Mbappe misses penalty, comes off injured in PSG win

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 3-1 win at Montpellier on Wednesday but their evening was overshadowed by an injury to Kylian Mbappe, who had earlier missed a penalty. The France superstar had an eighth-minute spot-kick saved by Montpellier’s Benjamin Lecomte and then remarkably saw his second attempt turned onto the post by the goalkeeper after the referee ordered a retake. Mbappe then limped off with what looked like a hamstring injury midway through the first half, raising the alarm for PSG with the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich now less than two weeks away.

Speaking after the game, coach Christophe Galtier suggested the injury was down to a knock rather than a muscle problem. “He took a knock to the back of the knee or the back of the thigh, so we’ll see,” Galtier told broadcaster Canal Plus. PSG host Bayern in Paris on February 14, with the second leg in Germany on March 8.

They are desperate to avoid a repeat of last season when they were knocked out at the same stage of the Champions League by Real Madrid. After winning just one of their last four league games, Wednesday’s awkward trip for PSG saw them also lose Sergio Ramos to injury and have two goals disallowed before Fabian Ruiz put them ahead 10 minutes into the second half. Ruiz then set up Messi to make it 2-0 with a deft finish in the 72nd minute, the Argentine scoring his 14th club goal of the season.