Playing with Lionel Messi is "easy" for Kylian Mbappe, who knows Paris Saint-Germain must find a higher level than they did against RB Leipzig on Tuesday.
Messi scored twice to take his tally of Champions League goals to 123 as PSG came out on top 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at Parc des Princes.
While he is yet to find the net in Ligue 1, Messi has now scored three times in UEFA's flagship competition for his new club, taking him level with Mauro Icardi and Neymar for the most goals inside three Champions League appearances for PSG.
With the injured Neymar watching from the stands, Mbappe played a crucial part in both of Messi's goals, first teeing up the 34-year-old to restore parity after Nordi Mukiele made it 2-1 to Leipzig, before winning the penalty from which the Argentine coolly chipped home the winner.
Mbappe opened the scoring in a frantic match, finishing brilliantly in the ninth minute to take his number of direct goal contributions for PSG in the Champions League to 40.
The youngster has already scored 28 goals in the Champions League; the most by any player in the competition before their 23rd birthday, ahead of Messi (25). Mbappe did, however, pull rank over Messi late on to take a second penalty, denying his team-mate the chance of a hat-trick, only to send his effort into the stands.
"We found each other tonight, it was good," Mbappe told RMC Sport when asked about Messi.
"Now, Neymar will come back. We will have to be good together, all three of us. We will need to be efficient. But, it's easy to play with Messi."
While Mbappe and Messi got PSG out of trouble and sent Mauricio Pochettino's side back to the top of Group A, it was another performance largely lacking in control, with Leipzig having 18 attempts in total, eight more than their hosts managed.
Andre Silva, who cancelled out Mbappe's opener, had previously hit the woodwork, while former PSG midfielder Christopher Nkunku also went close on several occasions.
Though he is revelling in his growing relationship with Messi, Mbappe insisted the trend of performances cannot continue.
"In the league, we may be a bit laborious, but we have nine wins in ten games," he said. "We have to do better, it's true. For the moment, we are not playing well, [but] we are winning. But I think we have to play better to win more calmly."
It was a sentiment echoed by Marquinhos, who was also full of praise for Mbappe's display.
"Paris won, that's the most important thing," he said. "You have to suffer, there is no gift in football. We knew that there would be no easy matches. The main thing is to win, to gain confidence and experience.
"It's great to have a player like [Mbappe]. He's a very important player in the team. He plays great matches. It's very important to have him fresh, with confidence. He helps us on the field, it is very good for us that he is there."
Arsenal defender Tomiyasu to miss remainder of season with knee injury
Takehiro Tomiyasu will miss the remainder of Arsenal's push for the Premier League title due to a knee injury.
The Japan international was withdrawn in the opening exchanges of the Gunners' Europa League clash with Sporting CP last week, with Mikel Arteta's side losing that game on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium.
Following Arsenal's 4-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday, Arteta conceded the situation was "not looking good" for the defender.
It has now been confirmed that Tomiyasu will be out for the rest of the campaign after the 24-year-old underwent surgery.
A statement from the club read: "Following his substitution during last Thursday's Europa League match, subsequent assessments have confirmed that Takehiro Tomiyasu sustained a significant injury to his right knee.
"Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of the season.
"Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Tomiyasu featured in 21 matches across all competitions this season for Arsenal, who are hunting their first Premier League title since the 2003-04 season, though just six were as a starter, with Ben White establishing himself as first-choice on the right side.
The Gunners hold an eight-point lead over Manchester City, who have a game in hand, with 10 matches to play.
No drugs, no crime, great World Cup: Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his 10/10 Qatar experience
What Zlatan Ibrahimovic likes most about Qatar is everything.
He made that point in a Sweden press conference on Tuesday, giving 10/10 ratings to all aspects of the World Cup experience and saluting the country's lack of crime and drug problems.
The 41-year-old Milan striker had no part to play in the Qatar 2022 finals, owing to Sweden's failure to qualify, but he was a guest at the final, being pictured at the Argentina versus France showpiece game along with tennis superstar Novak Djokovic.
