Kylian Mbappe said he hopes to "live through many more" games like Real Madrid's win over Manchester City after the French striker's hat-trick ensured the holders will be in the draw for the Uefa Champions League last 16 on Friday.
Mbappe scored a brilliant treble on Wednesday to power Real to a 3-1 victory in the second leg of their play-off tie against City, who failed to make the last 16 for the first time since 2012.
Nico Gonzalez pulled one back in added time after an Omar Marmoush free kick hit the bar but the contest was long since over with the night belonging to Mbappe.
This was the kind of victory the French superstar dreamed of, both as a boy in his bedroom surrounded by Cristiano Ronaldo posters, and in his past few seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.
As PSG came up short year after year in Europe, Mbappe watched on as Madrid extended their power over the European game, reaching a record 15 European Cup triumphs.
With Madrid's poor start to the current campaign – in part due to Mbappe's teething problems – leaving the Spanish and European champions in the play-off round against City, they needed the forward to deliver.
With three lethal finishes he did just that to help Carlo Ancelotti's rampant Madrid seal a 6-3 aggregate triumph.
"This is the type of game we want to play," said Mbappe. "People told me about these nights and now I can see it with my own eyes and I want to live through many more of them."
After years of speculation and failed attempts to sign him, Mbappe finally arrived in the Spanish capital last summer.
However, his first few months brought problems, an apparent lack of confidence and erratic form.
Missed penalties against Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao highlighted the concerns around him but Mbappe drew a line under it and pledged to show his character.
With 18 goals in his last 18 matches, he has done just that and his best performance in a Madrid shirt came at the adoring Bernabeu against City.
"I knew that I couldn't have done worse than I was doing," Mbappe told Movistar after his stunning treble against City.
"I had to play with personality, my adaptation time was over and I have to show my quality."
Mbappe said signing for Madrid to accomplish his long-term goal was not enough.
"Making my dream come true is one thing, but I want to play well here, mark an era and write history at Real Madrid," he explained.
"I've always said I have no limit, if I can score 50 goals I will score them, if I can score more, I'll score more, but the important thing is winning titles.
"In my career I've scored a lot of goals but we have to see if they mean something, because in the end we didn't always win titles ... if I can score a lot of goals and we win the trophies, I'll sign for that with my blood."
Mbappe has 28 goals for Real Madrid in 38 games and the form he is in has opened up comparisons to the club's all-time greats, even though he is just at the start of his trajectory with Los Blancos.
"He has the quality to reach the level of Cristiano [at Madrid]," Ancelotti told reporters.
"He has to work because Cristiano set the bar very high, [Mbappe] has just started at this club.
"For the quality he has, and the excitement he has to play here, he can reach Ronaldo's level but it won't be easy for him, he has to work."
Portuguese veteran Ronaldo scored 450 goals in 438 games for Madrid after joining from Manchester United in 2009, becoming the team's all-time top goalscorer.
Real Madrid will face crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid or German champions Bayer Leverkusen when the draw is made in Switzerland on Friday.
Pep Guardiola accepted City had been outplayed in the Spanish capital and that "the best team won".
City had led the tie 2-1 heading into the closing minutes at the Etihad Stadium last week only to surrender their advantage.
Yet this time they were hardly in the contest as Real took charge with Mbappe’s opener on four minutes and the Frenchman ended all doubt with two more either side of the break.
“The plan was to extend the result that we brought from Manchester as long as possible but we conceded so early and with the injury to John [Stones] it was a little bit [more of] what has happened his season," said Guardiola.
“We couldn’t defend well with the movement from Mbappe and it was more difficult.
“The best team won, they deserved it. They were better. What we have to do is accept the reality and move forward.”
PSG hammer Brest as PSV knock out Juventus
PSG hammered Brest 7-0 at the Parc des Princes to cruise into the last 16 with a 10-0 aggregate victory.
Seven players were on the scoresheet as PSG recorded their biggest win in European competition in advancing to meet either Liverpool or Barcelona, the top two clubs from the league phase.
Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia extended PSG’s first-leg advantage before the interval and Luis Enrique’s side showed no mercy in the second half.
Vitinha, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes, Goncalo Ramos and Senny Mayulu completed the rout in this one-sided all-French affair.
Ryan Flamingo scored an extra-time winner for PSV Eindhoven as they dumped Juventus out with a spectacular 3-1 second-leg win to go through 4-3 on aggregate.
The Eredivisie side fought back from 2-1 down after the first leg in Turin with Ivan Perisic and Ismael Saibari scoring the goals, in between which Timothy Weah had netted to briefly put the Serie A side back into the ascendency.
PSV’s progression means they will face either Arsenal or Inter Milan.
Borussia Dortmund drew 0-0 with Sporting Lisbon to progress to the last 16 with a 3-0 aggregate victory.
The Bundesliga side, who are unlikely to qualify for next season’s Champions League via their league position, will face either Aston Villa or Lille in the next round.
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
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MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
More coverage from the Future Forum
Getting%20there
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
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RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: Kidd Malibu, Sandro Paiva, Musabah Al Muhairi
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
Brahmastra%3A%20Part%20One%20-%20Shiva
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAyan%20Mukerji%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERanbir%20Kapoor%2C%20Alia%20Bhatt%20and%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
The years Ramadan fell in May
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French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Secret Nation: The Hidden Armenians of Turkey
Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
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'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
Read more about the coronavirus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs: 2018 Renault Koleos
Price, base: From Dh77,900
Engine: 2.5L, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 170hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 233Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.3L / 100km
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The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
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The view from The National
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
%3Cp%3EYears%3A%20October%202015%20-%20June%202024%3Cbr%3ETotal%20games%3A%20491%3Cbr%3EWin%20percentage%3A%2060.9%25%3Cbr%3EMajor%20trophies%3A%206%20(Premier%20League%20x%201%2C%20Champions%20League%20x%201%2C%20FA%20Cup%20x%201%2C%20League%20Cup%20x%202%2C%20Fifa%20Club%20World%20Cup%20x1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
