SPORTS BRIEFS

Al-Ain on Monday continued their perfect start to the Western League phase of the Asian Champions League Elite with a 2-1 win over Tractor FC from Iran, while title-holders Al-Ahli secured a late 2-1 victory over 10-man Al-Gharafa. Al-Ain, winners of the trophy in 2024, picked up their third win in a row as Houssine Rahimi scored his fifth goal in three matches with 20 minutes remaining at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. “This competition is important and we need to collect points early on,” the Moroccan forward said. “That is what we managed to do in these three matches we have played, earning nine points. This is very important for us.” Julian Quinones scored in the 84th minute with a heavily deflected effort to earn Al-Qadsiah a 1-1 draw with Qatar’s Al-Sadd, who took the lead through Akram Afif’s stunning strike from distance 10 minutes earlier. Iraq’s Air Force Club picked up their first win of the campaign when Saad Abdul Ameer pounced in the 70th minute to seal a 1-0 victory in Basra over Pakhtakor from Uzbekistan. The match involving Saudi Pro League champions Al-Nassr and Al-Wasl from the United Arab Emirates was postponed.

Photo: AFP

LIGUE 1

PSG return to top

Paris Saint-Germain on Monday returned to the top of the French top league after beating Olympique Lyonnais 2-0. PSG strikes late. Senny Mayulu rifled home an 18m strike seven minutes after coming off the bench to break Lyon’s resistance and set PSG on their way to an eighth straight win in all competitions. Twelve minutes later, Mika Godts settled the game with a well-taken effort to finish off a fast break. PSG moved one point clear of Stade Rennais. Lyon remained in fifth.

CHINA

Firms cancel Mbappe

France star Kylian Mbappe’s face appears in ads across China, from subway stations to elevators, but now at least three companies are cutting ties with the national team captain after he made some comments apparently referring to Mao Zedong as a dictator. Beverage maker Dongpeng, dairy giant Mengniu and cheese maker Milkground yesterday announced in similarly worded statements that they were ending agreements with the star, each saying they oppose “any words and actions that hurt national sentiment.” The companies did not specify what prompted their decisions, but they released their statements after a clip that appeared to show Mbappe being interviewed ahead of going on the French online talk show “The Bridge” circulated on X. In the video, Mbappe is asked about his favorite meme of himself and he replies that it was “a video someone made of a guy... I think he was a Chinese dictator” before the video shows an altered image depicting Mbappe’s face on the blue-suited body of Mao. Soccer fans online jokingly call the star — who’s said to overshadow many of his teammates and even the teams he plays on — a dictator, and memes showing him as Mao or other autocratic leaders are widely circulated. Social media platform RedNote joined the criticism, saying in a separate statement that the company had a content partnership with Mbappe that ended on Dec. 31, 2024, and that it would “remove related promotional materials.” It likewise expressed opposition to “any conduct that hurts national sentiment.”