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.



Verstappen Needs a Home Win to End Losing Streak 

Max Verstappen. (Reuters)
Max Verstappen. (Reuters)
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Verstappen Needs a Home Win to End Losing Streak 

Max Verstappen. (Reuters)
Max Verstappen. (Reuters)

Max Verstappen has won every Dutch Grand Prix from pole position since his home race returned to the Formula One calendar in 2021 but Red Bull's triple world champion faces a tough test this weekend.

Zandvoort has become a seaside party for Verstappen's revved-up Orange Army but this time the 26-year-old is on his longest losing streak in four years.

Mercedes have won three of the last four races and Verstappen, who leads by 78 points with 10 rounds remaining, has not stood on top of the podium since Spain on June 23.

In fact, he has had only one podium appearance since Barcelona.

Sunday will be Verstappen's 200th start in Formula One, making him the youngest driver to reach that milestone, and the only F1 winner at Zandvoort in his own lifetime wants to make it even more memorable.

"It is always a fantastic atmosphere, and the fans are incredible, so it is a special one for me," he said, declaring himself refreshed and ready for the second half of the season after the August break.

"We are looking forward to the week ahead and hopefully we can be fighting for the win."

Mexican teammate Sergio Perez, the only driver from the top four teams yet to win this season, has a new race engineer with regular Hugh Bird going on paternity leave and Richard Wood standing in.

"I know what we can extract from the car in the coming weeks and we will do our best to maximize the second half of 2024," said Perez, whose poor form has put Red Bull at risk in the constructors' standings.

McLaren are only 42 points adrift with Australian Oscar Piastri taking a win and two seconds from his last four races while British teammate Lando Norris remains second overall despite costly mistakes.

HAMILTON REVIVAL

Mercedes' seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton has won two of the last three, after teammate George Russell was disqualified from first in Belgium just before the break.

The 39-year-old Ferrari-bound Briton has scored more points than any driver in the last four races but is 127 behind Verstappen.

"We know we have ground to make up. We are not yet able to compete for victories at every Grand Prix," team boss Toto Wolff cautioned.

"We have made good steps in improving the W15's weaknesses though and will continue to work hard to take more. If we can do so, then we will close the gap to those ahead in both championships."

Ferrari's campaign may be firing up again too, with Monaco winner Charles Leclerc on pole again in Belgium and finishing third after fourth place in Hungary.

With a home race at Monza immediately after Zandvoort, the Ferrari fans will be looking for positive signs.

Further back, Renault-owned Alpine will mark a year since their last podium appearance and with a new team boss -- Oliver Oakes -- making his debut as replacement for Bruno Famin.