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.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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