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PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
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PSG Beats Toulouse 3-0 and Akliouche Double Gives Monaco Home Win over Brest

Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra
Lucas Beraldo of PSG celebrates after scoring the 2-0 goal during the French Ligue 1 soccer match between Paris Saint Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC), in Paris, France, 22 November 2024. EPA/Mohammed Badra

Paris Saint-Germain retained a six-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 after a labored 3-0 home win over Toulouse on Friday.
The defending champion dominated the first half but it took until the 35th minute to open the scoring.
Young Portuguese midfielder João Neves spun to meet a cross from the right and struck a superb half volley from just outside the box.
Lucas Beraldo got a second with six minutes remaining when he pounced on loose ball and fired home, The Associated Press reported.
Vitinha made it 3-0 in stoppage time when he showed fine footwork inside the box to finish off a quick counterattack.
The scoreline was harsh on Toulouse, which came into the game in a more even second half.
Only Vitinha’s last-gasp tackle stopped Zakaria Aboukhlal from equalizing after 69 minutes and then Shavy Babicka blazed over from close range a minute later when he should have hit the target.
The win was a confidence boost for Luis Enrique’s side ahead of next Tuesday’s Champions League encounter at Bayern Munich.
PSG lies in 25th place in the 36-team Champions League table with one win in four matches and outside the playoff spots.
Monaco beats Brest: The win came immediately after second-placed Monaco beaten Brest 3-2 to briefly close the gap at the top to three points.
Brest, which faces Barcelona next week in the Champions League, turned in another inconsistent French league performance and not the sparkling form it has shown in Europe.
Brest has struggled in Ligue 1, where it remains 12th, but shone with three wins from four in its first ever Champions League campaign.
It was behind after just five minutes on Friday when Maghnes Akliouche scored with a superb airborne volley, and 2-0 down after 24 minutes thanks to Aleksandr Golovin.
The Russian striker seized on a poor pass just outside the Brest penalty area and his low shot was perfectly placed to sneak in off the post and give him his first goal in nine league appearances.
On-loan Brighton striker Abdallah Sima used his 1.88-meter frame to outjump the Monaco defense four minutes into the second half and cut the deficit but Akliouche restored Monaco’s two-goal cushion when he brilliantly finished a quick counterattack in stoppage time.
Ludovic Ajorque got a second for Brest in the sixth minute of added time but it was not enough in a second half most notable for the red card shown to Brest coach Éric Roy.

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Sports

Nobody Better Than PSG, Says Luis Enrique Ahead of Bayern Semi

Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique arrives for a press conference of French football club Paris Saint-Germain a day ahead of their UEFA Champions League semi-final match against German club FC Bayern Munich at the PSG Campus in Poissy, north-west of Paris, on April 27, 2026. (AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique arrives for a press conference of French football club Paris Saint-Germain a day ahead of their UEFA Champions League semi-final match against German club FC Bayern Munich at the PSG Campus in Poissy, north-west of Paris, on April 27, 2026. (AFP)
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Nobody Better Than PSG, Says Luis Enrique Ahead of Bayern Semi

Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique arrives for a press conference of French football club Paris Saint-Germain a day ahead of their UEFA Champions League semi-final match against German club FC Bayern Munich at the PSG Campus in Poissy, north-west of Paris, on April 27, 2026. (AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Spanish head coach Luis Enrique arrives for a press conference of French football club Paris Saint-Germain a day ahead of their UEFA Champions League semi-final match against German club FC Bayern Munich at the PSG Campus in Poissy, north-west of Paris, on April 27, 2026. (AFP)

Holders Paris St Germain take on Bayern Munich in a Champions League semi-final clash of two of the top attacking teams in Europe, and while Luis Enrique says the German club are the most consistent, no team is better than his side.

Three of the last four teams, PSG, Bayern and Arsenal, are top of their domestic leagues and the German side have clinched the Bundesliga, losing one game, having also lost once in Europe.

While PSG and Atletico Madrid had to come through the playoffs, Arsenal and Bayern were the top two in the league phase. In the last ‌16 and quarter-finals, ‌PSG netted 12 goals and Bayern 16.

"It's not just about ‌attacking ⁠statistics, but if ⁠you look at the defensive ones too, these are the best teams in Europe," Luis Enrique told reporters ahead of Tuesday's first leg at home.

"Arsenal have done an incredible job this season also, in terms of consistency. Bayern are a bit ahead of us because they have only lost two games, but if we speak about what we have shown as a team, we're right up there.

"And no team is ⁠better than us. I said this after we didn't finish ‌in the top eight in the league ‌phase that I didn't see any teams better than us."

Last season, PSG also finished outside ‌the top eight in the league stage before going on to lift the ‌trophy, and in Ligue 1, having battled with Lens for long periods, they are six points clear.

"Every coach wants to head into the run-in in the best possible conditions," the PSG manager said.

"It's the magic of the Champions League which gives special energy to the ‌players, everyone wants to be there and to make the most of this time."

NO NEGOTIATING

Luis Enrique is well aware of ⁠the attacking threat ⁠posed by Bayern, including wingers Luis Diaz and Michael Olise, but that will not change the way his side approach the tie.

"We won the Champions League last season with (full backs) Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes doing what they do," he said.

"Of course they have to defend as well, but we know that they have to attack more than they defend if we want to win.

