PARIS: Kylian Mbappé scored twice and Lionel Messi got the other goal as the World Cup final stars combined to give French league leader Paris Saint-Germain a 3-0 win at title challenger Marseille.
Mbappé tops the league’s scoring charts outright with 17 goals, and he matched Edinson Cavani’s PSG club-record tally of 200 in the process on Sunday.
What better place to do it than at bitter rival Marseille, where PSG lost in the French Cup earlier this month without the injured Mbappé in the team? This time, PSG was without the injured Neymar but didn’t miss the Brazil star.
A win would have moved second-place Marseille within two points of defending champion PSG. Instead, Marseille trails by eight points with only 13 rounds remaining.
“Everyone put in the right effort,” PSG coach Christophe Galtier said.
Galtier is from Marseille and played for the club as a gritty defender, which means some Marseille fans are simply unable to understand why he is coaching PSG.
Galtier had to be restrained after the final whistle as he went over to confront an irate Marseille fan leaning over and heckling him near the dugout.
Mbappé became only the second player to score a hat trick in a World Cup final when France lost on penalty kicks to Argentina last December, with an inspirational Messi netting twice in a thrilling final.
This time they combined on each other’s goals to quieten a Stade Velodrome crowd full of belief after the recent cup win against a PSG side reeling from five defeats in its 12 previous games.
But after Nuno Tavares missed a great chance for Marseille, an exquisite pass from Messi near the halfway line sent Mbappé sprinting through for a typically clinical finish in the 25th minute.
“He’s a player from another planet,” Marseille coach Igor Tudor said about Mbappé.
Four minutes later Mbappé found space down the left and picked out Messi — who saved PSG with an injury-time free kick in a 4-3 win against Lille last weekend — for a close-range finish.
Having scored his 12th league goal, Messi set up Mbappé again with a looping pass in the 55th, moments after veteran striker Alexis Sanchez missed a great chance to pull a goal back for Marseille.
The only negative for PSG on an emphatic night was losing central defender Presnel Kimpembe to injury in the 18th. He was stretchered off after falling unchallenged to the ground and lying on his face for several moments, although the nature of his injury was not immediately clear.
Defeat means Marseille is now only two points ahead of third-place Monaco and fourth-place Lens, which both have 50 points.
It could have been worse for Marseille had Monaco not lost 3-0 at home to Nice earlier Sunday in the Riviera derby.
Nigeria striker Terem Moffi scored twice in the first 25 minutes and midfielder Khéphren Thuram — son of France great Lilian Thuram — added the third just before halftime as Nice climbed to seventh spot.
OTHER MATCHES
Fifth-place Rennes won 1-0 at Nantes with a goal from Belgium winger Jérémy Doku, and Reims easily beat Toulouse 3-0 in a midtable scrap.
Relegation-threatened Auxerre won 1-0 at Lorient while fellow struggler Ajaccio enjoyed a 2-1 home win against 19th-place Troyes.
Also, Clermont drew 1-1 at home to Strasbourg.
Mbappé and Messi combine as leader PSG wins 3-0 at Marseille
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Mbappé and Messi combine as leader PSG wins 3-0 at Marseille
- Mbappé tops the league’s scoring charts outright with 17 goals
Memphis Grizzlies rally, nip Spurs on late block
- Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans 111-103 to win their third straight
- Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss
NEW YORK: Cam Spencer scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and Santi Aldama blocked a potential game-winning shot by De’Aaron Fox with 5.2 seconds remaining to lift the Memphis Grizzlies to a 106-105 victory over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night.
Spencer gave the Grizzlies the lead with 37.3 seconds to go on a baseline jumper. A minute earlier, he had connected on a 3-pointer to trim San Antonio’s lead to 105-104. Jaren Jackson Jr. matched Spencer with 21 points and had nine rebounds. Jock Landale contributed 19 points and nine boards and Vince Williams Jr., returning from a lengthy injury absence, finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Victor Wembanyama came off the bench to lead the Spurs with 30 points. Julian Champagnie added 23 points and eight rebounds and Stephon Castle had 15 points and eight boards before fouling out with 3:13 to go.
The Grizzlies played without starters Ja Morant, Cedric Coward and Zach Edey. Morant missed his second straight game with a right calf contusion and his 18th game overall of the team’s 36 contests because of a variety of injuries. Coward sprained his left ankle in Sunday’s loss at the Lakers.
Lakers 111 Pelicans 103
Luka Doncic and LeBron James both scored 30 points as Los Angeles won in New Orleans to win their third straight. Doncic also had 10 assists while James had eight boards and eight assists.
Doncic had 11 first-quarter points and 16 at the half despite missing all six of his 3-point shots. Deandre Ayton paired 18 points with 11 rebounds as the Lakers opened the fourth on a 9-0 run to take control of the game.
Trey Murphy III had a career-high 42 points for New Orleans, who frittered away a position of strength to suffer their eighth successive defeat. Zion Williamson added 15 points and Derik Queen posted 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Cavaliers 120 Pacers 116
Darius Garland posted 29 points and six assists as Cleveland won in Indianapolis, sending Indiana to their franchise-record 13th consecutive loss.
Evan Mobley had 20 points and Jarrett Allen finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who have won four of their last five. Sam Merrill also scored 19. Cleveland won despite resting Donovan Mitchell, the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer at 29.8 points per game, and losing Dean Wade after eight minutes when he re-injured his left knee.
Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 22 points, Jay Huff scored 20 and Johnny Furphy had nine points and 11 rebounds. The Pacers’ most recent win was Dec. 8 over the Sacramento Kings. Indiana, which had lost 12 consecutive games four prior times since joining the NBA in 1976, owns the worst home record in the league at 5-15.
Timberwolves 122 Heat 94
Anthony Edwards scored 26 points in 29 minutes, and Minnesota cruised to a win over Miami in Minneapolis.
Jaden Daniels added 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting for Minnesota, which won its third game in a row. Julius Randle (15 points, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (13 points, 17 rebounds) each registered double-doubles, and Naz Reid scored 14 points off the bench.
Norman Powell. Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware grabbed 11 rebounds apiece. One bright spot for the Heat was the return of Tyler Herro, who played for the first time since Dec. 9. He showed no signs of a right big toe injury as he finished with 17 points and nine rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench.
Wizards 120 Magic 112
CJ McCollum scored 27 points and Alex Sarr added 23 to go along with eight rebounds, fueling host Washington past Orlando. Justin Champagnie had 17 points off the bench for Washington, who made 31 of 33 shots from the free- throw line.
Bilal Coulibaly recorded 14 points, eight rebounds and five steals for the Wizards, who have won five of their last seven.
Orlando rookie Jase Richardson scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. Desmond Bane scored 15 points, Paolo Banchero had 14 and Tristan da Silva added 13 for the Magic, who committed 19 turnovers that led to 29 points by Washington. The Magic whittled a 26-point deficit down to two late in the game, but a 10-2 Wizards run sealed their victory.
