Mbappe magic sinks Real Madrid and Man City thrash Sporting Lisbon

(Football news) Mbappe gave the Real Madrid fans a glimpse of what he’ll bring to the table next season as he scored an exquisite goal at the death to give PSG a 1-0 advantage round of 16 first leg. The match initially was a very cagey affair as both teams were figuring each other out but after only five minutes Mbappe twisted and turned Dani Carvajal down the left wing before rifling a low cross across the face of goal that Angel Di Maria blazed over the bar from close range. On the 18 minute mark, Mbappe got behind Carvajal again to pick up a lofted ball over the top which was provided by Messi but in the end he couldn’t his footing right and scuffed his effort, allowing Thibaut Courtois to save his tame shot. 

Five minutes into the second half, Courtois was again called upon to deny Mbappe, the Madrid goalkeeper was on his toes the entire match as Mbappe was causing havoc on the left flank and Dani Carvajal had a torrid time defending him. The decisive moment came in the match when Mbappe was fouled in the penalty area by Carvajal in the 61st minute, allowing Messi a golden opportunity to score from 12 yards but the former Barcelona talisman hit a tame penalty that Courtois saved brilliantly to keep his side in the game. Mauricio Pochettino reacted by introducing Neymar for the final 20 minutes, and in the end it was his backheel that opened up the defence and allowed Mbappe to dance between two defenders and then coolly slide the ball between Courtois legs into the far corner to earn PSG a deserved victory. Madrid finished the game with zero shots on target while PSG had eight with almost 60% of possession.

"It was a great game for us and I'm always ready to help my team, there are no distractions. We have to be humble and the second leg is still open. It will be a hard game but we will have the advantage and are very confident." said Mbappe, who has now scored 13 goals in his past 13 Champions League matches.

"No, I'm always ready to play, to help my team. People talked about me for this game, it's normal, but I'm focused, I'm happy to be a Paris player, and I give 100% for the club,” Mbappe said after the game when asked if he had extra motivation for this tie.

Manchester City have one foot in the Champions League quarter final as they thrashed Sporting Lisbon 5-0. Pep Guardiola's side scored four goals in the first half as Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden and a brace from Bernardo Silva had virtually sealed Sporting’s fate. Raheem Sterling also got on the scoresheet in the second half as the last year’s runners up cruised to an emphatic away win. Man City took the lead just after seven minutes from kick off when Mahrez tapped home from a Kevin de Bruyne cross. The goal was initially ruled offside but after a lengthy VAR check the goal was given. City then doubled their lead 10 minutes later as Bernado Silva scored from a magnificent half volley which went off the crossbar after Sporting failed to clear the corner.

The Premier League champions then just went on rampage mode as they grabbed a third goal after the half an hour mark when Foden bundled home from close range while Silva made it 4-0 before the break. Man City made history as for the first time an English side has scored four goals in the first half of a Champions League knockout game since Manchester United won 7-1 against Roma in 2007. Sterling then went to curl a sublime goal into the top corner to score his 150th goal of his club career. The goal also made sure that City became the 14th team to score 200 goals in the Champions League. 

"It's a very good performance. I honestly think in the first half we weren't good enough to be 4-0 up."I'm Portuguese, I'm from the other side of the city. My mum is Sporting, my dad is Benfica. It was special to score here in my hometown.We still have a job to do in Manchester."  Silva said

"I don't think the team were nervous, it is just Manchester City are the best in the world, and they killed us every time they came into our box," Sporting coach Ruben Amorim said.

Also read:Manchester United defeat 10 man Brighton to move into fourth place

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