25, July 2020
Football: Mbappé injury spoils party as PSG win bad-tempered French Cup final 0
Paris Saint-Germain won the French Cup title on Friday but saw Kylian Mbappé limp off the pitch with an ankle injury as football returned to the country after a four-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A lone Neymar goal in the 14th minute was enough to see off feisty Saint-Etienne on a bittersweet night for the Parisians, whose hopes of Champions League glory next month may have been dented by Mbappé’s injury.
The 21-year-old World Cup-winner was brought down by a clumsy tackle from Saint Etienne captain Loic Perrin in the 26th minute, with his right ankle turning as he fell. Perrin was duly sent off for the challenge.
Mbappé is a key player in PSG’s hunt for four titles this season. The French champions face Olympique Lyonnais in the League Cup final next Friday and have a Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta coming up next month.
The fixture at the Stade de France marked the return of French football after a four-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Unlike the rest of Europe’s top leagues, which eventually restarted despite the health crisis, France’s Ligue 1 ended prematurely in March with PSG crowned champions for the seventh time in eight years.
French President Emmanuel Macron attended Friday’s final as per tradition, but fewer than 5,000 spectators were permitted at the 80,000-seater venue as part of stringent health regulations.
The contest got off to an eventful start with Yvann Maçon felling Neymar in the opening seconds to earn a yellow card and Saint-Etienne’s Denis Bouanga hitting the post in the fifth minute.
But it was the Parisians who scored when Neymar pounced on a rebound after an Mbappé shot was blocked by goalkeeper Jessy Mouli.
Ten minutes later, Perrin’s rough tackle put Mbappé out of the game. The Saint-Etienne captain was sent off in his last game and four other players were booked as tempers briefly flared.
Saint-Etienne kept finding ways into the PSG box even after going a man down, but missed out on adding to their six Cup wins.
Source: France 24
26, July 2020
Football: Mourinho vows to get Tottenham back in top four next season 0
Jose Mourinho vowed to get Tottenham back “where we belong” next season after they settled for Europa League qualification at the end of a troubled campaign.
Mourinho led Tottenham to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
Tottenham were 14th when Mourinho took charge in November following Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking and he endured a series of injuries to key players before the coronavirus hiatus.
So, while Mourinho was frustrated to have missed out on Champions League qualification, the Tottenham boss believes the foundations have been laid for a return to the top four next season.
“What we can do of course is improve. When all the players are available we showed in this last period where we belong. I don’t know, maybe in this period, after lockdown, we finished third or fourth in the table,” Mourinho said.
“So that’s where we belong. I want to have my team, my players, not a medical room full of players. I want a pitch full of players.
“Of course as a squad the main thing is to keep our very good players and after that improve the squad.
“Are we going to buy 10 players? No. Are we going to buy players for £100 million? No. We are going to improve.”
Mourinho oversaw a six-game unbeaten run to deliver Europa League qualification, overturning a seven-point gap to sixth place after a loss at Sheffield United earlier this month.
While the Europa League doesn’t have the prestige of the Champions League — in which Tottenham finished as runners-up last year — Mourinho said they should focus on winning the competition next season.
“Of course everybody that one day plays Champions League doesn’t want to go back and play Europa League but it was the only thing possible after such a difficult season for club,” he said.
“Arriving 14th and handling things is not bad at all. I am quite happy next season we play in Europa League and it’s just a question to motivate ourselves for that competition and try to motivate the fans to support us and do something beautiful.”
Source: AFP