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Sport

Rashford’s last-gasp penalty kick knocks out stunned PSG as Manchester United advance

Stunner
Paris, March 6, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Marcus Rashford scored a last-gasp penalty kick awarded after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervention for Manchester United to stun Paris St Germain (PSG) 3-1 away on Wednesday.

The victory helped the English side to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on away goals rule after a 3-3 aggregate scoreline.

Never in Europe’s premium club competition had a team progressed after a 2-0 home defeat, but Rashford’s stoppage-time penalty made sure Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side advanced in the most dramatic fashion.

The visitors, severely depleted by injuries, went ahead twice in the first half through Romelu Lukaku but Juan Bernat equalised for the French champions in between.

PSG were advancing to the last eight 3-2 on aggregate before referee Damir Skomina awarded Manchester United a penalty kick for a Presnel Kimpembe handball.

After a lengthy delay for the VAR review, Rashford lashed home the spot kick to level the tie at 3-3 and send Manchester United through on away goals.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Ligue 1: Mbappe double earns PSG comeback win at Caen

Mbappe

Paris, March 2, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Two goals from Kylian Mbappe allowed Paris St Germain to come from behind to beat Caen 2-1 on Saturday and stretch their lead in Ligue 1 to 20 points.

The French champions were made to work for the three points after Casimir Ninga put the home side in front in the 56th minute.

PSG quickly responded through Mbappe’s penalty before the 20-year-old struck the winner three minutes from time.

Thomas Tuchel’s side, who face Manchester United in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, were denied by the woodwork on three occasions during the first half.

At the other end, Caen’s striker Enzo Crivelli also saw a header come back off the crossbar.

Ninga put Caen in front when he volleyed home the ball in a well-worked set-piece routine but PSG went level three minutes later

Younn Zahary conceded a penalty for handball that Mbappe dispatched.

Angel Di Maria came close to putting PSG in front when he headed off the post from close range minutes later, but Mbappe sealed the points with a tap-in after Thomas Meunier’s shot was blocked by a defender.

The result leaves PSG on 71 points at the summit of Ligue 1, 20 clear of second-placed Lille, while Caen remain deep in relegation trouble in 18th place, four points adrift of safety. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/MZA

Sport

UEFA Champions League: PSG take charge with 2-0 win at Manchester United, Pogba sent off

Defeat
Manchester (UK), Feb. 13, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Manchester United’s UEFA Champions League hopes were hanging by a thread on Tuesday after they lost 0-2 at home to Paris St Germain (PSG).

The victory was in a Round of 16 first leg match and it had Paul Pogba being sent off late in the game.

Second half goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe gave the impressive French side a clear advantage ahead of the return in Paris on March 6.

Pogba’s dismissal for a second yellow card in the 89th minute makes the task even harder.

It was Manchester United’s first defeat under caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since he took over from the sacked Jose Mourinho in December.

In many ways it was a reality check after 10 wins in 11 games domestically for the Norwegian.

Manchester United made a highly aggressive start to the game but too often their forwards chose the wrong option or failed to deliver the right pass.

Marcus Rashford and Pogba both tested PSG’s 41-year-old goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with near post shots.

Thomas Tuchel’s side gradually gained the ascendancy — with Marco Verratti and Marquinhos dominant in midfield.

Mbappe should have hit the target when he was slipped through by Julian Draxler in the 28th minute, but he fired wide.

Manchester United had to play the second half without forwards Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial, who picked up injuries.

Their night got worse in the 53rd minute when Kimpembe ghosted in unattended at the back post to volley home a corner kick from Angel Di Maria.

Former Manchester United winger Di Maria, booed from the outset by sections of the crowd, later had the last laugh.

This was when he collected a fine pass from Marquinhos and set up Mbappe for the second goal.

The Argentine broke down the left and delivered a low cross which was expertly turned in, first time, by 20-year-old France World Cup winner Mbappe.

He showed lightning speed to get ahead of the Manchester United defence.

