Speculation over Kylian Mbappe's future is finally over as he will be staying at Paris Saint-Germain.
The 23-year-old had widely been expected to join Real Madrid as a free agent, but it was confirmed on Saturday that the France forward has signed a new three-year contract with PSG.
Mbappe joined the Ligue 1 champions from Monaco, initially on loan, in 2017 and has become the capital club's leading light, despite playing alongside Neymar and, as of the 2021-22 season, Lionel Messi.
PSG were desperate to keep hold of the World Cup winner and have now got their wish.
Here, Stats Perform breaks down the key numbers and records behind Mbappe's PSG career to date.
The headline numbers
217 - As he featured in PSG's starting XI against Metz, he has now made 217 appearances so far, more than any other player in the period since he joined the club. Of those appearances, 190 have been starts.
168 - Before the Metz game, the forward had scored an incredible 168 goals for PSG, 72 more than Neymar, who was second on the list since Mbappe made his PSG bow.
77 - Prior to the Metz game, he was also the leading assister since he joined PSG, creating 77 goals.
775 - As expected, he also topped the PSG squad for shots, having had 775, with 398 of those hitting the target. Magnifique.
42 - No player had contributed to more goals across Europe's top five leagues this season heading into Saturday's match than Mbappe, who has been involved in 42.
The records
15 - This season, Mbappe became the first player to score at least 15 goals and provide at least 15 assists in a single Ligue 1 campaign since Eden Hazard did so for Lille in the 2011-12 campaign.
100 - When he scored against Lyon in March 2021, Mbappe became the youngest player to rack up 100 goals in Ligue 1, at the age of 22 years and 91 days. He is also the youngest player to net a century of goals in the top five European Leagues in the 21st century.
2 - Mbappe is already the second-highest Ligue 1 scorer since the turn of the century, having scored 132 times in the competition before Saturday's game. Only PSG great Edinson Cavani, with 138, has netted more.
1 - He is hoping to become the first player to finish as the highest goalscorer and the leading assist provider in the same Ligue 1 season since Opta began collecting such data in 2008.
8 - Ever consistent, Mbappe had scored at least one goal and delivered at least one assist in eight different Ligue 1 games this season, the highest tally of his career in the same top-flight campaign, prior to the final match of the 2021-22 campaign.
3 - Mbappe is aiming to be the third player to finish as the highest goalscorer in four consecutive Ligue 1 seasons, after Carlos Bianchi (four in a row with Reims and PSG) and Jean-Pierre Papin (five in a row with Marseille).
50 - It is not just domestically that Mbappe has thrived. Since Opta collected such data, starting in the 2003-04 season, he is the fastest and youngest player to have reached 50 goal involvements in the Champions League, doing so in 51 matches, by the age of 22 years and 352 days.
32 - As of kick-off against Metz, Mbappe was 32 goals shy of matching Cavani's club record of 200 for PSG.
Simeone delighted with Le Normand return after traumatic brain injury
Diego Simeone was delighted that he was able to welcome defender Robin Le Normand back to the starting XI for Atletico Madrid's 3-1 Copa del Rey victory over Cacereno.
Le Normand had not played since his side's 1-1 draw at home to city rivals Real Madrid in September, in which he suffered a severe head injury following a collision with Aurelien Tchouameni and required extensive treatment on the pitch.
Thursday's match against fourth-tier opposition was his ninth appearance since joining the club from Real Sociedad in the summer and Simeone was pleased to see the Spain international back on the pitch.
"We are very happy that he is back with the team," Simeone said.
"It is normal that he needs that time to get back to playing, he will need that time playing, training and competing to be at his best. We are waiting for him and we need him, he is a very important player for us."
The match itself was not as straightforward as Atleti would have liked, having gone a goal down after half an hour.
It took an 83rd-minute Clement Lenglet goal to draw level before an effort from Julian Alvarez and an Adri Perez own-goal in stoppage time secured Atleti's passage through to the next round.
