 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe scored twice to help the Ligue 1 leaders beat Metz 3-1 at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday and close out the year on a high as they maintained their five-point advantage at the top of the table.
PSG, who sit top of the standings on 40 points from 17 games, are five points ahead of second-placed Nice and seven points above AS Monaco, in third.
An uneventful first half ended goalless and lacked quality chances for either side, although the Parisians avoided conceding an own goal when a header by defender Danilo Pereira bounced off the post.
Vitinha put the hosts in front early into the second half, scoring with his first touch, before Mbappe doubled the lead on the hour mark with a stunning shot from the edge of the box as the France forward celebrated his 25th birthday.
Metz captain Matthieu Udol pulled one back with a towering header following a corner, as the ball went in off the inside of the post, before Mbappe made it 3-1 profiting on a mistake from the visitors' defence.
PSG next travel to Lens in Ligue 1 on Jan. 14, after facing French Cup winners Toulouse in Trophee des Champions on Jan. 3 and a cup fixture at sixth-tier side Revel four days later.
In the other fixtures, Nice earned a 2-0 win over seventh-placed Lens with two quickfire goals in the second half -- including a penalty -- from forward Terem Moffi to maintain the second spot.
Third-placed Monaco came from a goal down to seal a 2-1 win over lowly Toulouse, before they were down to 10 men six minutes into the second half when midfielder Aleksandr Golovin was sent off for a risky tackle.
Patrick Vieira's Strasbourg ended Lille's 10-match unbeaten run with a 2-1 home win, in a game where both sides scored an own goal each.
Lille slipped to fifth in the standings with 28 points. They were leapfrogged by Brest who moved up to fourth after a 4-0 trashing of lowly Lorient, with all goals scored by midfielder Kamory Doumbia inside the first half.
The 20-year-old Mali international became the second player to score four goals in the first half of a Ligue 1 match in the last 60 years, after Edinson Cavani achieved the feat in September 2016 with Paris against Caen.
Wasteful Barcelona survive scare
Two second-half goals from Sergi Roberto rescued a 3-2 home win for champions Barcelona against bottom side Almeria in LaLiga on Wednesday, putting an end to their three-game winless run in all competitions as they head into the Christmas break.
Barcelona, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia and beaten 4-2 at home by leaders Girona in their previous two league fixtures, moved up to third on 38 points from 18 games.
They are six points behind Girona and four adrift of second-placed Real Madrid, who visit Real Betis and Alaves respectively on Thursday.
"There was more suffering than I expected and than we deserved," said coach Xavi Hernandez.
"We shot 30 times and gave away two goals. The first half is unacceptable for me as a coach. The second half, yes. We failed a lot and we've been doing that for a month and a half or two.
"The team lacked soul. The team does not have that soul that it had last season. Neither aggressiveness, nor concentration ... The one in the second half is the Barca that I want."
Barcelona dominated the first half but squandered the vast majority of their 15 chances - five of them on target - and the game was level at halftime after Almeria forward Leo Baptistao cancelled out the opener from Raphinha.
Raphinha had given Barcelona the lead in the 33rd minute, netting a rebound from close range, after Almeria keeper Luis Maximiano denied a header from defender Ronald Araujo following a corner.
But the visitors equalised shortly before the break when Baptistao scored with a chipped finish, a goal which was initially ruled out for offside but the referee reversed his decision after a VAR check.
Roberto restored the lead for Barca at the hour mark, nodding home a corner, before Edgar Gonzalez found another leveller for Almeria and then Roberto put Barcelona again in front, nutmegging Maximiano from close range.
The 31-year-old winger scored the first brace of his Barcelona career across all competitions, having played more than 350 games for the Catalan club.
"I'm pleased that it's Sergi Roberto because he is an example, whether he plays or not. He almost scored a hat-trick, but beyond that there is the work, how he encourages other players. I'm happy for him," Xavi added.
Barcelona next travel to mid-table Las Palmas in LaLiga on January 4.
Almeria, still without a league win this season, remain bottom on five points.
Leverkusen crush Bochum to go into winter break in top spot
Bayer Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick scored a first half hat-trick to guide them to a 4-0 victory over VfL Bochum on Wednesday and send them into the winter break in top spot with a four-point advantage.
Leverkusen, unbeaten in the league, were unstoppable after a slow start and struck three times in 15 minutes to kill of the game in the first half. The league resumes on Jan. 12.
The 27-year-old Czech forward drilled in a penalty on the half hour mark and then slotted in his second goal of the evening in the 32nd after a low cross into the box from Jeremie Frimpong.
He completed his hat-trick in stoppage time heading in an Alejandro Grimaldo corner.
They added a fourth with substitute Victor Boniface in the 69th.
Leverkusen end the year on 42 points in top spot, four ahead of Bayern Munich, who have a game in hand. VfB Stuttgart are third on 34.
