Mbappé leads the way as PSG ease to 3-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League

PSG s players celebrate after Lee Kang-in, scored his side s third goal during the Champions League group F soccer match between PSG and AC Milan (AP Photo)

AP

France forwards Kylian Mbappé and Randal Kolo Muani both scored as Paris Saint-Germain secured a 3-0 win against a lackluster AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday. 

eenage midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery set up two goals, including PSG's third for South Korea winger Lee Kang-in near the end.

It was Lee's first for the club and a welcome win for PSG after it was routed 4-1 at Newcastle in the previous round, while seven-time champion Milan still has not won or scored in Group F.

PSG leads with six points from three matches and Milan is last. In other group game, Newcastle lost 1-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund.

Mbappé rifled a 32nd-minute shot past France goalkeeper Mike Maignan to give PSG the lead. Maignan was beaten again in the 53rd, when Kolo Muani tapped into an empty net after Maignan saved France winger Ousmane Dembélé's low shot following a short corner.

Milan coach Stefano Pioli picked a starting lineup without a single Italian player in it. According to OPTA statisticians, it was the first time in Milan's history that it had done so for a European game.

Midway through the first half, a spectator ran onto the field and hugged Mbappé, who seemed unfazed. The intruder evaded several security officials before getting escorted off.

Winger Rafael Leao shot just wide from outside the penalty area in the 26th and Mbappé did the same a few minutes later.

His next shot gave Maignan no chance, and the goal came following great work from the 17-year-old Zaïre-Emery.

He showed his strength breaking through midfield before picking out Mbappé, who junked right to put England defender Fikayo Tomori off balance before drilling a low shot into the left corner.

Kolo Muani's goal was much more straightforward as Maignan spilled the ball into his path after parrying Dembélé's snapshot from just inside the area.

Moments earlier, Dembélé thought he had scored his first for the club since joining this summer from Barcelona.

He broke down the right at great speed and arrowed a low shot into the left corner. But the goal was ruled out when a review showed Manuel Ugarte barging American midfielder Yunus Musah off the ball in the buildup.

Maignan expertly tipped Mbappé's curling shot onto the post late on but was well beaten when Lee struck a crisp shot past him in the 89th after swapping passes with Zaïre-Emery.

PSG and Mbappe get tough Champions League draw in group with Milan, Dortmund and Newcastle

This photograph taken on August 31, 2023, shows the UEFA Champions League football trophy cup during the draw for the UEFA Champions League football tournament 2023-2024 at The Grimaldi Forum in the Principality of Monaco. AFP 

AP , fbarena.com

Paris Saint-Germain and its star forward Kylian Mbappe landed in the toughest group in the Champions League draw Thursday with former champions AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund, plus Newcastle.

Bayern Munich’s new signing Harry Kane will return to England to face Manchester United in a group that also includes Copenhagen and Galatasaray. Man United beat Bayern in the 1999 final after an injury-time comeback.

Record 14-time champion Real Madrid plays Napoli, Braga and debutant Union Berlin.

Man City, the defending champion, got a favorable draw and will play Leipzig for the third straight season, plus Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys.

Last season's finalist Inter Milan will play Benfica – which it beat in the quarterfinals – plus Salzburg and Real Sociedad.

Barcelona was drawn with Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Royal Antwerp, another Champions League debutant which last played in the competition in the old European Cup in 1957.

Arsenal’s return after six years away will be against Sevilla, PSV Eindhoven and Lens.

Feyenoord, the 1970 European Cup winner, was grouped with the team it beat in that final, Celtic, plus Atlético Madrid and Lazio.

Teams from 15 different nations were in the draw, including 14 former European champions who have combined to win 48 titles in the competition's 68-year history.

Games start Sept. 19 and group-stage play ends Dec. 13.

The knockout stage starts in February and reaches the final at Wembley Stadium in London on June 1.

American defender Dest hopes to regain spot with Barcelona after miserable time at AC Milan

Edson Alvarez of Mexico tackles Sergino Dest of the United States during the first half of a CONCACAF Nations League semifinal soccer match Thursday, June 15, 2023, in Las Vegas. Photo: AP

AP , fbarena.com

After a miserable 2022-23 season, Sergino Dest hopes to persuade Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández he deserves a spot on the team and in the starting lineup.

Unwanted by Xavi at the start of last season, the defender was loaned to AC Milan and appeared in just eight Serie A matches. He didn’t even dress after Jan. 24.

Dest is back with Barcelona ahead of a preseason U.S. tour that starts next week as the Blaugrana prepare for their Aug. 13 opener at Getafe.

“I don’t want to give too much information about what we discussed,” Dest said Friday during a conference call with U.S. media. “At the end of the day, he just told me: ‘OK, I give you a fair chance to prove yourself.’ He told me: ‘I think you have qualities, but it’s up to you. You have to show me.’”