"We know how difficult it will be and we have to know how to defend well."

The French club had long set their sights on winning the Champions League, and having finally realized that dream last season, there is no chance of a less ambitious PSG this time.

"The first run was a relief, now it's a different source of motivation because last year was great," Luis Enrique said. "We made history. And now, we're hungry for more."

Sports

Salah Will Get Fitting Liverpool Farewell Despite Injury, Says Van Dijk

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
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Salah Will Get Fitting Liverpool Farewell Despite Injury, Says Van Dijk

Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Liverpool v Crystal Palace - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - April 25, 2026 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah during the warm up before the match. (Reuters)

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is certain Mohamed Salah will get the send-off his glittering career deserves, even if injury prevents the Egyptian from playing again for the Reds.

Salah, who will leave Anfield after nine years at the end of the season, was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury in Saturday's 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Liverpool are awaiting the results of a scan to determine the extent of the problem, but with just four games of the campaign remaining, the 33-year-old may not feature again this season.

"If you get injured at this stage of the season, especially in the situation he is in, there is only two more home games left for him, it's a combination of feelings that go through your mind," said Van Dijk.

"He will get the send-off regardless. I don't think that is the thing at this point, we shouldn't think too far ahead.

"Knowing Mo, he is a quick healer and with the right people around him let's see."

Salah has scored 257 goals in 440 appearances since his arrival in 2017, behind only Ian Rush and Roger Hunt in Liverpool's list of leading goalscorers.

The winger has been integral to the club's rise back to the top of English and European football, winning the Champions League and two Premier League titles among a clutch of trophies.

Salah also scooped the players' player of the year award a record three times and was the Premier League's top scorer on four occasions.

Sports

Team-First Kane Propelling Bayern to Glory as PSG Showdown Looms

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)
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Team-First Kane Propelling Bayern to Glory as PSG Showdown Looms

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)
Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal 3:4 during the German first division Bundesliga football match between 1 FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, western Germany on April 25, 2026. (AFP)

Having decisively ended his own silverware drought with back-to-back Bundesliga titles, Harry Kane's team-first approach has been key for a Bayern Munich side now chasing club football's biggest prize.

Whoever makes it through Bayern's Champions League semi-final against holders Paris Saint-Germain, with the first leg in the French capital on Tuesday, will be the favorites for the final in Budapest in May.

Last season's Bundesliga title was Kane's maiden team trophy, at the age of 31. Having added another league crown this season, Bayern's habit of hoovering up trophies is already rubbing off on the England captain.

As always, Kane's individual statistics this year have been stunning. The former Tottenham forward has 53 goals in 45 games in all competitions, the most by an Englishman in any league in almost a century.

And this time around, Kane's goals have come at crucial moments of big games.

Against Real in Madrid, his long-range strike proved to be the winner.

In the second leg, Kane's first-half goal brought Bayern level on the night and put them ahead in a quarter-final tie which was in danger of getting away from them.

- 'I'm here to win the Champions League' -

Kane left England 47 goals shy of Alan Shearer's Premier League scoring record, with some commentators wondering why he would leave with the mark in sight.

But while Kane developed a reputation at Spurs for stacking up individual records rather than team honors, in hindsight the striker's pursuit of goals was a clear example of his team focus.

Since moving to Bayern, a club with quality across the pitch and a number of threats, Kane often drops to help in the build-up, sometimes deep into midfield.

Kane's willingness to sacrifice individual honors for team objectives has never been more evident than in recent weeks, when Bayern had the league largely wrapped up and needed to focus on Europe.

After Bayern beat Dortmund in February, Kane had scored four consecutive braces. With 30 goals in 24 games, he looked on course for Robert Lewandowski's single season record of 41 goals.

But since then, Kane has started just one of Bayern's seven league games, as Vincent Kompany has wrapped him in cotton wool for the big stage.

After coming off the bench to help Bayern come from three goals down to win 4-3 at Mainz on Saturday, Kane told reporters where his true focus lay.

"It'll be tough," Kane said of chasing down Lewandowski's record. "Obviously I'm here to try and win the Champions League and try and win the German Cup.

"So, ultimately that takes priority. All I can do is when I'm on the pitch, try and score, try and impact the game."

Undoubtedly the biggest star in Bayern's dressing room, Kane could have pushed back against his benching, but he backed Kompany's call with loftier goals in mind.

- 'Something special' -

Bayern were always expected to beat Mainz on Saturday, but the way they overran their opponents in the second half showed their unrelenting hunger and desire.

"This team is truly something special -- that team spirit, that mentality -- it is truly unique," sporting director Christoph Freund said afterwards.

"That gives us a tremendous amount of energy for Tuesday."

Kane called PSG "the reigning European champions for a reason," adding the French champions are "a really strong side with some great quality and are well-coached.

"There's going to be a lot of activity. It's going to come down to moments and quality."

One challenge for Bayern is the absence of coach Vincent Kompany, who is suspended for the opening leg.

Kompany's English assistant Aaron Danks will be in the dugout. Kane said Bayern, who have lost just twice in all competitions this season, are well-drilled enough without the Belgian barking orders.

"Of course we'll miss him on the sideline. He's our boss and our leader. But everyone knows what needs to be done, even if the boss isn't on the sideline."