Paris Saint-Germain shrugged off the absence of Lionel Messi to thrash fourth-division Vannes 4-0 to ease into the French Cup last 16 on Monday, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick.
Despite the absence of five PSG players including superstar Messi and Danilo after positive tests for Covid-19, Mauricio Pochettino's side were never worried by the Brittany minnows.
Defender Presnel Kimpembe, wearing the captain's armband, headed in after 28 minutes just after the match had been interrupted for a minute after a drone flew over the Rabine Stadium in western France.
Kimpembe then set up Mbappe for the second just before the hour mark with the French forward completing a hat-trick in an 18-minute spell.
Mbappe added a second after 71 minutes after good work from Marco Verratti and Xavi Simons adding a third six minutes later for his 150th goal in a PSG jersey.
"I'm happy to get started again," said World Cup winner Mbappe. "It was not an easy match for us to play, but we were there."
Pochettino added: "We can be happy with our team performance, very solid. His (Mbappe) goals were the icing on the cake. He is a top player in the world.
"We made a few adjustments at half-time, including the positioning of the midfielders. It allowed us to be more fluid in the flow of the ball, and to find depth."
Vannes' Cup dream was over with the Brittany side also missing out on their hoped for bonanza after the French government's crowd restrictions with 5,000 spectators only permitted at outdoor events.
Vannes had been hoping for a 9,600 sell-out and according to their president Maxime Ray are set to miss out on revenue of €250,000 ($282,000).
"We are missing out on what is a fortune to us," he said.
Covid could also overshadow Tuesday's Cup clash between Lens and Lille with seven players from the visiting team confirmed positive.
"We had four Covid cases which has now become seven," said Lille coach Jocelyn Gourvennec, without naming the players. "We're going to re-test all the players tomorrow (Tuesday) morning."
Monday's drone incident was another in a series of problems French football have had since the start of the 2021/22 season.
Sunday's Cup match between fourth-division Jura Sud and Saint-Etienne, in Louhans, was interrupted for about 20 minutes due to smoke and fireworks launched by supporters of the Greens.
Jura Sud goalkeeper Cedric Mensah described his shock on Monday after crowd trouble "cut the legs" of his team in a 4-1 French Cup defeat to Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Etienne.
"I heard a powerful bang and felt a pain in my right ear. I had the impression that a bomb had exploded and felt the pitch vibrate," he said.
"The doctor explained to me that if it had exploded closer, I could have pierced my eardrum. At the time, it really shook me."
THE BIO
Age: 30
Favourite book: The Power of Habit
Favourite quote: "The world is full of good people, if you cannot find one, be one"
Favourite exercise: The snatch
Favourite colour: Blue
Three ways to get a gratitude glow
By committing to at least one of these daily, you can bring more gratitude into your life, says Ong.
- During your morning skincare routine, name five things you are thankful for about yourself.
- As you finish your skincare routine, look yourself in the eye and speak an affirmation, such as: “I am grateful for every part of me, including my ability to take care of my skin.”
- In the evening, take some deep breaths, notice how your skin feels, and listen for what your skin is grateful for.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
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%3Cp%3E%3Cspan%20style%3D%22font-size%3A%2014px%3B%22%3E6pm%3A%20Go%20Soldier%20Go%3Cbr%3E6.35pm%3A%20Man%20Of%20Promise%3Cbr%3E7.10pm%3A%20Withering%3Cbr%3E7.45pm%3A%20Mawj%3Cbr%3E8.20pm%3A%20Falling%20Shadow%3Cbr%3E8.55pm%3A%20Law%20Of%20Peace%3Cbr%3E9.30pm%3A%20Naval%20Power%3Cbr%3E10.05pm%3A%20The%20Attorney%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Schedule for show courts
Centre Court - from 4pm UAE time
Johanna Konta (6) v Donna Vekic
Andy Murray (1) v Dustin Brown
Rafael Nadal (4) v Donald Young
Court 1 - from 4pm UAE time
Kei Nishikori (9) v Sergiy Stakhovsky
Qiang Wang v Venus Williams (10)
Beatriz Haddad Maia v Simona Halep (2)
Court 2 - from 2.30pm
Heather Watson v Anastasija Sevastova (18)
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (12) v Simone Bolelli
Florian Mayer v Marin Cilic (7)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
