Mbappe Misses Penalty, Comes off Injured in PSG Win

PSG's Kylian Mbappe reacts after missing a chance during the French League One soccer match between Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain at the State La Mosson stadium in Montpellier, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's Kylian Mbappe reacts after missing a chance during the French League One soccer match between Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain at the State La Mosson stadium in Montpellier, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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Mbappe Misses Penalty, Comes off Injured in PSG Win

PSG's Kylian Mbappe reacts after missing a chance during the French League One soccer match between Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain at the State La Mosson stadium in Montpellier, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
PSG's Kylian Mbappe reacts after missing a chance during the French League One soccer match between Montpellier and Paris Saint-Germain at the State La Mosson stadium in Montpellier, France, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Paris Saint-Germain extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 3-1 win at Montpellier on Wednesday but their evening was overshadowed by an injury to Kylian Mbappe, who had earlier missed a penalty.

The France superstar had an eighth-minute spot-kick saved by Montpellier's Benjamin Lecomte and then remarkably saw his second attempt turned onto the post by the goalkeeper after the referee ordered a retake, AFP said.

Mbappe then limped off with what looked like a hamstring injury midway through the first half, raising the alarm for PSG with the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich now less than two weeks away.

Speaking after the game, coach Christophe Galtier suggested the injury was down to a knock rather than a muscle problem.

"He took a knock to the back of the knee or the back of the thigh, so we'll see," said Galtier.

"I'm not too worried," he added. "It's a bruise or a contusion, we don't know yet.

"With the run of matches we don't want to take risks with a very busy fixture list, but it doesn't appear that serious."

PSG host Bayern in Paris on February 14, with the second leg in Germany on March 8. They are desperate to avoid a repeat of last season when they were knocked out at the same stage of the Champions League by Real Madrid.

After winning just one of their last four league games, Wednesday's awkward trip for PSG saw them also lose Sergio Ramos to injury and have two goals disallowed before Fabian Ruiz put them ahead 10 minutes into the second half.

- Messi on target -
Ruiz then set up Lionel Messi to make it 2-0 with a deft finish in the 72nd minute, the Argentine scoring his 14th club goal of the season.

Sixteen-year-old midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery made sure of the win in stoppage time after Arnaud Nordin -- a friend of Mbappe's from their time together at France's national training academy -- had pulled one back.

PSG, who were without the rested Neymar, extended their lead at the top of the table from three to five points after Lens lost 1-0 at home to Nice.

"It was a good performance in general," Galtier said.

"There was an incredible scenario in the first half with the retaken penalty, we hit the post, had goals disallowed and two injuries because Sergio Ramos was involved in a collision and on falling he hurt his adductor, but apparently it is nothing serious."

The win for PSG came after a frustrating end to the January transfer window on Tuesday as they failed to process the paperwork to complete the loan signing of Hakim Ziyech from Chelsea after the Moroccan winger had passed a medical.

Gaetan Laborde scored the only goal of the game for Nice as Lens dropped points at home for the first time this season after winning all 10 previous matches there.

Marseille climbed above Lens into second place thanks to a 2-0 victory at Nantes earlier, secured by an own goal from Joao Victor and then a late strike by Azzedine Ounahi, the Moroccan World Cup star making his debut after signing in the January window.

Monaco in fourth beat Auxerre 3-2, while fifth-placed Rennes eased to a 3-0 win against struggling Strasbourg.

On-loan Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun followed up his last-gasp equalizer against PSG at the weekend by netting a hat-trick as Reims came from two goals down to beat Lorient 4-2 and extend their unbeaten run to 15 games.

Bottom side Angers suffered a new French top-flight record 13th consecutive defeat as they conceded in stoppage time to lose 2-1 at home to Ajaccio.

That result leaves them 11 points from safety.



