World Sports News in Brief

Mbappe double helps PSG to thrilling win at holders Bayern

Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe scored twice to steer the visitors to a 3-2 victory over holders Bayern Munich in a topsy-turvy Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday (Apr 7).

Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe scores their first goal. (Photo: Reuters)
Paris St Germain's Kylian Mbappe scores their first goal. (Photo: Reuters)

Mbappe fired in his eighth goal of the competition in the 68th minute after Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting in the 37th minute and Thomas Mueller on the hour had cancelled out a two-goal PSG lead. It was Bayern’s first Champions League loss in more than two years.

* Superb individual goals from English pair Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell gave Chelsea a 2-0 win away to Porto in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday in Seville as the Londoners made the most of their few chances. The second leg on April 13 will also be played at Sevilla's Sanchez Pizjuan stadium due to coronavirus restrictions on travel between Portugal and England.

* The French Open is set to be postponed by a week, starting on May 30 instead of May 23, sports daily L'Equipe reported on Wednesday. The event usually begins on the fourth Sunday in May, ending in early June.

* Real Sociedad broke Atletico Bilbao's hearts for the second time in four days as Roberto Lopez hit a late equaliser in their Basque derby La Liga clash on Wednesday, four days after defeating their arch-rivals in the Copa del Rey final. Captain Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the spot as Real Sociedad won their first trophy since 1987 in the postponed 2020 cup final.

* Paris St Germain forward Neymar has been suspended for their next two Ligue 1 matches after he was sent off in Saturday's 1-0 league loss to Lille, the Disciplinary Commission of the French professional league said on Wednesday.

* Brazilian club Palmeiras drew first blood in the final of South America's Recopa on Wednesday, beating Argentine side Defensa y Justicia 2-1 in the first leg in Buenos Aires. The fixture, also known as the 'Supercup', is an annual showdown between the winners of South America’s two premier club tournaments - the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

* Inter Milan moved 11 points clear at the top of Serie A as Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez struck in a 2-1 win over Sassuolo on Wednesday, the runaway leaders' 10th consecutive league victory. With nine matches left, Inter are firmly on course to win their first Serie A title since 2010 with 71 points, 11 ahead of second-placed AC Milan.

* Werder Bremen scored early in the second half and survived late pressure to beat second division side Jahn Regensburg 1-0 away on Wednesday in their postponed German Cup quarter-final and set up a last-four clash with RB Leipzig. Werder will host Leipzig on April 30 in their semi-final with Borussia Dortmund taking on second division's Holstein Kiel a day later.

* Atalanta midfielder Matteo Pessina has tested positive for COVID-19, the Serie A club announced on Wednesday, becoming the seventh confirmed case from the Italy squad since the international break.

* Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez has been ruled out of action for around three weeks with a muscle injury, handing another blow to the club's fast fading title bid. Suarez, Atletico's top scorer this season with 19 league goals, pulled up injured in Wednesday's training session and his club later released a medical report confirming he had hurt a muscle in his left leg.

* Manchester United have been handed a boost ahead of Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first leg against Granada with forward Marcus Rashford set to travel with the team after shaking off an injury. England international Rashford, who has scored 19 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions this season, sustained a knock in the 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League and missed training on Tuesday.

* Arsenal left back Kieran Tierney will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a knee injury while midfielder Martin Odegaard is a doubt for Thursday's Europa League quarter-final clash against Slavia Prague, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Arsenal said Tierney, who was forced off with a knee problem just before halftime in a 3-0 loss to Liverpool over the weekend, sustained ligament damage to his left knee.

* Amsterdam and Bilbao have committed to allowing fans to attend Euro 2020 games in June ahead of UEFA's deadline for host cities to submit their plans on Wednesday. European soccer's governing body has asked all 12 host cities to come up with their plans for fan capacity at venues for the tournament which kicks off on June 11.

* England will play their pre-Euro 2020 warm-up matches against Austria and Romania at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, the Football Association said on Wednesday.

Reuters