Having taken until the 81st minute to get ahead in their 2-0 victory over sixth-tier Vic in the previous round, Simeone explained he had been expecting it to be a tough test.
"We had been through it with Vic. They are not easy, Girona, Villarreal, Espanyol have been eliminated. It is not easy. The teams have enormous enthusiasm, they work together as a team, they get a goal that raises their enthusiasm. It is not easy to keep it up until the end," he said.
"The game was as expected, a great cup game, with a very hard-working opponent. When you show little decisiveness you run the risk of losing. We have to improve in that part."
Misfiring Mbappe vows to respond as Real Madrid brace for Girona clash
Kylian Mbappe is firmly under the spotlight after missing his second penalty in a week, but he has vowed to bounce back.
Real Madrid travel to Girona on Saturday to face last year's surprise package in LaLiga.
Madrid were left licking their wounds after a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, their fourth defeat in the last seven games in all competitions.
Los Blancos, who are missing a host of players through injury including talisman Vinicius Junior, missed a golden opportunity to close the gap on leaders Barcelona, who they trail by four points with a game in hand.
Their absentee list also includes Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Carvajal and Eder Militao, the latter two out for the season with ACL tears, but perhaps Madrid's biggest concern has been the form of Mbappe.
The France captain and World Cup winner arrived from Paris St Germain with sky-high expectations to boost an already stellar squad, but so far struggled to settle, looking tentative and out of sync with the rest of the team.
While he has scored 10 goals in all competitions, his all-round game has often been poor, and he was out of sorts again against Bilbao.
His penalty miss was a tame effort that made it easy for goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala to palm away; almost a carbon copy of the spot-kick he missed the previous week in Madrid's Champions League loss to Liverpool.
Ancelotti admitted after the game that Mbappe was not in his best form and the France captain vowed to react.
"Bad result. A big mistake in a match where every detail counts. I take full responsibility for it. A difficult moment but it's the best time to change this situation and show who I am," Mbappe posted on Instagram.
After a stuttering start to the season, Girona have picked up form. They are on a four-game unbeaten run in the league and are eighth in the LaLiga standings on 22 points.
Yet their growing optimism suffered a blow on Wednesday as they were shocked in a 4-3 penalty-shootout defeat in the Copa del Rey by 10-man fourth-division side Logrones, who knocked them out in the second round.
Madrid have won their last two meetings with Girona in LaLiga, keeping clean sheets in both, and can make it three wins in a row against the Catalan side for the first time in the top flight.
Lazio 3-1 Napoli: Noslin hat-trick fires Biancocelesti into Coppa Italia quarter-finals
Tijjani Noslin's hat-trick booked Lazio's place in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals following a 3-1 victory over Napoli.
The Dutch forward's first treble of his career proved decisive at Stadio Olimpico, where Giovanni Simeone's strike proved nothing more than a consolation for the visitors.
Lazio were awarded a penalty in the 20th minute after Elia Caprile brought down Pedro, but the Napoli goalkeeper redeemed himself with a smart save to deny Mattia Zaccagni from 12 yards.
Nevertheless, the hosts broke through in the 32nd minute. Samuel Gigot headed Loum Tchaouna's deep centre back across goal for Noslin to nod home.
Simeone brought Napoli level four minutes later, tucking away a rebound after Christos Mandas could only parry David Neres' initial effort.
However, Noslin put Lazio back in front within five minutes after Pedro cushioned a cross neatly into his path, before completing his hat-trick early in the second half when heading home Zaccagni's centre.
Data Debrief: Another last-16 exit for Partenopei
Lazio are through to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals for a 14th consecutive season, after Noslin stole the show in Rome.
The Dutchman had never previously in his career scored two goals in the same match, let alone three.
Meanwhile, Napoli have now won just one of their last six away games in the Coppa Italia, and have exited the tournament at this stage in each of the last four seasons.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
