Paris Saint Germain player ratings v Auxerre: Mendes 9, Messi 8, Neymar 7

Ligue 1 leaders cruise to a 5-0 win to go clear by five points

PSG RATINGS: Gianluigi Donnaruumma, 7 – The giant goalkeeper has played every minute for PSG this term but found time for a leisurely jog out of his box after a quick release. Kept out M'Baye Niang’s swirling strike with a smart stop at the near post but wasn’t really tested. AFP

Achraf Hakimi, 8 – Did well to keep the squeeze on and pick out Messi who showed his unwavering quality in the build-up to the opening goal. Displayed electric pace to charge after Soler’s intelligent pass and calmly stroke the ball past a helpless Benoit Costil for 3-0. Reuters

Nordi Mukiele, 6 – Looked a little shaky in the opening 20 minutes whenever Auxerre were able to get the ball in and around the PSG box. Enjoyed a much more comfortable second half as PSG took full control, but like Ramos, he still struggled to cope with crosses. AP

Sergio Ramos, 6 – An uneventful match for the tough-tackling defender, but he showed his experience to snuff out a potentially dangerous through-ball. Failed to deal with a couple of deliveries into the box. AP

Nuno Mendes, 9 – Wing-back wizardry. The 20-year-old put the ball on a plate for a grateful Mbappe to open the scoring and created another when he showed excellent strength before wriggling into the box and clipping in a cross that was nodded in by Soler. AFP

Carlos Soler, 8 – A quiet opening 45 minutes from the Spain international who came to life after the break. He doubled his side’s advantage with a glancing header into the far corner and picked out Hakimi’s blistering run with a perfectly-weighted pass for 3-0. AFP

Danilo Pereira, 6 – Defensively sound. Pinched possession from Niang at full stretch before PSG sportingly opted to put the ball out of play with the Auxerre forward struggling. Got away with a couple of half-clearances, but PSG were never really in trouble. AP

Marco Verratti, 6 – Calm and composed in the middle but even a player of his quality found it difficult to stretch a rigid Auxerre defensive line early on, although he caught the eye with an outrageous flicked short pass. AP

Lionel Messi, 8 – The little magician chipped a stunning pass over the top to break Auxerre’s defensive line and create the space for the opener, and he was unlucky to see his bending strike clip the post later on. AP

Kylian Mbappe, 8 – Smashed PSG ahead when he clinically converted Nuno Mendes’ ball back across goal to finish off a wonderful team move. The 23-year-old now has a frightening 19 goals in as many games for Les Parisiens across all competitions this term. AFP

Neymar, 7 – Technical brilliance or showboating? Either way, he ruffled a few feathers and got plenty of kicks as a result. Maybe not the smartest move with the World Cup days away, although on a few occasions he was booted just for winning back possession. Reuters

SUBS: Renato Sanches (on for Soler, 61), 8 – Unfortunate to see Costil keep out his initial effort with a decent save, but he made no mistake the second time around as he cracked in PSG’s fourth via the post. A lovely bit of finesse from the Portugal midfielder. AFP

Hugo Ekitike (on for Messi,75), N/R – Had to settle for an assist as Sanches pounced on his pass for 4-0 after Ektike stumbled after rounding the keeper, but he did brilliantly to nick the ball back and wrong-foot the keeper to crash home his first PSG goal. AP

Presnel Kimpembe (on for Ramos, 75), N/R – A replacement for the veteran legs of Ramos. Kimpembe had virtually nothing to do. AFP

Pablo Sarabi (on for Neymar, 75), N/R – Didn’t have too many opportunities to make an impact, although he nearly created yet another PSG goal when his cross was headed over by Mukiele. AFP

Warren Zaire-Emery (on for Verratti, 81), N/R – Another cameo for the midfielder who has already made four senior appearances at just 16 years old. AP

Leaders Paris St Germain crushed Auxerre 5-0 with four second-half goals in Ligue 1 on Sunday to go into the mid-season World Cup break with a five-point lead over second-placed Lens.

PSG took an early lead through Kylian Mbappe after Lionel Messi found Nuno Mendes with a lob and the wing-back's cutback was fired home by the Frenchman, who became the league's outright top scorer this season with his 12th goal.

PSG were in control and dominated possession but failed to score a second before the break while the visitors' best chance fell to Senegalese striker M'Baye Niang, whose shot was blocked well by goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

The home side's second goal was headed home by Spanish midfielder Carlos Soler in the 51st minute. Mendes was the architect as he went on a mazy run into the box, dribbling past three players before looping in an inviting cross for Soler.

Auxerre pressed forward and PSG duly punished their high line when Achraf Hakimi was released on goal by Soler, with the Moroccan outpacing the last defender and slipping the ball past goalkeeper Benoit Costil.

Renato Sanches scored the fourth in the 81st minute and 20-year-old substitute Hugo Ekitike made up for an earlier miss by pouncing on a weak back pass before beating the keeper for his first PSG goal to complete the rout.

PSG player ratings from the match can be seen in the gallery above. To view the next image, just swipe.