Kylian Mbappe shrugged off any lingering fatigue to score twice in his second game in 48 hours as Paris Saint-Germain defeated 10-man Nimes Olympique 4-0 on Friday to take over top spot in Ligue 1.
The France forward struck the opener after 32 minutes at the Stade des Costieres and netted again late on as a weary Nimes folded following the early dismissal of centerback Loick Landre.
Alessandro Florenzi scored PSG’s second on 77 minutes and Pablo Sarabia notched a fourth for the reigning champions as PSG climbed above Stade Rennais on goal difference after a fifth successive win.
Photo: Reuters
“I spoke with Kylian yesterday, he told me that he felt good and that he absolutely wanted to play,” PSG coach Thomas Tuchel said. “He’s the guy who can always make a difference and he did just that.”
New signings Moise Kean and Rafinha made their PSG debuts with a host of players missing following the international break and just four days ahead of the visit of Manchester United in the Champions League.
Neymar sat out the trip after scoring a hat-trick for Brazil in a World Cup qualifier in Peru this week.
However, Mbappe was handed a second start in three days having scored the winning goal for France midweek in their Nations League match in Zagreb.
PSG lost Leandro Paredes to an injury inside 10 minutes.
The midfielder had started both of Argentina’s World Cup qualifying wins over Ecuador and Bolivia in the past week.
Landre was sent off moments later for a rash challenge on Rafinha, raking his studs down the side of the former Barcelona player’s ribs.
Mbappe gave PSG the lead after he was played through by Rafinha before slotting in his third league goal of the campaign.
Mbappe grabbed his second of the night with another nerveless finish after Sarabia shredded a tiring Nimes defense.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS