Mbappe hat-trick brings PSG closer to last-16
BRUGES, BELGIUM: Substitute Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-germain moved a step closer to the Champions League last 16 with a 5-0 victory over previously unbeaten Club Brugge on Tuesday. The World Cup winner, who has only started four games this season because of thigh and hamstring injuries, netted three times in the space of 20 minutes to help PSG go five points clear of Real Madrid, who beat Galatasaray 1-0, in second place in Group A.
“I wanted to start and I thought I was going to start, but the coach made his choice and I had to accept it. I also wanted to show that it’s difficult to get by without me,” Mbappe said.
“I have to fight to keep my place. It’s been two months since I played a full game. It feels good to come back. My injury is over. I’m 100%,” the 20-year-old added.
Mauro Icardi netted the other two goals as fellow Argentinian Angel Di Maria directly set-up three of his side’s efforts. For the third time in Europe this season, PSG’S Thomas Tuchel was unable to start his first-choice attacking trio of Neymar, who is suspended in Europe, Mbappe and Edinson Cavani who is injured.
Brugge coach Philippe Clement, who has guided the club to the top of the Belgian Pro League, was without captain Ruud Vormer as the Netherlands midfielder served a suspension for a
ISTANBUL: Real Madrid came away from Istanbul with three crucial Champions League points on Tuesday with a 1-0 away win at Galatasaray thanks to a first-half Toni Kroos goal and Eden Hazard’s threatening creativity.
Pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane will be alleviated after Madrid had been beaten in their first European game by PSG, before they had to fight back from 2-0 down at home to Club Brugge to snatch a point in their second match of the campaign. The 13-times European champions arrived in Istanbul needing a win against motivated opponents backed by passionate and noisy supporters. Zidane said on Monday he was ‘bothered’ by rumours of his imminent replacement in the
Madrid hot seat, and he paced the touchline with a haunted look at times in the Turkish capital.
Belgian star Hazard shone and it was a clever cut-back from him that provided Kroos with a shot on goal, and his snap-shot was deflected past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, who kept the visitors at bay for the rest of the proceedings. red card he received in the draw at Real.
The visitors claimed an early lead as Di Maria received a longrange ball on the right flank. The Argentina winger curled in an early cross with the outside of his left foot and Icardi beat Simon Mignolet at his near post after seven minutes.
Champions League debutant Charles De Ketelaere missed a good chance to equalise after half an hour but the 18-year-old failed to worry Keylor Navas. Icardi had a chance to double the Parisians’ advantage six minutes into the second-half but his effort across goal was well-saved by Mignolet.
Mbappe entered the fray 60 seconds later and instantly dropped deep hungrily looking for possession. The Ballon d’or candidate repeated his feats from Friday’s Ligue 1 victory over Nice by scoring and claiming an assist within the final half an hour.
He claimed his first with 28 minutes of the game to go after another Di Maria curling cross. The former Monaco forward then set-up Icardi for his fifth in four games less than 60 seconds later.
Mbappe’s second and third goals of the match both came from lovely Di Maria passes as PSG closed out the game to mark their intentions in the competition with a clinical performance.
The two clubs meet again on November 6 in the French capital with Neymar expected to be sidelined with a hamstring injury picked up on international duty.
LONDON: Son Heung-min and Harry Kane combined to ease Tottenham’s troubles by each scoring twice in a 5-0 win over Red Star Belgrade to put their Champions League campaign back on track on Tuesday. Mauricio Pochettino’s men were thrashed 7-2 at home by Bayern Munich in their previous European outing and have won just two of their last eight games in the Premier League.
However, Pochettino was pleased to see last season’s Champions League finalists get back to the standards he expects. “It was an important result. One, for our confidence and two, for another three points in the table,” said Pochettino, as Tottenham leapfrogged Red Star into second in Group B behind Bayern. “We start to see it is only time that we need to recover confidence. We need to go step-by-step, being solid again to try to start to perform in the way everyone expects.”
Son was restored to the starting line-up after being rested in Spurs’ latest disappointing display, a 1-1 home draw against bottom-of-thetable Watford on Saturday.