The veteran French striker, Karim Benzema, outshone the young French striker, Kylian Mbappe, as Real Madrid reasserted the old order, coming from two goals down to eliminate Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Karim Benzema nets a hat-trick as Real Madrid fought back to beat PSG 3-2 on aggregate, while Manchester City strolled into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 5-0 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon despite a subdued 0-0 draw on Wednesday.
Mauricio Pochettino has said Kylian Mbappe is “fine” and expects him to play against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, despite the striker’s injury scare in training.
Kylian Mbappe’s importance to Paris Saint-Germain was all too evident long before his stoppage-time strike gave them a narrow win over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League showdown on Tuesday and left them on course for a place in the quarter-finals.
Kylian Mbappe struck in the fourth minute of injury time to give Paris Saint-Germain a precious 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, while Manchester City put one foot in the next round with a 5-0 win over Sporting.
Erling Haaland‘s desire to play for Real Madrid may be in vain, with Real believed to be focused on signing Kylian Mbappe from Paris St Germain with Man United now believed to lead the race for his signature.
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah wants to stay with the club but is becoming frustrated by talks over a contract extension, according to reports.
Chelsea duo N’Golo Kante and Jorginho will battle it out with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe for The Best FIFA men’s player award for 2021.
Real Madrid are hoping to sign Kylian Mbappe for free when his PSG contract expires in 2022, according to Los Blancos president Florentino Perez.
Kylian Mbappe said holders France were going to next year’s World Cup finals to win it after he hit four goals in an 8-0 thrashing of Kazakhstan that secured qualification.