PARIS: Kylian Mbappe reached a century of Ligue 1 goals for Paris Saint-Germain with a brace in Sunday's 2-0 win over his old club Monaco at the Parc des Princes.
Mbappe opened the scoring with an early penalty and then grabbed a second just before half-time after being set up by Lionel Messi to get his 100th goal in France's top flight since moving to PSG in 2017.
The France striker, who also scored 16 league goals for Monaco at the beginning of his career, does not turn 23 until later this month.
The victory allowed PSG to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 13 points from Marseille, who won 2-0 at Strasbourg earlier on Sunday and have a game in hand.
Mauricio Pochettino's side ultimately eased to victory in a subdued atmosphere at the Parc des Princes, with one end of the stadium closed as a punishment after the club's ultras let off flares en masse during a recent game.
"It was a professional performance and we deserved to win. Kylian was extraordinary once again," Pochettino, who has been criticised for his team's performances this season, told broadcaster Amazon Prime.
"We are very pleased with our results, but we can improve our performances," he admitted later.
Monaco had lost just twice in their previous 12 visits to Paris in Ligue 1 and were the better side in the first half, but Mbappe's second goal right on the stroke of half-time was a hammer-blow from which they did not recover.
Niko Kovac's team are eighth, five points adrift of the top three, with just one more round of games to come before France's short winter break.
Sofiane Diop hit the post for the principality outfit inside two minutes but they soon found themselves behind.
Angel Di Maria went down in the box and the referee spotted a foul by Djibril Sidibe after a review of the images. Mbappe stepped up to convert the penalty.
Guillermo Maripan then squandered a great chance to draw Monaco level before PSG scored their second goal.
Youssouf Fofana gave possession away to Messi in midfield and he surged forward before teeing up Mbappe, who took a touch and curled a shot into the far corner for his ninth Ligue 1 goal this season.
Messi came agonisingly close after the break with a shot across the goalkeeper that grazed the far post.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has five goals in five Champions League appearances for PSG but just one in 10 games in Ligue 1. This game confirmed that Mbappe is the main man for PSG, rather than the Argentinian.
Marseille moved back up to second as their win at Strasbourg took them above Rennes, who lost at home to Nice.
Young Senegalese striker Bamba Dieng put Marseille ahead in Alsace with an acrobatic volleyed finish just after the hour. Duje Caleta-Car headed in a Dimitri Payet corner late on to seal the points.
Kasper Dolberg scored one goal and set up another as Nice won 2-1 at Rennes in a clash between two clubs with Champions League ambitions.
Nice started the campaign strongly before stumbling in recent weeks but they went ahead in Brittany when Dolberg converted a 19th-minute penalty awarded for a foul on Dante.
Denmark striker Dolberg then teed up Youcef Atal to score the second in the 51st minute.
Benjamin Bourigeaud pulled one back for Rennes but Nice held on to close to within a point of Rennes in the table.
Reigning champions Lille, fresh from qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League, were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Lyon, a result which leaves both clubs in mid-table.
Lyon last week had a point deducted as a punishment for the trouble that led to November's game against Marseille being abandoned after Payet was hit on the head by a bottle.
Mbappe reaches landmark with double as PSG beat Monaco
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Mbappe reaches landmark with double as PSG beat Monaco
- The victory allowed PSG to extend their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 13 points from Marseille
Captain Agha reiterates Pakistan’s refusal to play India at the T20 World Cup
- India vs. Pakistan is usually the showpiece match in world tournaments, with the eyeballs on it rising into the hundreds of millions
- The boycott has caused an uproar and the International Cricket Council is trying to resolve the issue with the Pakistan Cricket Board
COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has reiterated that his team will abide by his government’s ruling not to play India in the much-anticipated Twenty20 World Cup fixture next week.
India vs. Pakistan is usually the showpiece match in world tournaments — the eyeballs on it rise into the hundreds of millions. The boycott has caused an uproar and the International Cricket Council is trying to resolve the problem with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
At a captains’ media conference on Thursday, Agha repeated the team will follow its government’s advice.
“The India game is not in our control,” Agha said. “The government has decided and we respect that. Whatever they are saying we’ll do.
“We are playing three other (group) games and we are excited about that.”
Pakistan’s World Cup opener is against the Netherlands on Saturday in Colombo. It will play all of its games in co-host Sri Lanka. Namibia and the United States are also in the group. The India game is scheduled for Feb. 15 in Colombo.
In Mumbai, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said they were going to Colombo whether the match was on or not.
“(Our) mindset is pretty clear,” Yadav said. “We did not refuse to play them. The refusal came from them. ICC organized the fixture. BCCI and (Indian) government decided to play in neutral venue in coordination with ICC. Our flight to Colombo is booked. So we are going. We’ll see what happens later.”
The Pakistan government decision came after Bangladesh was kicked out of the World Cup by the ICC. Bangladesh refused to play in India for security reasons and wanted its games moved to Sri Lanka but the ICC dismissed those concerns.
Agha said he was saddened that Bangladesh wasn’t playing in the World Cup for the first time and asked Bangladeshi fans to back his team.
Pakistan has accused the ICC of double standards and not accommodating security concerns. India and Pakistan do not play in each other’s territory and meet in ICC tournaments only at neutral venues.
Their countries are embroiled in military and diplomatic tensions which have spilled into sports for more than a decade. Last year at the men’s Asian Cup and Women’s World Cup, the teams did not shake hands when they met.
