PSG defeated Lille 2-0 on Sunday to go 10 points clear of Marseille at the top of the Ligue 1 table. Both of the goals were scored by Neymar — the first a sensational effort from the top of the box and the second from the penalty spot — who celebrated his brace by paying tribute to Kobe Bryant. Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were involved in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of everyone on board.
For keen followers of the world’s game, Feb. 5 is something of a holiday. A startling number of legendary players were born on that day, from Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez to Gheorghe Hagi and the inimitable Neymar.
But this year, Feb. 5 will come with a bit less fanfare, a bit less pomp and revelry.
This year, Neymar won’t be having an exorbitantly extravagant party to celebrate his 28th birthday.
Nearly every FIFA video game player can recall one moment they wanted to rip their hair out and throw the controller out the window. The reasonings may differ, but the majority of the time it’s because of the most blasphemous and ridiculous spell of play that leads to conceding.
The majority of these instances are defended with “that would never happen in a real game” or “a real life player would never make that mistake.”
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!