Kylian Mbappe on Wednesday celebrated his 25th birthday with two goals as Paris Saint-Germain beat lowly Metz 3-1 to head into the winter break with a five-point lead in Ligue 1.
The France star got a birthday bonus when his 16-year-old brother Ethan Mbappe made his debut by coming on as a stoppage-time substitute.
Kylian Mbappe extended his league-leading tally to 18 goals. He has 21 goals overall this season. Since joining PSG from AS Monaco in 2017, he has netted a club record 233 goals in 282 appearances.
Photo: AFP
Mbappe’s contract expires at the end of the season and he has yet to say whether he will sign an extension or leave on a free transfer, possibly to long-time suitor Real Madrid.
Portugal midfielder Vitinha guided in a cross from the left to put PSG ahead in the 49th minute following a drab first half and then provided the pass for Mbappe’s trademark curling shot from the left of the penalty area into the top-right corner in the 60th minute.
After defender Matthieu Udol headed a goal back in the 72nd minute following poor PSG marking on a corner, Mbappe profited from a defensive error in the 83rd minute and tapped in for 3-1.
Photo: Reuters
Second-placed OGC Nice stayed five points behind PSG with a 2-0 home win over seventh-place RC Lens, who had not lost in their past 11 league games dating back to Sept. 16.
Nigeria striker Terem Moffi scored both goals late in the second half.
Third-placed Monaco won 2-1 against Toulouse to remain two points behind Nice.
Fourth-placed Brest won 4-0 at home against Lorient, while LOSC Lille lost 2-1 to RC Strasbourg Alsace and dropped down to fifth.
Sixth-placed Olympique de Marseille needed a header from midfielder Jordan Veretout to draw 1-1 against Montpellier Herault, while Japan forward Keito Nakamura’s first-half goal earned eighth-place Stade de Reims a 1-0 home win against Le Havre AC.
Stade Rennais recovered from conceding an early goal to win 3-1 at rock-bottom Clermont Foot 63 and veteran striker Alexandre Lacazette’s goal ensured 15th-placed Olympique Lyonnais beat Nantes 1-0 for a third straight win under interim coach Pierre Sage.
COPPA ITALIA
AP, MILAN, Italy
Lautaro Martinez on Wednesday had a penalty saved as two-time defending champions Inter were eliminated from the Coppa Italia by Bologna, who came back to win 2-1 at the San Siro after extra-time.
Bologna, who last won the trophy in 1974, face ACF Fiorentina in the quarter-finals. The Tuscan team beat second-division Parma on penalties last week.
Lautaro could have given Inter the lead in the 64th minute, but he saw a penalty saved by Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia following a handball by defender Tommaso Corazza.
Carlos Augusto headed in a corner for Inter to open the scoring in the second minute of extra-time.
Bologna turned the match around with two goals in the final two minutes from Sam Beukema and Dan Ndoye.
Both were set up by Joshua Zirkzee.
LA LIGA
AP, MADRID
Barcelona on Wednesday beat last-place UD Almeria 3-2, a much-needed victory that ended a three-game winless streak and moved the Catalan club back to third place in La Liga.
“We understand why the fans aren’t too happy, we aren’t either, but we have to be more united than ever now,” Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto said. “We need the fans behind us. Hopefully we will begin next year with the right foot.”
Roberto scored twice and Raphinha once for Barcelona, who moved three points ahead of fourth-place Atletico Madrid.
Elsewhere, Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao defeated ninth-placed Las Palmas 1-0 at home with Unai Gomez scoring the winner four minutes into stoppage-time.
Villarreal moved further away from the relegation zone by defeating RC Celta de Vigo 3-2 to end a three-match winless run in the league.
BUNDESLIGA
Reuters, WOLFSBURG, Germany
Bayern Munich on Wednesday were made to work hard for a 2-1 victory against VfL Wolfsburg, with Bundesliga top scorer Harry Kane on target to go into the winter break in second place, four points off the top and with a game in hand.
Jamal Musiala, the youngest Bayern player to reach 100 Bundesliga matches, headed the visitors into the lead after a pinpoint cross from Thomas Mueller in the 33rd minute.
Kane powered a unstoppable shot from 20m out into the top corner for his 21st league goal two minutes before the break.
The England captain has now been involved in 26 goals in the league with his 21 goals and five assists, equaling the tally for the entire 2022-2023 season of Randal Kolo Muani, who had the most goal involvements.
Wolfsburg cut the deficit after Maximilian Arnold was given too much space at the edge of the box to beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with his shot.
“This may have looked the way it looked, but it was overall a great team effort,” Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said. “We did everything we could to get this narrow win.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS