Messi scores his first league goal for Paris Saint-Germain
Lionel Messi scored his first goal in the French league and Kylian Mbappe grabbed the fastest goal of his career as Paris Saint-Germain beat Nantes 3-1 on Saturday in Paris.
Messi sealed PSG’s win in the 87th minute from Mbappe’s pass at the end of a counterattack. After receiving the ball, the Argentina star quickly advanced near the edge of the box, dribbled past a defender and curled one of his signature left-footed shots past Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont.
Messi, who joined from Barcelona this summer, had already scored three Champions League goals for his new team but had failed to find the net in five previous Ligue 1 appearances.
The win extended PSG’s lead over second-place Lens to 13 points as the nine-time champions maintained their unbeaten record at home this season. Lens is in action on Sunday at Brest.
Elsewhere: After overseeing yet another humiliating loss as Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer walked over to the angry away fans and held both hands up in apology, before giving them a quick wave. He may well have been waving goodbye. Even Solskjaer sounded unsure whether he’ll be given another chance to turn things around after a 4-1 loss at Watford in the Premier League underlined just how badly United is struggling at the moment. ... Chelsea showed again that it’s a genuine title
Acontender this season by consolidating its lead atop the standings with a 3-0 win at Leicester. Liverpool climbed provisionally into second place after dismantling Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield.
NEW YEAR’S BOXING AT HARD ROCK
The first professional boxing show of 2022 has landed in South Florida.
Miami resident and heavyweight contender
Luis Ortiz will headline a card New Year’s Day at Hard Rock Live Seminole Casino in Hollywood. Ortiz, a native of Cuba, will face former champion
Charles Martin ina scheduled 12-round bout.
“I can’t wait to give my fans in South Florida a great show on New Year’s Day and earn another shot at the heavyweight title,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz (32-2, 27 KOs) is pursuing a third title opportunity after two unsuccessful challenges against ex-champion Deontay Wilder. Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) had a three-month stint as heavyweight titleholder in 2016 before losing his belt against Anthony Joshua.
Fellow Miami resident and heavyweight contender Frank Sánchez (19-0, 13 KOs) will face Carlos Negrón (25-3, 20 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout on the same card.
Tickets are available through ticketmaster.com.
Elsewhere: Demetrius Andrade stopped Jason Quigley of Ireland in the second round Friday night at Manchester, New Hampshire, to retain his World Boxing Organization middleweight title. Andrade, 33, improved to
A31-0 with his 15th knockout, dropping Quigley (19-2, 14 knockouts) three times.
ETC.
NFL: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been cleared under the NFL’s coronavirus protocols and is expected to start the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game Sunday night at the Los Angeles Chargers . ... New York Giants defensive back and leading tackler Logan Ryan will miss Monday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of COVID-19.
Tennis: U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev is one win away from another big trophy. The second-ranked Russian beat first-time qualifier Casper Ruud 6-4,
6-2 to advance to the championship match at the ATP Finals at Turin, Italy. Medvedev will play either top-ranked Novak Djokovic or No. 3 Alexander Zverev . ... Australian Open chief Craig Tiley confirmed Saturday that everyone who attends the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2022 will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, including all the players.
Auto racing: Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen qualified 1-2 for the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix, setting up a showdown between the Formula One championship contenders at the very start of Sunday’s race. Hamilton trails Verstappen by 14 points in the championship fight with three races remaining.
Skiing: Slovakian Petra Vlhova beat American Mikaela Shiffrin in the first World Cup slalom of the season at Levi, Finland.
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