A disappointing night for Manchester United got worse when midfielder Pogba was sent off for a second booking after a foul on Dani Alves.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Cavani injured as PSG beat Bordeaux in Ligue 1

PSG
Paris, Feb. 9, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Paris St Germain (PSG) got back to winning ways in the French Ligue 1 on Saturday with a 1-0 defeat of Girondins de Bordeaux.

However, the French champions lost striker Edinson Cavani through injury ahead of their UEFA Champions League trip to Manchester United.

Cavani scored with a 42nd minute penalty kick before holding his thigh and leaving the pitch.

This has come three days before PSG take on Manchester United in their UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg tie.

PSG coach Thomas Tuchel is already without Brazil striker Neymar, who was ruled out of the whole tie with a foot injury.

The result puts leaders PSG on 59 points from 22 games, 13 ahead of second-placed Lille, who have played one more game.

There was some good news for PSG as midfielder Marco Verratti returned to the line-up after recovering from an ankle injury.

Verratti played almost an hour before being substituted by Leandro Paredes.

The Italian is now expected to start on Tuesday against a resurgent Manchester United side who claimed their 10th win in 11 games under caretaker coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The English side beat Fulham 3-0 on Saturday in the English Premier League (EPL).

PSG, who suffered their first league defeat this season against Olympique Lyonnais last weekend, were in control against mid-table Bordeaux.

Cavani broke the deadlock with a penalty kick for his 17th goal in 16 league games this season after Thomas Meunier had been fouled in the area.

Meunier was later replaced following a head clash with a Bordeaux player.

A couple of minutes later Cavani limped off the pitch clutching his thigh, prompting Tuchel to substitute him with Kylian Mbappe.

The French international had been expected to be rested ahead of Tuesday’s clash.

He is now likely to start as a lone striker at Old Trafford, supported by Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria.

The second half was relatively poor, with PSG players, wearing shirts with their names written in Mandarin to mark the Chinese New Year, taking no risks.

The Bordeaux side were also lacking in creativity.

The visitors’ only clear chance after the break came in the 61st minute when Gianluigi Buffon pulled off a superb save to tip away Francois Kamano’s 25-metre strike.

Bordeaux are 12th on 28 points.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Neymar out for 10 weeks with foot injury – PSG

Injury

Paris, Jan 30, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Paris St Germain forward Neymar has been ruled out for 10 weeks with a foot injury, the Ligue 1 club said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Brazilian will miss both legs of PSG’s Champions League last 16 tie against Manchester United. (Reuters/NAN)
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Edited by Remi Koleoso/Maharazu Ahmed

Sport

French Ligue 1: Goals galore as PSG enjoy Guingamp revenge win

Revenge
Paris, Jan. 19, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Runaway French Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain (PSG) avenged their League Cup loss to Guingamp by demolishing the Brittany side 9-0 at home on an almost perfect night on Saturday.

The capital city side, who prevailed through trebles by Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, a Neymar double and a Thomas Meunier goal, however suffered the loss of Marco Verratti.

The Italy midfielder left the pitch after 13 minutes when a Guingamp player stepped on his ankle.

There was another injury scare a few minutes later when Neymar stepped off the field holding his thigh.

But the Brazilian came back on and finished the match, helping PSG stretch their lead to 13 points with two games in hand.

They have 53 points from 19 games to second-placed Lille’s 40 from 21.

Nine days after being knocked out of the League Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 defeat by Guingamp at the Parc des Princes, PSG were on fire.

They even came close to claiming the largest home win in the French top flight.

The record was set in the 1935/1936 season when Sochaux beat Valenciennes 12-1.

Neymar opened the scoring in the 12th minute after collecting a superb through ball from Dani Alves, beating Marc-Aurele Caillard from close range.

Mbappe made it 2-0 eight minutes before the break with a cool finish, after a one-two with Neymar.

The France striker doubled his tally on the stroke of halftime after Cavani dispossessed Felix Eboa Eboa in the box.

