer on a free transfer from Barcelon, made a surprise professional debut when he was unexpectedly called on with 12 minutes on the clock.
"He (Tenas) is a top pro, he trains every day like it is his last," said Enrique.
Red card
Le Havre started brightly and won a series of early corners, one of which forced the visitors into a change when Fabian Ruiz injured his right shoulder defending a set-piece.
However, it was a long ball that finally broke down the Parisian defense as a clearance was not dealt with by Nordi Mukiele, allowing Josue Casimir to nip in before being abruptly halted by Donnarumma.
The Italian's desperate attempt to clear the ball resulted in him catching the Le Havre man very high on the shoulder outside the box and the referee was left with little choice but to brandish a red card.
