Kylian Mbappe said he refused to let his World Cup heartbreak affect Paris Saint-Germain after the French striker scored an injury-time penalty to seal a 2-1 win over Strasbourg in Ligue 1 on Wednesday night.
Making his first appearance for PSG 10 days on from France's 2022 World Cup final defeat to Argentina, during which he scored a hat-trick, Mbappe was a constant menace for but was unable to find the target with two clear-cut chances.
However, deep into second-half injury time he was brought down in the penalty area and converted the winner from the spot in the 96th minute.
After the game, Mbappe said of the World Cup defeat: "I think I'm never going to get over it.
"As I said to my teammates, there is no reason why the club should pay the price for the failure of the national team, they are two very different situations."
PSG earlier had Neymar sent off for two yellow cards as the Brazilian made an unhappy return to action following his country's elimination in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Captain Marquinhos had put the hosts ahead with an early header but the Brazilian defender scored an own goal after 51 minutes as some of PSG's stars appeared to lack sharpness following their exploits in Qatar.
Neymar picked up a yellow for a petulant flick in the face of a Strasbourg player and then earned another for a blatant dive in the penalty area just after the hour.
Argentina superstar Lionel Messi was absent from the PSG lineup after his World Cup-winning heroics.
The victory put PSG eight points ahead of Lens, who must beat Nice on Thursday to close the gap.
PSG also announced that their 30-year-old Italian midfielder Marco Verratti has extended his stay at the club until 2026.
