The United States’ closest version to the Champions League final will be underway soon. The College Football Playoff National Championship between LSU and Clemson is set for 8 p.m. EST on Monday, Jan. 13, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
College football fans outside of the good old USA are few and far between. Hell, even a good number of Americans couldn’t tell you what state Clemson is even in. (Hint: It’s in South Carolina).
On Friday, Kylian Mbappé celebrated his 21st birthday. On Saturday, it was Mbappé who was providing the gifts with two glorious goals during PSG’s 4-1 win over Amiens SC and a signed book for a young pitch-invader.
Bored with dominating Ligue 1 with his natural hair color, Mbappé debuted a new color against Amiens while Neymar went with a clip-on Padawan braid. It was Neymar who provided the assist on Mbappé’s opener, and the Brazilian would add a goal of his own to double PSG’s advantage. Mbappé would make it three in the 65th minute by smashing one in at the near post.
Injuries, a contentious World Cup and the personal admission of a desire to abandon the PSG project have all adversely affected Neymar over the past two years — so much so that he found himself omitted entirely from the 30-man list for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
It’s been a good week for PSG phenom Kylian Mbappé. Despite his tender age of 20, Mbappé finished in the top 10 of Ballon d’Or voting for the third straight year on Monday. On Wednesday, he scored in PSG’s 2-0 victory over Nantes. On Saturday, he scored an outrageous backheel goal and recorded an assist in PSG’s 3-1 victory over Montpellier.
Just another day at the office for PSG sensation Kylian Mbappé on Wednesday. The 20-year-old scored his sixth goal in nine Ligue 1 games to keep PSG’s lead over second-place Marseille at five points. He also performed a shifty elastico and was asked by an opposing player to exchange shirts at halftime.
After finishing sixth in 2019 Ballon d’Or voting on Monday, the prodigy delighted fans inside the Parc des Princes by looking very much like El Fenomeno with this trick.
Tuesday’s Champions League Group A encounter between Real Madrid and PSG at the Santiago Bernabéu was pretty much meaningless. Both teams entered the match with Round of 16 qualification secured, and even a Real victory would do little to wrest top spot from PSG due to the Parisians’ perfect record thus far.
Imagine you’re in Edinson Cavani’s shoes this morning, strolling around the streets outside the Bernabéu in search of that precious, caffeine-rich mate before tonight’s big Champions League encounter with Real Madrid.
You’re not in the best spirits. You’ve missed a good portion of the season through injury, and in your absence, that goddamn Mauro Icardi has scored 10 goals in 11 games to take your job. Now everyone wants to offer Icardi a permanent contract and is totally fine with yours expiring in the summer!
Fresh off a hamstring injury that cost him six games, 37 days and a myriad of hot takes, Neymar returned to the pitch on Friday for first-place PSG’s encounter with seventh-place Lille in Ligue 1.
In the midst of it all, it’s unfortunate how much the off-the-pitch noise engulfs the 27-year-old Brazilian. He’ll certainly never be Mexico’s cup of tea, but notwithstanding tribal feuds, he remains football’s second-best attraction behind Lionel Messi (I have all the time in the world for the Cristiano Ronaldo G.O.A.T. argument, but he's really not that fun to watch anymore).
Four days ago, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp ruled out a move for PSG’s Kylian Mbappé while lamenting the fact that no club could possibly afford the 20-year-old phenomenon. On Tuesday, Real Madrid reportedly said hold my beer and began preparing a $440 million bid for the World Cup winner.
It’s not been the best week for Neymar. On Monday, the Brazilian missed out on the 30-player shortlist for the 2019 Ballon d’Or award. On Tuesday, he missed PSG’s 5-0 beatdown of Club Brugge due to a hamstring injury he picked up on international duty.