After two consecutive defeats turned the narrative surrounding PSG into the sort of existential crisis that could only be penned by compatriot Jean-Paul Sartre, Kylian Mbappé’s 55-minute hat trick — taking him to 30 goals on the year and just three behind Lionel Messi in the race for the European Golden Shoe — propelled the club to a sixth Ligue 1 title in seven seasons.
When you’ve recently churned out talent like Marco Reus, Mario Götze and Christian Pulisic, people get a bit more interested in the next generation of young lads at the Hohenbuschei training ground in the quiet Dortmund suburb of Brackel.
The adventures of 19-year-old Benfica phenom João Félix continue. Days after becoming the youngest-ever scorer of a hat trick in the Europa League, Félix scored his 11th goal of the Primeira Liga season in Benfica’s 4-2 victory over Setúbal.
The kid’s been dubbed “the next Cristiano Ronaldo” because he comes from Portugal, does a lot of goals and that’s a really good moniker to drive clicks, but he really doesn’t play like Ronaldo. He’s probably more akin to “the next Kaká.”
After denying itself the league title last week following a 2-2 draw with Strasbourg, PSG traveled to second place Lille today with another shot at securing the crown with a victory or draw. They would achieve neither result, ultimately playing for 49 minutes down a man following Juan Bernat’s red card and losing 5-1.
You might want to remember the name João Félix.
Who is João Félix, you ask? Let his three goals and an assist in Benfica’s 4-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday do the talking for the 19-year-old Portuguese forward.
Félix, who sports the No. 79 on his back, scored his first career Europa League goal on Thursday, then added a second before halftime. He completed his hat trick in the second half to help Benfica take a 4-2 advantage after the first leg of the quarterfinals.
Remember the name: Matheus Cunha.
The 19-year-old Brazilian arrived at RB Leipzig from FC Sion last June for $17.1 million, but he’s been brought along slowly in the Bundesliga with 15 of his 21 appearances coming from off the bench.
However, on Saturday, Cunha scored his second league goal of the season, and my word. The Brazil U-20 forward pulled off a ridiculous Zidane turn to eliminate two Bayer Leverkusen defenders before seamlessly transitioning into a delicate chip over Lukáš Hrádecký.
Hop into The18 time machine and travel back to Jan. 23, 2017, to see “Borussia Dortmund Beat Real Madrid To The Signing Of 17-Year-Old Swedish Phenom” Alexander Isak. After breaking through with AIK and scoring 10 goals during his debut Allsvenskan season, “the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic” made further waves by becoming Sweden’s youngest-ever international goalscorer.
We all still know, as evidenced by his hat-trick against Atletico Madrid, that when it comes to big matches, there’s no player more decisive on the planet than Cristiano Ronaldo. However, given his current injury and focus on the Champions League, it’s safe to say that Ronaldo will not capture the European Golden Shoe this year.
Last night during the USMNT’s 1-1 draw with Chile, winger Christian Pulisic scored his 10th international goal, moving him to joint-22nd on the all time U.S. scoring list alongside the velvety left foot of Eddie Lewis.
The goal was also special because not only did it feature a great first touch from Gyasi Zardes, it also made Pulisic the youngest-ever American to reach 10 international goals.
This story is only going to dominate the entire summer transfer window from start to finish, so we might as well keep abreast of it now. We know that Real Madrid has its eyes on both Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, but which PSG star will ultimately makes his way to the Santiago Bernabéu?
The latest reports say that it won’t be Neymar.
Presently, it looks like Real will turn to Chelsea’s Eden Hazard — who only has one-year remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge, so the club might have to sell this summer — to remedy the left-hand side of the attack.