The Uruguay striker made it 4-0 in the 59th minute when he tapped in from Juan Bernat’s cross.

He added another eight minutes later from Angel Di Maria’s pinched cross, and only two minutes later, Neymar, perfectly set up by Mbappe, found the back of the net again.

Guingamp’s ordeal was far from being over, though.

Cavani beat Caillard when he tapped in from Layvin Kurzawa’s cross in the 76th, five minutes before Mbappe also secured a hat-trick after collecting his Uruguayan team mate’s through ball.

Defender Meunier rounded off the humiliation with a shot from inside the box.

Mbappe, Neymar and Cavani have now netted a total of 44 goals in Ligue 1 with the Frenchman leading the scoring charts with 17 goals.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Napoli draw with PSG to leave group wide open

Draw
Naples (Italy), Nov. 7, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Napoli and Paris St Germain (PSG) battled to a 1-1 draw in their UEFA Champions League match on Tuesday to leave the group wide open after Liverpool’s away loss.

But it was also a game in which Neymar produced a typical performance for the French side, with the Brazilian mixing brilliance with petulance.

Juan Bernat gave PSG a deserved lead in first-half stoppage time, before Lorenzo Insigne levelled from a penalty kick in the 62nd minute.

The penalty kick came after Jose Callejon pounced on a mistake by PSG defender Thiago Silva and was upended in the area.

After four games each, Liverpool and Napoli now have six points in Group C with PSG on five and Red Star Belgrade on four.

Neymar did not get on the score sheet but was in the thick of the action.

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, making his UEFA Champions League debut for them after completing a three-match ban from last season, did not have a save to make in the first half.

It was his first match in Italy since leaving Juventus.

Napoli struggled to play their way out of defence against PSG’s aggressive pressing and it was the visitors who had the better openings.

They eventually went ahead in the second minute of stoppage time.

Neymar released Kylian Mbappe down the left with a delightful chipped pass.

The French World Cup winner twisted and turned his way past Raul Albiol and pulled the ball back to Juan Bernat who, in spite of stumbling, managed to beat David Ospina.

It was a different story after halftime as Napoli tore into the visitors.

Buffon twice denied Dries Mertens, while a Jose Callejon shot was blocked by Thilo Kehrer and Fabian Ruiz was close with a drive from outside the penalty area.

Buffon somehow managed to stop a Lorenzo Insigne shot on the line which he knew nothing about and it took a penalty kick to finally beat the 40-year-old veteran.

Thiago Silva failed to intercept the ball, Callejon nipped in and was caught in a sandwich between Buffon and the Brazilian defender.

Insigne converted and the San Paolo stadium went wild.

The game continued to be wide open and niggly but neither side could find a winner. (Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

PSG fight back to maintain perfect start with 3-1 win at Rennes

Ligue 1

Rennes (France), Sept 23, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Paris St Germain stretched their perfect Ligue 1 start to six wins after coming from behind to beat Rennes 3-1 away in a rip-roaring clash on Sunday.

The result left PSG top of the French league on a maximum 18 points, five clear of second-placed Lille.

But Angel Di Maria and Thomas Meunier had to cancel out an early Adrian Rabiot own goal which fired the adventurous home side ahead.

Second half substitute Eric Choupo-Moting added the third in the closing stages for the visitors, who rebounded from a 3-2 Champions League defeat by Liverpool on Tuesday.

Roared on by their vocal fans, Rennes twice went close before they stunned the more fancied visitors in the 11th minute.

Towering striker Mbaye Niang glanced on an in-swinging corner which cannoned into the net off Rabiot.

The visitors quickly regained their composure and levelled on the stroke of halftime thanks to a superb Di Maria strike.

The Argentina midfielder unleashed a low shot after Edinson Cavani’s clever dummy from a Julian Draxler cut-back.

PSG continued to pile on the pressure after the break, with Cavani hitting the post and Rennes twice clearing off the line in a frantic goalmouth scramble.

