UCL: Mbappe hat-trick stuns Barcelona
BARCELONA: Kylian Mbappe ripped Barcelona apart on Tuesday by scoring a stunning hattrick in a 4-1 rout to put Paris Saint-Germain on the brink of the Champions League quarterfinals. Mbappe underlined his status as the rising superstar of world football with a ruthless display of finishing at Camp Nou that will go down as one this competition’s most devastating individual performances.
The 22-year-old eclipsed Barca’s Lionel Messi, whose opening goal from the penalty spot had been reduced to nothing more than a footnote by the final whistle. Moise Kean also headed in midway through the second half, carelessly left unmarked from a free-kick as PSG pulled away to win this first leg, and perhaps the tie.
Barcelona will no doubt draw upon the spirit of their astonishing ‘Remontada’ in 2017, when they won the second leg 6-1 to overturn a 4-0 deficit from the opening game in Paris.
It will certainly serve as a warning for PSG but without
fans, and with Mbappe, any hopes of a repeat for Ronald Koeman’s side from look faint at best. Mbappe ran them ragged all night long.
“The great footballers write their stories in the biggest
matches,” said Mauricio Pochettino. “We had no doubts before the game and even less now that we are seeing a top, top player.”
Koeman had gambled on the fitness of Gerard Pique, who had not played a game in almost three months due to a knee ligament injury. But to rub salt into the wounds, Pique trudged off late on just as PSG were running riot. This was a chastening experience for Koeman’s youthful side, who had shown signs of a resurgence in recent weeks in La Liga but were exposed against an opponent of an altogether different class. Koeman was even asked if he wanted to continue as coach but was defiant.
“I accept a defeat and go to work. If I was a person who was very happy when we win and then with a result like today said I have no desire to continue, that would be crazy. I know where we are, we have to change, we are not at the end of this road, we are halfway through.”
Even without the injured Neymar and Angel Di Maria, PSG were too strong, a breathless, entertaining first half giving way to a French obliteration in the second.
Liverpool seize control BUDAPEST:
Liverpool rediscovered lost form and seized the initiative against RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash by cruising to a 2-0 win in a chilly Budapest on Tuesday. Clinical early second-half strikes from Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, both courtesy of dreadful defensive errors, proved decisive and leave the German side facing a formidable task in the return leg on March 10.
The win moves Jurgen Klopp’s men to the brink of the Champions League quarter-finals and also ends a run of three straight defeats that has left the English champions 13 points behind leaders Manchester City in the Premier League.
“It was a game we wanted it was a game we needed tonight,” Klopp told BT Sport afterwards.
“Leipzig can be a real monster. The way they play in the Bundesliga they overrun teams, they can be really physical in everything and tonight we controlled them in an exceptional way. “They had their moments because of the quality they have but we controlled the game so tonight I think we got the result we deserved,” he said.
The first leg was moved from Leipzig to the Hungarian capital due to Germany’s strict Covid-19 travel restrictions.
S assy, sporty and classy — the fashion statement of these actors who were papped in and around Mumbai. While Alia Bhatt was spotted in bicycle shorts and platform sneakers, Huma S Qureshi went for powde yellow co-ord set for a luncheon. Among others spotted was Disha Patani, who wore a monochromatic attire with a pair of sneakers at the airport.