Mourinho Lashes Out at 'Ridiculous' Criticism of Mbappe

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho attends a press conference ahead of the team's training session at the Valdebebas Sports Complex in Madrid, Spain, 09 October 2026. EPA/JAVIER LIZON
Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho attends a press conference ahead of the team's training session at the Valdebebas Sports Complex in Madrid, Spain, 09 October 2026. EPA/JAVIER LIZON
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Mourinho Lashes Out at 'Ridiculous' Criticism of Mbappe

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho attends a press conference ahead of the team's training session at the Valdebebas Sports Complex in Madrid, Spain, 09 October 2026. EPA/JAVIER LIZON
Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho attends a press conference ahead of the team's training session at the Valdebebas Sports Complex in Madrid, Spain, 09 October 2026. EPA/JAVIER LIZON

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho slammed criticism of star striker Kylian Mbappe, on Friday labelling the attacks as "ridiculous".

The French captain has come under fire for spending his time recovering from a left knee injury -- which he suffered playing in a Nations League match against Türkiye -- in France and Switzerland rather than Madrid.

The 27-year-old was also pictured at the entrance of a Parisian nightclub and photographed on a bicycle when he was in Switzerland.

Some fans claimed it was a deliberate snubbing of Mourinho, who had only days before said that players should avoid skiing or riding bicycles so as to avoid risking injury.

"Are these criticisms over the top? They are ridiculous," AFP quoted Mourinho as saying at his press conference on the eve of their La Liga home match with Villarreal.

"All the players who were obliged to be present every day for their recovery were here.

"Mbappe came, like the others, to undergo scans in order to be diagnosed.

"He then went to see a specialist in France, because he has history with his knee which we cannot ignore."

Mourinho, whose side already lag six points behind bitter rivals Barcelona in the title race, is never one to shy away from a confrontation and tackled each of the criticisms against Mbappe.

"Problems involving football are not sufficient for you," the 63-year-old Portuguese coach told reporters.

"Therefore you have raised the issue of the discotheque, which in fact was not one, because it was used for a private event for Fashion Week.

"As for the bicycle in Switzerland. It was in a hotel, made up of small houses, which makes them available so guests can ride to the communal areas, and you would have us believe he was competing in the Tour of Switzerland."

Mourinho shrugged off the potential of a hostile reception for Mbappe on Saturday, reiterating that he was "certain" the all-time World Cup record goalscorer had fulfilled "his obligations to Real Madrid".

It is not the first time this season that Mbappe has been subjected to attacks by fans.

The Ultras Sur, a Real Madrid supporters' group linked to the far right and banned from the Santiago Bernabeu, took issue with him last month.

They were furious that prior to a Real Madrid match, Mbappe, alongside Vinicius Junior and fellow Frenchman Ibrahima Konate, partially rolled up t-shirts bearing the words "We are all Ceutans", which was intended to be a message of support for people in the Spanish territory bordering Morocco.

Ceuta, Spain's north African exclave has been grappling with a migration crisis.


Man City Boss Maresca: 'I Completely Trust the Club’

(FILES) Manchester City's Italian coach Enzo Maresca is pictured before the UEFA Champions League first round day 1 football match between FC Porto and Manchester City at Dragao stadium in Porto on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Patricia de Melo Moreira / AFP)
(FILES) Manchester City's Italian coach Enzo Maresca is pictured before the UEFA Champions League first round day 1 football match between FC Porto and Manchester City at Dragao stadium in Porto on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Patricia de Melo Moreira / AFP)
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Man City Boss Maresca: 'I Completely Trust the Club’

(FILES) Manchester City's Italian coach Enzo Maresca is pictured before the UEFA Champions League first round day 1 football match between FC Porto and Manchester City at Dragao stadium in Porto on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Patricia de Melo Moreira / AFP)
(FILES) Manchester City's Italian coach Enzo Maresca is pictured before the UEFA Champions League first round day 1 football match between FC Porto and Manchester City at Dragao stadium in Porto on September 8, 2026. (Photo by Patricia de Melo Moreira / AFP)

Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca said on Friday that he had absolute faith in the club after it was found guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League financial rules.

