PARIS // Teen prodigy Kylian Mbappe scored his 10th league goal of the campaign as Monaco beat Bordeaux 2-1 on Saturday to cement their place at the top of Ligue 1.
Mbappe opened the scoring midway through the second half at the Stade Louis II and a beauty from Joao Moutinho doubled the principality side’s lead.
They held on to take all three points after a howler from goalkeeper Danijel Subasic allowed Diego Rolan in to reduce the arrears.
Monaco, who will look to overturn a 5-3 first-leg deficit when they host Manchester City in their Uefa Champions League last-16 return on Wednesday, are five points clear of local rivals Nice at the top with nine games left.
However, Paris Saint-Germain can go back up to second and cut Monaco’s lead back to three points with a win at bottom club Lorient on Sunday in their first outing since their Champions League humiliation in Barcelona.
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“Now that we are nine matches from the end of the season teams have analysed us and come here with a more defensive strategy,” said Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim, whose side remain the top scorers in Europe’s top five leagues.
“That is not a criticism. Against teams who only come out on the counter-attack, you need to find a way of scoring without giving them the chance to break. In that way it was a great performance.”
On the prospect of trying to turn things around against City, Jardim admitted he has to take recent defensive struggles into consideration.
“We are top of the league, in the League Cup final, in the French Cup quarter-finals, everyone is in good condition mentally,” said the Portuguese.
“It will be a difficult match. One thing is for sure, the way we are playing just now we will have to score three times to qualify. Two won’t be enough.”
Monaco are looking to win the French title for the first time since 2000. They had not beaten Bordeaux at home since 2003 and that run looked set to continue as the usually irresistible Monaco attack struggled to fire.
Moutinho was recalled in place of Tiemoue Bakayoko in midfield while Mbappe again partnered Valere Germain up front with Radamel Falcao on the bench.
That decision was surely made with one eye on the clash with City, but Jardim’s side were still looking for the opening goal when the Colombian striker was introduced in the 64th minute.
Cedric Carrasso boxed away a powerful Thomas Lemar strike in the first half and Mbappe had a header cleared off the line by Milan Gajic as Bordeaux frustrated their hosts.
Bordeaux needed points as they chase European qualification but they fell behind after some questionable defending in the 68th minute.
Falcao got his head to a left-wing corner, neither Gaetan Laborde nor Younousse Sankhare cleared, and Mbappe sidefooted home.
It was a 16th goal in all competitions this season for the 18-year-old striker, one of the hottest prospects in European football.
Portugal playmaker Moutinho made it 2-0 in the 74th minute, running onto a Bernardo Silva pass and floating a stunning shot high into the far corner.
But like in their Champions League thriller with City, Monaco showed signs of defensive weakness as they gave Bordeaux hope late on.
Subasic came out of his area in an attempt to clear a back-pass, but the ball struck off the advancing Rolan, ricocheted back off the Croatian goalkeeper’s face and the Bordeaux player ran in to finish into an empty net.
Nice lost ground on Friday despite coming back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Caen, Mario Balotelli and Anastasios Donis getting their goals.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Guingamp crushed struggling Bastia 5-0 while Rennes drew 1-1 with Dijon.
Monaco loanee Rony Lopes got the winner as Lille came from behind to win 2-1 at Nancy and Emiliano Sala netted the winner in the 89th minute as Nantes beat Montpellier 3-2.
* Agence France-Presse
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
The Gandhi Murder
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4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v Kalisto
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Rating: 4.5/5
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Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
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Daniel Bardsley