Still only 22, Dest is the starting right back on the U.S. national team. He played for Ajax in 2019-20, then on Oct. 1, 2020, became the first American on Barcelona’s first team.

He played in 21 league matches and 31 overall under Ronald Koeman, but the coach was fired in October 2021 and was replaced by Xavi. Dest started just seven league matches under the new coach.

Then came the loan to Milan, where Dest made just two league starts.

“Obviously, it’s not easy,” Dest said. “It’s a really difficult moment in my career, in my life. as well. Obviously, when you get moments like that, you learn a lot from it. So for me, I got mentally way stronger.”

Barcelona opens the preseason against Juventus on July 22 at Santa Clara, California, plays Arsenal four days later in Inglewood, California, meets Real Madrid on July 29 at Arlington, Texas, and finishes against Milan on Aug. 1 in Las Vegas. Milan acquired Christian Pulisic from Chelsea on Thursday.

“It’ll be nice to play against Christian,” Dest said. “I just have to do my best and make sure in the field I’m the boss.”

The tour is Dest’s chance to show he belongs on a world power.

“I see myself staying. Obviously, I have to prove myself during the preseason,” he said. “It’s up to me. I feel like I can and I will prove it. My mindset is to stay here.”

Christian Pulisic signs with AC Milan to revive his club career before home World Cup

United States soccer player Christian Pulisic waves as he arrives in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, July 12, 2023, for medical tests at Italian Serie A soccer team AC Milan. AP

AP , fbarena.com

After struggling for playing time in his fourth season with Chelsea, Christian Pulisic finalized a four-year contract with U.S.-owned AC Milan on Thursday.

The 24-year-old American midfielder and forward, who joined Chelsea after four seasons with Borussia Dortmund, scored 26 goals in 145 games with the Blues and won a Champions League medal in 2021. But after netting 19 Premier League goals in his first three seasons he had just one in 2022-23 — none in 20 matches after Oct. 8. He made just two starts after Jan. 5.

“I haven’t gotten the opportunities I’ve wanted in recent years and haven’t reached the level that I want to be at, and this is a great opportunity for me to do that,” Pulisic said during an online news conference with U.S. media.

Considered the top American player with 25 goals in 60 international appearances, Pulisic was sidelined by a string of injuries and didn't live up to expectations at Chelsea. He left the London club with a year left on his contract. His deal with Milan includes a team option for 2027-28.

“It all just became very clear in the recent weeks that this was the spot for me,” he said. “I’m going to have a great opportunity to play, to hopefully make an impact within this team. It was really at the end of the day a no-brainer.”

Pulisic scored three goals at Burnley in October 2019, becoming the second American with a Premier League hat trick after Fulham's Clint Dempsey in 2012. He was the first American with a goal in an FA Cup, a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in 2020.

But his playing time dwindled as Chelsea changed managers from Frank Lampard to Thomas Tuchel to Graham Potter and back to Lampard.

Pulisic said he spoke extensively with Milan coach Stefano Pioli.

“The manager really spelled out exactly how he sees me fitting in with this team and I did feel wanted at this club,” Pulisic said.

Milan is controlled by the American investment firm RedBird Capital Partners led by Gerry Cardinale, and baseball's New York Yankees are a minority investor. Milan is paying a transfer fee of 20 million euros ($22 million) for Pulisic, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport. That’s less than a third of what Chelsea paid Borussia Dortmund for Pulisic in 2019.

Pulisic is set to become the third American to play for the Rossoneri after defender Oguchi Onyewu, who appeared in one Champions League match for 31 minutes, and right back Sergiño Dest, who was on loan from Barcelona last season and didn't dress after Jan. 24.

Milan is a seven-time European champion and lost to city rival Inter in a Champions League semifinal last spring. The Rossoneri won the last of their 19 Serie A titles in 2022.

Getting playing time is key for Pulisic and other top U.S. players ahead of next year's Copa América, to be played in the United States, and a 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“You want to be in top form,” he said. “Being here, I hope to find that again.”

Pulisic is the second Chelsea player to leave for Milan this month after Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Pulisic will also be reunited with former Chelsea teammates Olivier Giroud and Fikayo Tomori at Milan.

Pulisic will take Zlatan Ibrahimović's No. 11 shirt. The former Sweden international retired after last season.

After news of Pulisic’s impending transfer surfaced, Gazzetta featured him on its front page on Saturday with a headline that translated as “Captain America is coming” — next to a photomontage of Pulisic dressed as the superhero.

While Pulisic has captained the U.S. 16 times, Tyler Adams wore the armband during the World Cup.

Pulisic moved from Pennsylvania to Germany before his 16th birthday and picked up that language quickly. Now he'll concentrate on Italian.

“I'm going to take lessons,” he said. "I can understand Spanish quite well, so I'm really hoping to make that a focus and learn Italian as quick as I can.”

