Kylian Mbappe put speculation over his future to one side to fire Paris St Germain into the Coupe de France quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Brest.
Talk over a potential move to Real Madrid this summer has again intensified in recent days, but Mbappe grabbed his sixth goal in this competition and took his overall tally for the season to 30 with a 34th-minute opener.
Danilo Pereira doubled PSG’s advantage soon after and while Steve Mounie reduced the deficit with 65 minutes played, Lilian Brassier received his marching moments later for Brest before substitute Goncalo Ramos sealed the hosts’ success in stoppage time.
Brest had fought back to earn a 2-2 draw at Parc des Princes in Ligue 1 last month, but PSG were boosted by the return of Achraf Hakimi after his Africa Cup of Nations disappointment with Morocco.
Luis Enrique shuffled his pack with Danilo, Ousmane Dembele and Bradley Barcola brought into the team from Friday’s league win over Strasbourg, which extended their lead at the summit to eight points.
Visiting Brest started strongly and they forced a number of corners during the opening exchanges before Gianluigi Donnarumma made a fine save to deny Hugo Magnetti.
It was to prove crucial with Mbappe able to open the scoring moments later.
Warren Zaire-Emery played a key role, nipping in to find Mbappe, who turned in the area and sent a powerful strike into the corner.
PSG were in the ascendancy and it was 2-0 with eight minutes of the first half remaining.
Dembele did well out wide and crossed in for centre-back Danilo to tap home from close-range.
It was almost three for the hosts before the break but Mbappe thundered an effort against the crossbar following a slick break and Dembele then hit a post from a tight angle.
Those squandered chances kept Brest in the contest and a double change by Eric Roy helped the away side reduce the deficit.
Romain Del Castillo and Mathias Pereira Lage were introduced on the hour mark and the latter quickly made his mark when his cross was headed home by Mounie with 65 minutes on the clock.
Any chance Brest had of restoring parity were hit when Brassier received a second yellow for a poor challenge on Mbappe, who was able to carry on after some treatment.
Mbappe went close to securing the victory with two late efforts, which were saved by Gregoire Coudert before PSG did grab a third.
While Mbappe was involved, it was Hakimi who played the telling pass to the back post where substitute Ramos tapped home in the second minute of stoppage time to book PSG’s place in the last eight.
Nashville SC v San Jose Earthquakes: ‘A win would change everything’ - Godoy
Anibal Godoy insists that Nashville are already looking at their game against San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday as a must-win.
Nashville have won just once in the MLS this season and sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference after a run of four without a win.
The Earthquakes, meanwhile, are bottom of the Western Conference having lost eight of their matches and recording just one win.
Godoy is aware of how their poor start to the season could affect their playoff hopes later down the line but is confident that Nashville can turn things around.
He said: “For us, it's an important week. It's a day we have to win, or we'll start to feel the pressure from other teams as they start to separate in the table.
“This league is long but if we want to get to the playoff you have to win games early on, especially at home.”
Liverpool agree compensation deal for Slot
Liverpool and Feyenoord have reached an agreement in principle over a compensation deal for Arne Slot to become the Reds’ manager next season, according to widespread Dutch media reports.
The Dutchman is reportedly poised to take over from Jurgen Klopp, who announced in January that he would be leaving the club at the end of the campaign.
Slot led Feyenoord to their second Eredivisie title last season after taking over the club in 2021.
It is believed that he topped the list of Liverpool’s favoured candidates due to his attacking playing style and ability to develop players.
Former Liverpool midfielder, Xabi Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, and Sporting CP’s Ruben Amorim were also reported contenders to take over from Klopp.
Slot had already confirmed his interest in managing in the Premier League, both earlier this week and previously when he was linked to Tottenham in 2023.
QPR 4-0 Leeds United: Shock loss for Farke's men seals Leicester's promotion
QPR thrashed Leeds United 4-0 in the Championship on Friday, ensuring Leicester City booked their promotion straight back to the Premier League.
Ilias Chair was the star for the Hoops as he scored the opener and assisted two more goals to ensure QPR will stay in the Championship for another season.
Lucas Andersen, Lyndon Dykes and Sam Field also got their names on the scoresheet in an emphatic win for Marti Cifuentes' side.
Leeds' heaviest defeat of the season was a huge blow in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Ipswich Town just one point behind them in third place with two games in hand going into their away clash against Hull City on Saturday.
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
