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.
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,” Galtier told broadcaster Canal Plus.
PSG host Bayern in Paris on 14 February, with the second leg in Germany on 8 March. 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.
Incredible scenes in PSG's game at Montpellier! 🤯
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 1, 2023
Kylian Mbappé's first penalty attempt is saved, VAR rules he's allowed a retake, his second attempt hits the post and then he blasts the rebound over the bar! 😳 pic.twitter.com/ERbEGzIUgn
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.
Ruiz then set up 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.
Elsewhere, new Bayern Munich signing Joao Cancelo set up a goal to help his side secure a first win of 2023 with a 4-0 triumph at 10-man Mainz in the German Cup on Wednesday.
Cancelo, who joined the German champions on loan from Manchester City on Tuesday, made an immediate impact, floating in a lofted cross to Cameroon striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who hammered home from close range.
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 game
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) February 1, 2023
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 assist
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 win
Welcome to Bayern, João Cancelo 🤩#MiaSanMia #M05FCB pic.twitter.com/0Odj9ZgpBt
Winless in their first three league games of 2023, Bayern entered the game under significant pressure to advance to the German Cup quarter-finals for the first time in three seasons.
Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané and Alphonso Davies scored the other goals, while Alexander Hack was sent off late on.
Speaking after the match with Sky Germany, Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich welcomed his new team-mate, saying Cancelo would “absolutely” fit in with the German champions.
“He has amazing quality – you can see the quality he brings to the pitch. I hope that we will have fun with him.”
Meanwhile, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski’s strikes helped Barcelona move eight points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Real Betis.
The Catalans put pressure on second-placed Real Madrid, who host Valencia on Thursday, by scraping a narrow win from an intense clash at the Benito Villamarin.
And Serie A bottom club Cremonese shocked Roma with a 2-1 win at the Stadio Olimpico to reach the Coppa Italia quarter-finals.
Jose Mourinho’s side slipped to defeat at home as a Cyriel Dessers penalty and a Mehmet Celik own goal saw Cremonese, without a league victory all season, spring a major surprise.
– © AFP 2023, additional reporting from Press Association.
