Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain won 3-0 at Reims for a fifth straight Ligue 1 victory to move top of the table.
Luis Enrique’s side produced the required response from the midweek Champions League defeat by AC Milan to keep the pressure on Nice, who were held to a goalless draw at Montpellier on Friday night.
However, despite taking an early lead, PSG had to overcome some testing spells at Stade Auguste-Delaune before Mbappe settled matters late on.
MBAPPÉ S HAT-TRICK GIVES PSG THE TOP SPOT IN LIGUE 1
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG)
Mbappe had given the visitors a perfect start by opening the scoring after just three minutes with a superb finish.
Ousmane Dembele swung the ball in from the right and Mbappe dispat…
Italy can continue their unbeaten record in Euro 2012 qualifying when they face Estonia in Modena in Group C on Friday.
Cesare Prandelli s side have won four of their five matches so far and top the group by five points, with Estonia six points behind the leaders in fourth.
Prandelli has selected a strong squad for the visit of Estonia, in what he describes as a decisive match.
Estonia is going to be the decisive game, Prandelli said.
I want a group prepared to graft. We ve always struggled when we play in June and September.
Prandelli has tasted defeat just once as national team boss, that coming in August when Italy were defeated 1-0 by the Ivory Coast in a friendly.
That was his first match in charge, but Prandelli has since shown h…
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O Neill believes his side s next opponents Belgium have the best players at Euro 2016.
Marc Wilmots men are much-fancied at this tournament, but fell to a 2-0 defeat in their opener against Italy.
However, with Ireland hoping to build on their 1-1 draw versus Sweden, O Neill insists that the quality within the Belgium squad makes them a dangerous proposition.
They have, if you look at them, the most talented set of individual players at the tournament. They are very, very dangerous, the former Sunderland boss said.
The Italy game was always going to be difficult, they had three or four chances to score and didn t take them and it will be a tough night for us – but we want to make it tough for them as well.
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Five places in the finals and several playoff berths will be on offer when Euro 2012 qualifying concludes on Tuesday.
England s 2-2 draw in Montenegro on Friday secured Fabio Capello s side top spot in Group G, and saw them become the fifth team to secure a place at next year s tournament in Poland and Ukraine as group winners.
Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are the other teams to have already qualified.
The nine group winners and the best runner-up qualify automatically, with the eight other group runners-up being thrown into the playoffs.
In Group B, Slovakian hopes ended Friday after a 1-0 home defeat against Russia.
That left Dick Advocaat s Russian side two points clear of the Republic of Ireland, and three ahead of third-placed …
Neymar said he is going to give everything to win the World Cup next year as Brazil look to vanquish the demons of 2014.
The 2014 World Cup was supposed to be Brazil s time to shine on home soil, however, the South American giants suffered a demoralising 7-1 semi-final loss to eventual champions Germany.
It was a result that sent shockwaves through Brazil and world football but fast forward to 2017 and Tite s men now head to the Russia showpiece with renewed belief and loom as one of the teams to beat.
Brazil only lost once during CONMEBOL qualifying to book their ticket to next year s tournament and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar insisted confidence is high.
The respect towards the team now is different to what it was three or four years ago after the …
England have staggered and stuttered their way through Euro 2024, but they are nevertheless in another semi-final.
For the third time at a major tournament under Gareth Southgate, the Three Lions are in the last four – the only competition in which they have failed to reach that stage since the start of the 2018 World Cup was in Qatar in 2022.
Standing between them and successive European Championship finals are the Netherlands.
Ronald Koeman s team were unconvincing in the group stage but, unlike their opponents in Dortmund on Wednesday, have clicked into gear in the knockouts.
Whereas England required extra time – and a Jude Bellingham stunner – to break Slovakian hearts, and then stayed perfect from the spot and relied on a save from Jordan Pickf…
Trent Alexander-Arnold says he is absolutely gutted to miss England s Euro 2020 campaign after suffering a thigh injury against Austria on Wednesday.
The Liverpool full-back was the centre of heated speculation ahead of Gareth Southgate s decision to cut his preliminary squad to a selection of 26 this week.
Alexander-Arnold was picked, though, along with three other recognised right-backs in Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier.
However, the 22-year-old will play no part in the competition having gone off injured late on in the 1-0 friendly win over Austria after clearing the ball.
Alexander-Arnold, who faces around six weeks on the sidelines, posted an image on his Twitter account on Friday with the caption: Absolutely gutted.
Sou…
Real Madrid will begin their bid for a first LaLiga title in five years with a trip to Real Sociedad on the opening weekend of the 2016-17 season.
Zinedine Zidane s side are scheduled to meet Clasico rivals Barcelona on December 4 at the Camp Nou before hosting the return clash five games from the end of the campaign on April 23.
After the initial Clasico clash, Madrid will travel to Japan to take part in the Club World Cup between December 8-18, meaning the Champions League holders will have a home-match with Deportivo La Coruna and trip to Valencia that are scheduled during this period rearranged.
Madrid will face capital city rivals Atletico Madrid on November 20 at the Vicente Calderon and April 9 at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid s 2016-17 La Liga fixtur…
Liverpool host Norwich City in the first game of the 2019-20 Premier League season on August 9, with Manchester United against Chelsea at Old Trafford the pick of the opening weekend.
Defending champions Manchester City, seeking a third consecutive Premier League title under Pep Guardiola, open their season away to West Ham on August 10.
Championship winners Norwich face a daunting trip to Anfield to take on the European champions while fellow promoted sides Sheffield United and Aston Villa are away to Bournemouth and Tottenham respectively.
Graham Potter s first game in charge of Brighton and Hove Albion is away to Watford, while Newcastle United versus Arsenal is one of two fixtures scheduled for August 11.
The first weekend of the new Premier League se…
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday s trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team s collective aims.
It s not about me, it s about the team, he said. We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
Besides the tra…