Asked for his impressions of the tournament and the country as a whole, Ibrahimovic said: "It was fantastic. As awesome as it gets. I was there for two days with the family."
He gave a rundown of his ratings for all aspects he encountered, saying: "The organisation: 10 points. The experience: 10 points. The match: 10 points. Crowd: 10 points. The food: 10 points. The journey: 10 points. Everything was 10 points."
When it was pointed out to Ibrahimovic that Qatar has faced criticism over alleged human rights abuses, Ibrahimovic stuck to his theme and gave a final mark to the country.
"Ten points," he said.
Pressure groups have claimed women and people from LGBTQ+ communities are particularly badly treated in Qatar, along with migrant workers.
Amnesty International said ahead of the World Cup that hundreds of thousands of such workers had been exploited, pointing to thousands dying suddenly or unexpectedly.
The same organisation said last week that "many thousands of workers have been unable to obtain compensation for horrific abuses linked to the World Cup", calling on football's world governing body FIFA to ensure this is rectified.
Qatar has been accused by its critics of attempting to 'sportswash' its reputation by putting on a successful major event that runs smoothly and paints the country in a positive light internationally.
Ibrahimovic will not be levelling such an accusation at Qatar's door, though, because he had a 10/10 time during his stay.
Speaking in a further interview with broadcaster SVT, the former Barcelona, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain striker added: "I think they have given opportunities to get a job. Then how they treated them, I haven't been there and seen, so I can't judge and answer those questions."
Ibrahimovic played for PSG during the early years of the Qatar Sports Investments era at the Parc des Princes, and Qatari club chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi joined him and Djokovic in their World Cup final photo.
The veteran Swede therefore has that close connection, and Ibrahimovic said: "Qatar as a country, I think it is a system that works. Are there drugs? No. Is there crime? No. Is there crime in Sweden? Yes, very much. Drugs? Yes.
"Qatar's system works. The Swedish system? It works, but if it works 100 per cent, I don't know."
Klaasen masterclass sees South Africa coast in third ODI to tie series
Heinrich Klaasen brilliantly took the third ODI away from West Indies with his unbeaten century to give South Africa a four-wicket win and tie the three-match series.
Klaasen scored 119 off just 61 deliveries, completing a routine victory with three consecutive boundaries.
There were still 123 balls remaining, with South Africa's number five batter having accelerated the scoring just as the tourists had recovered some hope at Senwes Park in Potchefstroom.
The Windies were all out for 260, losing their way after a strong start from Brandon King (72) lifted them to 110-1 in the 19th over.
King contributed to his team's downfall when he chose not to run and left partner Shamarh Brooks (18) stranded, slipping in the middle of the pitch for a run out that triggered a steady stream of Windies wickets.
It was still no sure thing the Proteas would chase down their target despite scoring at a good rate, losing four wickets inside 13 overs – including that of captain Aiden Markram for 25.
Yet Klaasen came to the fore, bringing up his hundred off just 54 balls to swiftly bring the finish line into sight.
A showstopping finale saw poor Yannic Cariah punished, conceding 49 runs off only three and a half overs as the Windies' hopes of a rare series win against South Africa were wiped out.
Windies' wait for series win goes on
West Indies have not beaten South Africa in a multi-game ODI series since April 1992, but this represented a real opportunity, leading 1-0 ahead of the final match after the opener was abandoned without a ball bowled.
A failure to capitalise on competitive starts to both innings extended that wait, although the Windies at least ended South Africa's run of seven straight series victories.
Klaasen crashes six after six
Coming into this match, South Africa had hit only 70 sixes in ODIs since the start of last year, compared to 143 for West Indies over the same period.
But Klaasen alone matched the Windies in that regard on Tuesday, smashing five maximums – as many as the entire touring team – to go with 15 fours in South Africa's fourth-fastest ODI century.
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