João Neves‘ magnificent hat trick inspired Paris Saint-Germain to a 6-3 Ligue 1 victory on a wild night at Toulouse.
The 20-year-old Portugal international netted a brace of bicycle kicks inside seven first-half minutes, either side of Bradley Barcola‘s ninth-minute goal to ensure PSG took a 3-0 lead by the 14th minute.
Ousmane Dembélé contributed penalties before and after the break, with Charlie Cresswell scoring a 37th-minute consolation before Lucas Chevalier denied Toulouse a retaken first-half stoppage-time penalty after also saving the initial effort.
Neves capitalised on some loose defending late in the second half, completing his hat trick with a top-corner strike, before Yann Gboho and Alexis Vossah clawed back last-gasp goals.
Vitinha’s free kick was the catalyst for the opener, kept alive by Nuno Mendes after which the ball pinged around the penalty area and eventually landed for Dembélé.
He did his best to bring it ball under control, pivoting and steering his final touch towards Neves, who unfurled a spectacular overhead kick into the top right corner from the edge of the six-yard box in the seventh minute.
Barcola doubled PSG’s lead two minutes later, spurred on by Fabián Ruiz‘s through-ball and slotting past Guillaume Restes into the far corner.
But the visitors were just getting started, and soon held a 3-0 lead after Neves added a second with an even more stylish bicycle kick than his first.
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This time it came from Achraf Hakimi‘s deflected delivery, following some fine teamwork to drive deeper into Toulouse’s final third.
Neves brought the ball under control with his chest before acrobatically sending it into the top left, from just a few metres further out than his first.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when PSG punished Cristian Cásseres Jr. for a clumsy tackle.
Dembélé stepped up to the spot and Restes guessed the right way but could not stop the France international’s low strike.
Cresswell finally got Toulouse on the scoresheet in the 37th minute, pouncing after Chevalier could only palm away Mario Sauer‘s effort, with the goal confirmed after a VAR check for offside.
The chaos did not subside. Toulouse won a penalty of their own in stoppage time, taken by Frank Magri but saved by Chevalier, before the referee determined it needed to be retaken due to encroachment.
Cásseres stepped up next but he too was denied by the PSG shot-stopper, whose side took a 5-1 lead after the break when Barcola was fouled and the referee pointed to the spot.
Dembélé was called upon again, slotting home to restore PSG’s four-goal advantage.
PSG continued to dominate possession, but at last the flurry of events had subsided — that is, until Toulouse lapsed inside their own 18-yard box, and a loose pass bounced out to precisely the man they did not want to latch on.
Neves did not waste the opportunity, rocketing his third past the leaping Restes into the top-right corner to seal his hat trick in the 78th minute.
The match was settled but Gboho tapped in Toulouse’s second in the 89th minute and Vossah beat Chevalier in the first minute of stoppage time to salvage some pride.