Belgium international Meunier drilled his shot from just inside the penalty area into the bottom right corner of the net after a defence-splitting pass from Neymar.

The Brazilian himself came to life in the second half after a quiet opening half.

Rennes threw men forward in search of an equaliser and were punished after Choupo-Moting volleyed home from close range to put the icing on the cake for PSG.

Stoppage time drew a warm round of applause from the home crowd when a schoolboy fan got past security stewards to embrace Neymar.

The Brazil forward gave him his jersey before ushering the tearful youngster off the pitch. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Felix Ajide

 

Sport

PSG, Napoli, Liverpool drawn together in Champions League

Draw

Monaco, Aug. 30, 2018 (Reuters/NAN)  Champions League runners-up Liverpool, Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Serie A side Napoli have been thrown together in the pick of the groups.

Following the draw for this season’s Champions League made on Thursday, their group could already be referred to as the ‘group of death’.

The trio were drawn into Group C alongside Red Star Belgrade, European Cup winners in 1991 and making their debut in the group stage.

Titleholders Real Madrid will face last season’s semi-finalists AS Roma plus CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen in Group G.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo will face his former club Manchester United after they were drawn together in Group H that also includes Spanish side Valencia.

Inter Milan, back in the competition for the first time since 2011/12, face Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven in Group B which features three former European champions. (Reuters/NAN)

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Edited by Felix Ajide

 

Sport

Postolachi’s late strike seals PSG victory over Atletico Madrid in Singapore

Pre-Season
Singapore, July 30, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) Paris St Germain (PSG) teenage forward Virgiliu Postolachi scored a stunning late minute winner as the French champions edged out Atletico Madrid 3-2 in a thrilling pre-season friendly in Singapore on Monday.

Both teams fielded experimental line-ups on Sunday in the final match of a three-team tournament that also included Arsenal.

PSG gave goalkeeper Kevin Trapp and midfielder Angel Di Maria their first outings since returning from the World Cup in Russia.

Both teams looked lively from the kick-off before a modest crowd at the Singapore National Stadium and Argentina’s Di Maria was soon involved.

The former Real Madrid man drew a smart diving save from Antonio Adan in the fifth minute with a well-struck free kick.

Atletico countered with two great chances of their own.

Trapp used his feet to first deny Angel Correa before Kevin Gameiro hoisted a shot over the PSG crossbar after he raced clear from the halfway line in the 11th minute.

The Ligue 1 side settled and began to dominate with Marco Verratti and Adrien Rabiot pulling the strings in central midfield, but they were unable to find the decisive final pass.

Their persistence finally paid off in 32nd minute, however, when midfielder Christopher Nkunku, who impressed against Arsenal on Thursday, prodded home from close range after Layvin Kurzawa’s goalbound effort was deflected.

Stirred into action after falling behind, Atletico should have equalised in the 41st minute.

The Spanish side fashioned an opening for Luciano Vietto, whose shot flew past Trapp but was cleared off the line by a sprawling Kevin Rimane.

New PSG coach Thomas Tuchel shuffled his pack at halftime, making 10 changes to his starting line-up.

But that figure soon became 11 when replacement defender Alex Georgen injured his knee within seconds of coming on.

The substitutions transformed the game into a wide-open affair as chances were spurned at both ends, particularly by PSG forwards Timothy Weah and Moussa Diaby.

Diaby later doubled the French side’s lead after 71 minutes.

Atletico, however, are known for their resilience and Spanish youth international Victor Mollejo hauled them back into the contest in the 76th minute.

The Spanish side poured forward in search of an equaliser and coach Diego Simeone was soon punching the air in delight.

That was when PSG’s Antoine Bernede deflected Borja Garces’ shot past a stranded Trapp to level the scores after 86 minutes.

The match appeared destined for a penalty kicks shootout until Postolachi, a product of PSG’s youth academy, settled matters.

He scored with a brilliant curling strike in the third and final minute of stoppage time.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Dorcas Jonah and Olawale Alabi)