Mbappe Helps PSG Go Top, Haaland Back among the Goals

Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
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Mbappe Helps PSG Go Top, Haaland Back among the Goals

Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP
Kylian Mbappe scores against AC Milan. FRANCK FIFE / AFP

Kylian Mbappe helped Paris Saint-Germain move top of Champions League Group F with a 3-0 victory over AC Milan on Wednesday, while Newcastle slumped to a first defeat, 1-0 against Borussia Dortmund.

Erling Haaland was back on the scoresheet as Manchester City won 3-1 away to Young Boys, and fellow British side Celtic drew 2-2 in Glasgow against Atletico Madrid, said AFP.

Goals from Mbappe, Randal Kolo Muani and Kang-in Lee in Paris against Milan sent PSG top of the closely-contested Group F with six points.

The deadlock was broken just after the half-hour mark when Mbappe received the ball from Warren Zaire-Emery, unbalanced Fikayo Tomori and then wrong-footed compatriot Mike Maignan with a smart, low finish.

Ousmane Dembele thought he had doubled the hosts' advantage on 50 minutes only for a VAR check to disallow it for a foul in the build-up.

Kolo Muani, the third member of PSG's French front three, then did double the lead three minutes later with a close-range tap-in before Lee struck.

"We are very proud of our performance," Kolo Muani said to Canal Plus.

"Winning these games gives everyone confidence."

Newcastle came back to earth with a home defeat by Borussia Dortmund, which saw the Germans move above them into second place on head-to-head.

It was a tight encounter with Dortmund edging it thanks to a first-half goal from Felix Nmecha.

Nmecha gave Borussia a deserved lead on the stroke of half-time with a well-controlled finish following excellent defensive and then creative work by Nico Schlotterbeck.

Newcastle nearly claimed a point in the closing stages of the match when Callum Wilson's header struck the crossbar, before a later Anthony Gordon chance was deflected on to the woodwork.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzic told TNT: "With the first half we deserved to win and the second half we protected the win."

Haaland breaks duck
Manchester City made it three from three to top Group G, with Manuel Akanji's goal and a Haaland brace seeing off Young Boys in Switzerland.

Man City endured a frustrating first period on a plastic pitch in Bern, with Young Boys goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi producing several fine saves.

Immediately after half-time a stunning save from the Swiss 'keeper saw the ball rebound off the crossbar and fall straight to Akanji.

The hosts stunned the Champions League holders on 52 minutes when Meschack Elia broke clear of the defense and lobbed a finish over the advancing Ederson.

However, hopes of an upset were extinguished when Haaland broke his five-game goal drought in the competition with a penalty in the 67th minute.

After a Julian Alvarez goal was disallowed, the Norwegian striker produced a fine finish to round off a 3-1 win.

"I am sorry, but this guy will score goals all his life, with the chances he is an incredible threat," said City coach Pep Guardiola of Haaland.

In Germany, Leipzig created a five-point buffer for themselves in Group G's second position with a 3-1 win against Red Star Belgrade, thanks to David Raum, a second-half stunner from starlet Xavi Simons and Dani Olmo.

Topsy-turvy in Paradise
The points were shared between Celtic and Atletico in a lively draw, which saw the hosts pick up their first point of the campaign.

Celtic took the lead early when Kyogo Furuhashi lifted the ball beyond Jan Oblak in the fourth minute, completing a fine team move.

On 23 minutes, Joe Hart tipped an Antoine Griezmann penalty onto the post only for it to rebound perfectly to the Frenchman who made no mistake second time round.

The hosts sprang back immediately when a 27th-minute cross fell at the back stick to Luis Palma, who hammered the ball back across the unsighted Oblak.

Alvaro Morata got Atletico back into the tie on 53 minutes when he sent a perfectly judged header back across Hart and into the net.

Rodrigo De Paul picked up a late second yellow card, but the hosts were unable to turn their numerical advantage into a winner.

Feyenoord moved into top spot in Group E following a 3-1 victory against Lazio in the pool's early kick-off.

