Mbappe ends PSG scoring drought in Angers win

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe ended a four-game scoreless streak for Paris St Germain with a late penalty that helped the capital side provisionally extend their Ligue 1 lead to nine points with a 2-1 home win against Angers on Friday.

The France striker buried his spot kick three minutes from time after Danilo Pereira had cancelled out Angelo Fulgini’s first-half opener to put PSG on 27 points from 10 games.

Angers, who were the best side in the opening half, are fourth on 16 points as they left the Parc des Princes frustrated after a VAR review gave PSG the late penalty for a Pierrick Capelle handball.

Second-placed RC Lens travel to Montpellier on Sunday.

Without their South American internationals Lionel Messi and Neymar, who played World Cup qualifiers with Argentina and Brazil respectively on Thursday, PSG struggled and looked short of ideas throughout.

PSG won their opening eight games but were soundly beaten by Rennes in their last game and couldn’t manage a shot on target in the first half.

Angers took the lead in the 36th minute when Fulgini flicked the ball home from point-blank range from Sofiane Boufal’s cross. In the 63rd, Juan Bernat replaced Abdou Diallo for his first appearance in more than a year following a serious knee injury.

PSG lacked inspiration, failing to bring danger into the visitors’ area, but in the 69th, Ander Herrera found Mbappe on the right flank and the France striker sent a fine cross for Pereira, who headed home to equalise.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side pushed and were rewarded in the 87th when Capelle appeared to handle Mauro Icardi’s header and Mbappe kept his cool to convert the resulting spot kick for his fifth league goal of the season.

“We were without 80 to 90 percent of our players during the international break, but the players who haven’t played much put in a great effort and it’s a great three points,” said Pochettino, who was grateful for the presence of Mbappe. “We know Kylian is a great player, one of the best in the world, and he shows up when the team needs him.”—Agencies

Al Sagheer Club hit 11 past Airport Club

KARACHI: Al Sagheer Club (Colours) overwhelmed Airport Club 11-0 in the Inter-Club Hockey Championship at the KHA Sports Complex on Saturday.

Hamza Mohsin and Ashir Ahmed stole the limelight for the winning outfit with hat-tricks to their credit. The former banged home four goals while the latter three as Al Sagheer Club (Colours) led 4-0 at half-time.

Sumair Saleem, Arif Hanif, Arsalan Munir and Salman Khursheed netted one goal apiece in the one-sided encounter.

In the next match, Karachi Kings Club outplayed Badruddin Club 6-0. Wajid Hussain, Rehan Khan, Samad Khan, Rohan Khan, Waqas Khan and Essa Khan netted once for the winners in yet another one-sided match.

Nazimabad Mujahid Club held Cantt Combined Club to a 2-2 stalemate in the third match of the day.

Mohammad Zeeshan and Mohammad Faraz scored one goal each as Cantt Combined led 2-1 at half-time. Imran Rasheed and Raja Tanveer scored once to ensure Nazimabad Mujahid share points with their opponents.

In the last match, Arsalan Haider notched a hat-trick as National Club overcame Al Faisal Club 3-2 to open their account in Pool ‘G’. Asif Raza and Mohammad Aqib netted one goal apiece for the Al Faisal Club.

Sunday’s fixtures: Sea Hawk Club vs Karachi Fitness Club at 2pm; Airport Club vs Habibians Club at 3pm; Youth Hockey Club (Orange) vs Spartan Club at 4pm; Youth Club (Blues) vs Nazimabad Mujahid Club at 5pm.—Sports Reporter

Aqeel downs Muzammil to lift title

LAHORE: Top seed Aqeel Khan eased past Muzammil Murtaza 6-3, 7-5 to lift the men’s singles title in the Sapphire National Open Tennis Championship which ended at the Punjab Lawn Tennis Association courts here on Saturday.

Aqeel, who at 41 is two decades older than his opponent, was strong from the baseline and won points from both his forehand and backhand to follow up his victory in the doubles event on Friday.

Other results (finals):

Boys’ U-18 singles: Bilal Asim bt Faizan Fayyaz 6-1, 6-1.

Boys’ U-18 doubles: Mahatir Mohammad/Sami Zaib Khan bt Ali Talha/Huzaima Abdul Rehman 6-4, 6-1.

Girls’ U-18 singles: Amna Ali Qayum bt Natalia Zaman 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Boys’ U-16 singles: Bilal Asim bt Abdul Hanan Khan 7-6, 6-1.

Boys’ U-14 singles: Hamza Roman bt Asad Zaman 7-5, 7-5.

Boys’ U-14 doubles: Abu Bakar Talha/Zohaib Afzal Malik bt Shasawar Khan/Taimoor Khan 4-0, 4-1.

Girls’ U-14 singles: Amna Ali Qayum bt Zunaisha Noor 4-2, 3-5, 4-0.

Boys’ U-12 singles: Hamza Ali Rizwan bt Umer Jawad 5-3, 4-2.

Girls’ U-12 singles: Zunaisha Noor bt Hajra Sohail 4-2, 2-4, 4-1.

Boys & Girls U-12 doubles: Abu Bakar Talha/Zohaib Afzal Malik bt Hamza Ali Rizwan/Umer Jawad 1-4, 4-2, 10-7.

Boys & Girls U-10 singles: Abdur Rehman bt Shayan Afridi 2-4 ,4-2, 5-3.

Boys & Girls U-8 singles: 1. Mustafa Uzair Rana (gold medal); 2. Zaina (silver); 3. Salaar Khan (bronze).

Boys & Girls U-6 singles: 1. Danyal Malik (gold); 2. Salaar Khan (silver); 3. Soha (bronze).—Sports Reporter

Ambitious Cologne routed by Hoffenheim

HOFFENHEIM: Ambitious Cologne came back to earth with a resounding thud as Hoffenheim turned on the style to win 5-0 in the Bundesliga on Friday.

Cologne were sixth before kickoff but their strong form came with a little weakness considering they had conceded at least one goal in every game, and Hoffenheim exploited that fully to prove they play better against the leading sides.

Togo striker Ihlas Bebou led the way with the opening two goals, his first in the 31st and his second with a deft backheel from a cross shortly after the break.

It was not long before coach Sebastian Hoeness was celebrating again as Austria midfielder Christoph Baumgartner made it 3-0 following another flowing team move. Fellow midfielder Dennis Geiger added another, then defender Stefan Posch rose brilliantly to meet a cross from the left and power a looping header into the top corner.

Cologne’s defeat dropped them to seventh spot while Hoffenheim improved to eighth and sit just one point behind after eight rounds.—AP

Shabbir catches up with Tariq

LAHORE: Shabbir Iqbal shot a four-under 68 to move level on 137 with opening-round leader Mohammad Tariq atop the leaderboard of the Punjab Open Golf Championship at the PAF Skyview Golf Course on Saturday.

Tariq, who fired a 66 on Friday, returned a 71 and he and Shabbir are a stroke ahead of Matloob Ahmed and Ahmed Baig going into Sunday’s final round.

In what promises to be a fascinating duel to the professionals’ title, a further stroke adrift are Mohammad Shahzad, Taimoor Khan, Adil Jehangir and Akbar Mehroz.

Mohsin Zafar (139) leads the amateurs’ contest by ten strokes from Hussain Hamid. Damil Ataullah is third at 150.—Sports Reporter

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2021