Kylian Mbappe on Saturday equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 59 goals in a calendar year for Real Madrid with a late penalty in his side’s 2-0 home win over Sevilla in Spanish La Liga, with the French forward celebrating his 27th birthday in style.
Mbappe missed several earlier chances before getting his opportunity from the spot four minutes from time, and he made no mistake to net his 59th goal in as many games across all competitions this year to level Ronaldo’s 2013 haul.
Jude Bellingham put Real in front in the opening half and Sevilla went down to 10 men with 22 minutes remaining after Marcao received a second booking, but the hosts had keeper Thibaut Courtois to thank for keeping them ahead.
Photo: AP
Real are second in the La Liga standings on 42 points, one behind Barcelona who were away to third-placed Villarreal last night, while Sevilla are ninth on 20 points.
Xabi Alonso’s side were looking to end the year on a high note after losing top spot last month with three consecutive draws, and they saw it out with three successive wins in all competitions, but it was far from a straightforward success.
Sevilla created plenty of problems early on, with Isaac Romero chipping a shot narrowly wide when sent through on goal, bringing whistles from the home crowd with Real under pressure.
Mbappe sent a snap shot wide, as the hosts struggled to find a clear-cut chance, and Sevilla’s Lucien Agoume put another strike wide for the visitors before Real went in front seven minutes before the break.
Rodrygo put a free-kick into the box, and Bellingham rose to power a header into the far corner to settle Real’s nerves at the break.
Mbappe sent an effort straight at the keeper and dragged another shot wide, while at the other end Courtois twice denied Alexis Sanchez and Romero with Real all too easy to open up at the back.
From a corner, Mbappe hit the crossbar with a header and after Marcao’s sending-off Rodrygo struck a beautiful shot on the turn, but Sevilla keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos touched it onto the bar.
Real were hanging on for the win with Mbappe still laboring to find the net when Juanlu Sanchez fouled Rodrygo in the box, and the birthday boy stepped up to score before pulling out Ronaldo’s celebration.
Mbappe thought he had been gifted the perfect chance to score again when the referee pointed to the spot two minutes later, but the official changed his mind after a video assistant referee check, and the Frenchman had to settle for a share of the record.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
RSS