Diaz returns to Madrid after three years on loan at AC Milan

FILE - AC Milan's Brahim Diaz controls the ball during the Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Sampdoria at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, May 20, 2023. Photo: AP

fbarena.com

Spanish forward Brahim Diaz is returning to Real Madrid from AC Milan, the Spanish club said Saturday.

The 23-year-old Diaz spent three seasons on loan at Milan. He helped the Italian team win a Serie A title in 2022 and reach the Champions League semifinals this season.

Diaz joined Madrid from Manchester City in 2019, but barely played in his single season in Spain’s capital.

He will rejoin a squad that won the Spain’s Copa del Rey last season but needs to replace the loss of Karim Benzema.

Diaz is the third signing Madrid has made this month, following a deal reached with Borussia Dortmund for midfielder Jude Bellingham and the decision to buy back left back Fran García from Rayo Vallecano.

Paolo Maldini out as AC Milan's technical director after reported break with US owner

Paolo Maldini, right, and Zvonimir Boban look on during an Italian Serie A soccer match between Cagliari and Milan in Cagliari, Italy, on Jan. 11, 2020. AP

fbarena.com

Paolo Maldini’s tenure as AC Milan’s technical director has ended, the club announced in a brief statement Tuesday following reports of a rupture between the former defender and Milan’s new American owner, Gerry Cardinale.

“AC Milan announces that Paolo Maldini concludes his role at the club, effective as of June 5, 2023,” the club statement said. “We thank him for his years of service in the role, contributing to the return to the Champions League and to winning the Scudetto in 2021-22. His day-to-day duties will be performed by a team working in close integration with the first team manager, ultimately reporting to the CEO.”

The 54-year-old Maldini was a longtime captain of Milan as a player and is a fan favorite, so the move immediately drew protests from Rossoneri supporters.

Maldini and Cardinale reportedly diverged over how to handle the club’s approach to the transfer market, with Maldini having said the team needed a deeper roster to compete in the Champions League after getting beat by city rival Inter Milan in the semifinals of this season’s top European competition.

Milan also failed to defend the Serie A title it won in 2021-22, finishing fourth in the recently concluded season, 20 points behind champion Napoli.

Cardinale founded RedBird Capital Partners in 2014 and is the managing partner of the firm that purchased a controlling interest in seven-time European champion Milan for 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in September.

Maldini had been Milan’s technical director since 2019 and was largely credited with putting together the young squad that won Serie A last year.

It's time to say goodbye to soccer, says Ibrahimovic

AC Milan s Zlatan Ibrahimovic reacts after his last game for the club at the end of a Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and Hellas Verona at the San Siro stadium, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, June 4, 2023. AP

FBARENA.COM

Veteran AC Milan forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced his immediate retirement from soccer in an emotional night at San Siro

Ibrahimovic was out of contract with the Serie A club at the end of the season and Milan had already announced there would be a special ceremony after its match against Hellas Verona to bid farewell to the 41-year-old Swede.

But Ibrahimovic later revealed in a news conference that no one knew the big news he was about to drop.

“Even my family didn’t know, because I wanted that when I announced it everyone heard it at the same time,” he said.

Ibrahimovic was given a guard of honor by his teammates as he walked out after the match at San Siro. He struggled to hold back the tears as he took the microphone and said: “The time has come to say goodbye to soccer but not to you.”

Ibrahimovic scored 93 goals in 163 appearances over two spells at Milan. He returned in January 2020 and helped Milan win the Serie A title last year — his second league trophy with the Rossoneri.

But he has struggled with injuries and only made four appearances this season, after undergoing a knee operation last year.

“I have so many memories and emotions inside this stadium,” Ibrahimović said. “The first time I arrived you gave me happiness, the second time you gave me love.

“I want to thank my family … I want to thank my second family: the players. I want to thank the coach and his staff for the responsibility, I want to thank the directors for the opportunity. Last but not least, from my heart, I want to thank you fans.”

He also enjoyed trophy-laden spells at Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Juventus and Ajax, having started his career with hometown club Malmo.

He made 122 appearances for Sweden, scoring 62 goals.

Many of the fans at San Siro on Sunday were in tears, as were most of his teammates, who were all wearing jerseys with his name and squad number on the back.

Ibrahimovic told reporters he struggled to find someone who wasn't crying as he looked around during his speech for someone to help give him the strength to stem his own tears.

Ibrahimovic also couldn't resist making a joke.

“I woke up this morning and it was raining, and I thought ‘Even God is crying,’” he said with a smile.

There were emotional scenes even before kickoff as a giant banner was unfurled at one end of the stadium with the words “Godbye.” The fans chanted his name and Ibrahimovic was moved to tears as he cupped his hands in the shape of a heart and blew kisses to the supporters.

However, he ended his speech with a smile and in typical Ibrahimovic fashion.

He said: “It’s too difficult, there are so many emotions going through me now. But I will say, ‘I’ll see you around, if you’re lucky.’”

Ibrahimovic then walked around the stadium to the song “Simply the Best.”