In his first press conference since the bombshell announcement last week, the Italian also rejected any suggestion that City's haul of silverware over the past 15 years was now tainted.

"I completely trust the club," said Maresca, who was appointed manager in June but also previously worked at City as part of Pep Guardiola's coaching staff.

"I trust the club because I trust the people and this is also the reason why I joined the club... there is not another club in the world where I would like to be."

An independent commission said that City had arranged "sham" contracts with a number of their commercial partners to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by over £900 million ($1.2 billion) over a nine-season period, between 2009 and 2018.

The 10-time English champions, who continue to deny any wrongdoing, are appealing against the judgement.

"The reason why I joined this club is because I completely trust 100 percent the owner, the CEO, the sporting director, all the organization. So I don't have any doubt about that," said Maresca.

"I spoke with the club for sure and we all (have) trust and the right moment to speak about that is when we win this appeal."

The club has won eight Premier League titles, the Champions League and multiple other trophies over the past 15 years.

Maresca rejected the suggestion that those successes were now tainted.

"Absolutely not," said the former Chelsea boss. "I know the effort from the players, from the club, from the manager in that time that was Pep. So I know exactly the effort that the club put to achieve that kind of target."

Guardiola stepped down at the end of last season after a trophy-laden decade at the Etihad Stadium.

City travel to Liverpool on Sunday for their first outing since the guilty verdict, but Guardiola is set to attend their next home game against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.

"After 10 years here, he can come at any time he wants," said Maresca. "I think it would be nice for him. It would be nice for the fans, for everyone."


European Soccer Leaders Tell UEFA of Unhappiness with Longer 4-game Schedule

08 October 2026, United Kingdom, Manchester: Manchester City forward Erling Haaland arrives at the City Football Academy (CFA) for a training session. Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa
08 October 2026, United Kingdom, Manchester: Manchester City forward Erling Haaland arrives at the City Football Academy (CFA) for a training session. Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa
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European Soccer Leaders Tell UEFA of Unhappiness with Longer 4-game Schedule

08 October 2026, United Kingdom, Manchester: Manchester City forward Erling Haaland arrives at the City Football Academy (CFA) for a training session. Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa
08 October 2026, United Kingdom, Manchester: Manchester City forward Erling Haaland arrives at the City Football Academy (CFA) for a training session. Photo: Martin Rickett/PA Wire/dpa

European soccer federations told UEFA they are not happy with the new extended four-game blocks of international matches that finished this week.

Injured players like Kylian Mbappé missed too many games, Erling Haaland asked to come off in Norway’s fourth match, resources were stretched for coaches in smaller countries and extra demands were made on the time and money of fans and sponsors.

A “disaster,” said one official among multiple federations who spoke to The Associated Press on the sidelines of a closed-doors UEFA meeting Thursday in Berlin. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential debate.

UEFA said it will gather their views to weigh a submission to FIFA about the 16-day block that combined what used to be separate two-game breaks in September and October.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 30: Kylian Mbappe #10 of France during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round Of 32 match between France and Sweden at New York New Jersey Stadium on June 30, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images/AFP

Still, the four-game early-season block is locked in for four more years on the FIFA-managed calendar for international matches that is finalized through 2030. That year national teams in Europe will play four games between Sept. 23 to Oct. 8. Next year they will be qualifying games for the 2028 European Championship.

Longer international breaks were long-time goal of Euro clubs Fewer but longer breaks for international games have long been wanted by European clubs seeking to limit disruption to their seasons, and cut long-haul travel for their players from outside the continent.

Still, the past three weeks have not been popular with one Champions League club, whose coach led his national team Croatia for two years including at the 2014 World Cup.

“We now have the issue of not only having the occasional player coming back injured, but also the fact you go two or 2½ weeks without any momentum,” Borussia Dortmund coach Niko Kovač said this week. “We’re all starting from scratch now, in a sense.”