23 April,2019 10:42 AM IST | Paris | AFP
PSG's Kylian Mbappe (top) is ecstatic after scoring a hat-trick v Monaco on Sunday. Pic/AP,PTI
Kylian Mbappe committed his future to newly-crowned Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday after sweeping aside Monaco with a hat-trick in a 3-1 win that also saw the return of superstar strike partner Neymar. "I'm here, I've signed up to the project," said Mbappe, who has been linked with Real Madrid, to TV station Canal+.
"Good for Real Madrid if there is Zizou (Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane), I will watch their matches as an admirer." Mbappe took his league tally for the season to 30 following his treble on Sunday, which came just hours after PSG were crowned champions for the sixth time in seven years when closest challengers Lille dropped points. Their goalless draw at Toulouse left them 16 points behind PSG with only five games to play before kick-off in Paris and allowed the capital club to celebrate the title after missing chances to seal it in their previous three matches. "I'm happy, the season isn't finished yet, and I want to score more," said Mbappe to Canal+. The 20-year-old is targeting the domestic double ahead of next week's French Cup final against Rennes after his side crashed out in the last 16 in the Champions League.
"We're disappointed for what happened with Manchester United, but the game goes on," added Mbappe, referring to his team throwing away a 2-0 first-leg lead to the Premier League outfit. "We obviously expected more from the Champions League but we can't let ourselves be demoralised." Neymar's return at the start of the second half replacing Layvin Kurzawa is the cherry on the cake for Thomas Tuchel's side, who had been without the Brazilian superstar since January 23 with a right foot injury. Edinson Cavani also returned to action for injury-ravaged PSG as a second half substitute, having a late strike correctly ruled out for offside, meaning that their famed front three are back together after months apart.
Thriving Mbappe
Mbappe has thrived in the absence of his strike partners, and gave his side a 2-0 first-half lead with two neat finishes, the first coming in the 15th minute and the second seven minutes before the break after a beautiful pass from Dani Alves. The World Cup winner then put the three points beyond doubt when he tapped in Alves' low cross nine minutes after the break. Aleksandr Golovin rolled home a consolation for the away side, who remain in trouble in 16th place and are only four points away from the relegation play-off spot. "We've not been in the best of form but we played well today. We won again, and that's important," said Tuchel. "The Champions League is a huge goal, but a club like Juventus has been waiting more than 20 years to win that trophy, and that's Juventus."
The Parisians have struggled with key injuries in recent weeks and they lost Italian international midfielder Marco Verratti with what looks like a knock to his left ankle. PSG took the field wearing a shirt with a large image of Notre Dame replacing the usual sponsor's logo. "Notre-Dame" replaced the player names on the back of the shirts. The iconic Paris cathedral was damaged in a spectacular blaze last Monday. The club said that they would put a limited edition of the shirts on sale on line during the match for 100 euros each.
The club said the money "will be donated to associations related to firefighters". The club also posted a "Hommage to Notre Dame" video on their web site in which players praised the team-work of the Paris fire brigade and made a gesture that imitates the two famous towers that form part of the cathedral's facade. The club said it was also using Sunday's game to thank the firefighters.
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