Kylian Mbappe became Paris Saint-Germain s top scorer in the Champions League with a penalty against Benfica on Tuesday.
Reports this week suggested Mbappe wants to leave the French capital despite signing a bumper three-year extension in May amid continued interest from Real Madrid.
PSG football advisor Luis Campos said Mbappe had not told him of this wish ahead of the Group H clash with Benfica at Parc des Princes, where the 23-year-old soon made club history.
The World Cup winner coolly converted from 12 yards in the 39th minute to open the scoring after referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot following Antonio Silva s careless foul on Juan Bernat.
That took Mbappe s PSG tally to 31 goals in 48 Champions League appearances, surpassing Edinson Cavani…
Bayern Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller has dismissed reports claiming a deal with Chelsea for Kai Havertz is close as nonsense .
Chelsea have been strongly linked with Germany international Havertz for several months, as the club looks to become Premier League title challengers next season.
Media reports on Monday claimed the two clubs were close to an agreement on a deal worth an initial €80m (£72m), with potential add-ons of up to €20m (£18m).
But Voller is adamant no such deal has been struck, suggesting Chelsea s pursuit of their primary target is still some way off completion.
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en)
This is nonsense, he is reported to have told DPA, in quotes also run by Sport Bild.
If Havert…
Costa Rica will look to end a three-game losing streak with improved firepower when they host Paraguay in San Jose on Wednesday.
In their past three internationals, Costa Rica have failed to score, losing 1-0 to Australia, 4-0 to Chile and 1-0 to South Korea.
But in all three of those matches, neither captain Bryan Ruiz nor leading striker Alvaro Saborio have played the last two players to hit the back of the net for Costa Rica.
Ruiz and Saborio both scored in Costa Rica s 2-1 win over Mexico in October last year.
Saborio has the most goals (31) of any of Costa Rica s active players but remains well adrift of all-time goal-scorer Rolando Fonseca (47).
Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto has picked a strong squad with the likes of Joel Campbell, who scored for…
Jose Mourinho had a nightmare first Clasico as champions Barcelona crushed his Real Madrid side 5-0 at Camp Nou on Monday to go two points clear of their bitter rivals at the top of the Spanish first division.
Spanish World Cup winners Xavi and Pedro Rodriguez put Barcelona into a two-goal lead after just 17 minutes and David Villa marked his first Clasico with a brace inside two minutes (54 min, 56) before Jeffren added a late fifth as Mourinho stomached an unforgettable first defeat in charge of Real.
For Barcelona it was a fifth successive Clasico win over their arch rivals as coach Pep Guardiola maintained his 100 percent record in the fixture and exacted revenge over Mourinho, whose Inter Milan side defeated Barcelona in last season s Champions League semi-finals.<…
Liverpool visit struggling Sunderland in the Premier League with Christian Benteke eager to build momentum after scoring the winner in the 1-0 win over high-flying Leicester City.
Benteke netted the only goal of the game at Anfield on Boxing Day to deal Leicester their first league defeat since September.
The Belgian s strike was his first in seven games but he and eighth-placed Liverpool can afford to be confident of finding the net again at the Stadium of Light against a second-bottom Sunderland side that has shipped 37 goals this season.
Former Aston Villa forward Benteke told Liverpool s official website: I spoke with the manager a few days ago about where I can improve and what he is expecting from me.
We had a good conversation. We had like a m…
Cristiano Ronaldo single-handedly hauled Real Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals as his hat-trick secured a 3-0 quarter-final second-leg win over Wolfsburg.
Madrid appeared to have a sizeable task in front of them having lost the first leg in Germany 2-0 but were rescued in stunning fashion as Ronaldo continued his magnificent goalscoring form in the Champions League.
The former Manchester United forward netted two goals in the space of 90 seconds to bring Madrid level in the tie, before completing his treble and the turnaround with 13 minutes remaining.
Ronaldo halved the aggregate deficit with a composed 15th-minute finish and just one minute and 26 seconds later Madrid were all square as he headed home Toni Kroos corner.
Wolfsburg did not lie…
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is set for release on November 19, but when exactly does the game launch that day? Microsoft has now published the official launch times for the game.
The game launches at 8 AM PT on November 19, which works out to 11 AM EST, 4 PM GMT, and 5 PM CET. People in Tokyo can start playing at 1 AM JST on November 20, while players in Australia can take to the skies beginning at 3 AM AEST that day. Microsoft Flight Simulator is set to launch at the same time globally across Xbox and PC, for both Steam and the Microsoft Store.
Here are the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 launch times:
November 19
- 8 AM PST
- 11 AM EST
- 1 PM BRT
- 4 PM GMT
- 6 PM SAST
November 20
Manchester United have moved to the head of the queue formed by clubs intent on signing Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid, according to .
Reguilon played a fantastic 2019/20 season on loan at Sevilla and earned enough votes to be named the best-left back in La Liga. He also helped the Andalusian club finish fourth and win the Europa League.
However, Zinedine Zidane has apparently made it very clear that the combination of Ferland Mendy and Marcelo is all he needs regarding the left defensive flank, opening the door for Reguilon to leave Madrid again. Sevilla are keen to getting him back, but only on another season-long loan without an option to buy. Chelsea were heavily credited with interest, but that was before they completed the signing of Ben Chilwell from Leicester …
Lionel Messi might have stayed at Barcelona despite his initial attempt to depart, but Toni Kroos thinks Real Madrid would not have wanted to sign him anyway.
Six-time Ballon d Or winner Messi had informed Barca of his wish to leave the LaLiga club last month, with the Argentina forward hoping to exercise a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to depart on a free at the end of the 2019-20 season.
However, Barca were adamant that option had expired and was not still relevant despite the campaign being extended into August by the coronavirus pandemic.
Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter were all linked with a move for one-club man Messi, who eventually confirmed he would stay in Catalonia rather than challenge Barca on legal grounds.
…
Tony Pulis returns to his home country when Stoke travel to Wales to face Cardiff for an FA Cup third-round replay on Tuesday.
Promotion-chasing Cardiff City drew 1-1 at Stoke 10 days ago and manager Dave Jones is keen to claim a Premier League scalp and enjoy a FA Cup run to rival 2008, when the Bluebirds were runners-up, losing 1-0 at Wembley to Portsmouth.
Stoke s Tuncay Sanli equalised after Michael Chopra gave Cardiff an early lead and former Wales international John Hartson is quick to talk up City s chances, though he is expecting a difficult match.
Stoke will be tough opponents and Cardiff will have to defend stoutly, Hartson said.
In the original tie I felt Stoke were the better side, but Dave Jones men deserve a second chance and, especially …