Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain overcame their Covid-19 crisis and a drone-related interruption to ease into the French Cup last 16 on Monday (Jan 3) with a 4-0 win over fourth-division Vannes.
Despite the absence of five PSG players including superstar Lionel Messi and Danilo after positive tests for the coronavirus, Mauricio Pochettino’s side were never worried by the Brittany minnows.
Defender Presnel Kimpembe, wearing the captain’s armband, headed in after 28 minutes just after the match had been interrupted for a minute after a drone flew over the Rabine Stadium in western France.
Kimpembe then set up Mbappe for the second just before the hour mark with the French forward completing a hat-trick in an 17-minute spell.
Mbappe added a second after 71 minutes after good work from Marco Verratti and Xavi Simons before his third five minutes later for his 150th goal in a PSG jersey.
“I’m happy to get started again,” said the 2018 World Cup winner.
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“It was not an easy match for us to play, but we were there.”
Pochettino added: “We can be happy with our team performance, very solid. His (Mbappe) goals were the icing on the cake. He is a top player in the world.
“We made a few adjustments at half-time, including the positioning of the midfielders. It allowed us to be more fluid in the flow of the ball, and to find depth.”
Vannes’ Cup dream was over with the Brittany side also missing out on their hoped for bonanza after the French government’s crowd restrictions with 5,000 spectators only permitted at outdoor events.
Vannes had been hoping for a 9,600 sell-out and according to their president Maxime Ray are set to miss out on revenue of €250,000 (S$382,555).
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“We are missing out on what is a fortune to us,” he said.
Covid could also overshadow Lens’ French Cup clash with Lille on Tuesday, after seven players from the visiting team confirmed positive.
“We had four Covid cases which has now become seven,” said Lille coach Jocelyn Gourvennec, without naming the players.
“We’re going to re-test all the players tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.”
Monday’s drone incident was another in a series of problems French football have had since the start of the 2021-22 season.
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Sunday’s Cup match between fourth-division Jura Sud and Saint-Etienne, in Louhans, was interrupted for about 20 minutes due to smoke and fireworks launched by supporters of the Greens.
Jura Sud goalkeeper Cedric Mensah described his shock on Monday after crowd trouble “cut the legs” of his team in a 4-1 French Cup defeat by Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Etienne.
“I heard a powerful bang and felt a pain in my right ear. I had the impression that a bomb had exploded and felt the pitch vibrate,” he said.
“The doctor explained to me that if it had exploded closer, I could have pierced my eardrum. At the time, it really shook me.”
Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing.
He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.
Lionel Messi will play his last game for Paris St Germain against Clermont on Saturday, coach Christophe Galtier said on Thursday as he called on fans to give the Argentine forward a warm send-off at the Parc des Princes.
Messi, who has 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG in all competitions this season, moved to the French capital from Barcelona in 2021 on a two-year contract.
The 35-year-old, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar and also boasts a record seven Ballon d’Or awards, won the Ligue 1 title in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons with PSG as well as the French Super Cup in July 2022.
“I had the privilege of coaching the best player in the history of football. This will be his last match at the Parc des Princes, and I hope that he will receive the warmest of welcomes,” Galtier told reporters on Thursday.
Last month, French media reported that Messi was suspended for two weeks after an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia when he was supposed to train with his team following their 3-1 defeat at home to Lorient in the league.
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“This year, he has been an important part of the team, always available. I don’t think any of the comments or criticisms are justified,” Galtier said.
“He’s always been there for the team. It’s been a great privilege to accompany him throughout the season.”
Messi’s future at PSG had been the subject of much speculation recently, with a source close to the Argentina captain telling Reuters that he had received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.
He has also been linked in the media with a move back to boyhood club Barcelona, with the United States’ Major League Soccer club Inter Miami also being touted as a possible destination.
PSG’S TITLE CELEBRATIONS ON HOLD
Messi’s last game for PSG is unlikely to be a joyous affair, with Galtier saying that their title celebrations would be put on ice with the distraught squad’s thoughts occupied with concern for goalkeeper Sergio Rico.
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Rico was involved in a riding accident while participating in an annual pilgrimage in southern Spain, the day after PSG wrapped up the title with one game to spare after a 1-1 draw at Racing Strasbourg.
Rico has been in intensive care after suffering “a serious mishap due to a mule cart and a horse that hit him”, his family said in a statement late on Sunday. Spanish paper Marca reported that Rico had been riding a horse himself.
“There will be no celebrations, it’s been a very difficult week. We’re all affected because we went from winning the French title on Saturday to waking up in more than a little pain on Sunday morning,” Galtier told reporters ahead of PSG’s final league game of the season.
“We’re all affected, and we’re trying as best we can to take our minds off things through the training sessions… We’re very united in sending out lots of positive vibes and energy to Sergio, his mum, his wife and his loved ones.”
Messi walks out on PSG fans after defeat Kunle Solaja
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Paris St Germain were lucky enough to enjoy the continued support of their fans during their 2-0 home defeat against Stade Rennais on Sunday – their first at home in Ligue 1 this season, but only a few players went to the Auteuil kop to greet them after a dismal display.
Kylian Mbappe was one of them after the France forward was denied twice by Rennes keeper Steve Mandanda, but Lionel Messi, who looked nothing like the player who inspired Argentina to the World Cup title last December, walked straight to the dressing room, as did the disappointing Marco Verratti.
PSG lead the standings on 66 points from 28 games with a seven-point advantage over Olympique de Marseille, who ended Stade de Reims’s 19-game unbeaten streak in the league with a 2-1 away win courtesy of an Alexis Sanchez double.
Neymar to leave hospital on Sunday after operation Kunle Solaja
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Brazilian football star Neymar is seen after surgery with (from left) Brazilian national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmarchief, Aspetar’s chief medical officer Pieter D’Hooghe, and British surgeon James Calder. PHOTO: AFP
Brazil star Neymar will leave a Qatar sports hospital on Sunday to rest before starting rehabilitation after an operation on his ankle, officials said.
Doctors at the Aspetar hospital would not give a date when the 31-year-old Paris Saint-Germain striker would return to action but they are confident that Friday’s surgery was a success.
PSG said before the operation the forward could be out for up to four months, ruling him out of the rest of this season.
“Neymar Junior was operated yesterday, it was very successful,” Mr Hakim Chalabi, assistant director-general at the Aspetar hospital and an adviser to PSG’s medical team, told AFP.
“Right now, he is very good and he is happy.
“He is not so painful and the surgeons who operated are very happy.”
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Neymar will leave the 50-bed specialist sports hospital on Sunday, officials said.
Mr Chalabi said that after a period of rest, PSG will start physiotherapy.
“Later on, we will evaluate a time for a return on the field. Right now it is a bit soon to talk about.
“He is going to be on crutches for a few days but then after he should be back to half weight lifting.”