A Santiago Gimenez brace and first goal for summer signing Ramiz Zerrouki saw the Dutch home despite a late penalty converted by Pedro for Lazio, who dropped into third.

Barcelona saw out a win at home 2-1 against Shakhtar Donetsk thanks to first-half strikes from Ferran Torres and Fermin Lopez, making it three from three for the Group H leaders.

Porto came from behind in Belgium to beat Antwerp 4-1, with all their goals coming in the second half courtesy of an Evanilson hat-trick and Stephen Eustaquio.



Mohamed Salah: Liverpool’s Egyptian King

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Everton - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 2, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Everton - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 2, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
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Mohamed Salah: Liverpool’s Egyptian King

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Everton - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 2, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Everton - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 2, 2025 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

A living legend in Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has two more years to burnish his astonishing legacy at Anfield after extending his contract on Friday.

In the midst of constant speculation over his future, the 32-year-old has produced one of the great all-time individual seasons to take the Reds to the brink of the Premier League title.

The Egyptian has scored 27 goals and provided 17 assists in 31 league appearances to help Arne Slot's men open up an 11-point lead for with seven games to go.

A third player of the year award from both his fellow players and football writers is a formality as Salah's latest prolific season has propelled him into the debate over who is the greatest player of the Premier League era.

Salah's 184 goals in the English topflight is the joint fifth highest in Premier League history, while he also now sits in the top 10 for assists.

He did not arrive at Anfield as a superstar destined for greatness when Liverpool paid Roma £34 million ($44 million) for his services in 2017.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah lifts the trophy after winning the Champions League final match between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid, on June 2, 2019. (AP)

As a pacy winger with promise, Salah had hitherto struggled for consistency and end product with a string of European clubs since making the move from his homeland to Swiss side Basel as a 19-year-old.

Salah failed to make the grade in his first spell in the Premier League at Chelsea as the Blues discarded him after just 19 games in what proved to be a monumental mistake.

A move to Italy, firstly on loan at Fiorentina, before heading to Roma on a permanent basis restored Salah's reputation to tempt Liverpool into taking a punt on his potential, even if he was not Jurgen Klopp's first choice.

The German manager had wanted his compatriot Julian Brandt instead, but was convinced by the club's recruitment team and together they rebuilt the Reds into a force of English and European football once more.

- Fitness fanatic -

Klopp did not take long to be convinced as Salah scored 44 times in a stunning debut season, leading Liverpool to the Champions League final and a top-four Premier League finish.

He was quickly christened "The Egyptian King" on Merseyside and soon the trophies began to flow like his goals.

Salah left the 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in tears after being forced off by a shoulder injury in the first half which also limited the impact he could make for his country at the World Cup finals in Russia a few weeks later.

One year on, he scored in the final as Liverpool beat Tottenham 2-0 to deliver the first silverware of the Klopp era.

The club's first Premier League title for 30 years followed in the coronavirus-disrupted 2019/2020 season.

The FA Cup, two League Cups and another run to the Champions League final in 2022 underlined Liverpool's return to serial trophy contenders under Klopp -- and with it Salah's heightened status within the game and further afield.

He was named among Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2019 in which he was described as an "iconic figure for Egyptians, Scousers and Muslims the world over."

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah controls the ball during the English Premier League match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, on Dec. 16, 2021. (AP)

Salah has used that profile to call for greater gender equality in the Arab world and to appeal for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza following an Israeli air bombardment last year.

However, he has mostly done his talking on the field.

A fitness fanatic, Salah regularly posts images of his workouts on social media which he credits for allowing him to remain among the world's best despite his advancing age.

Klopp's emotional departure last year was seen by many as the end of an era for this Liverpool side.

Instead, in the first season under Dutch coach Slot, Salah has been the catalyst for an unexpected cruise towards the Premier League title.

"It's not a coincidence because the first day I arrived over here, we did a fitness test and he was our fittest player," said Slot.

"So it tells you what his plans were for the season. It also tells you a player that has so many great seasons at a club like this comes back like that tells you a lot about his personality."