Madrid, Jan 21 (IANS) Kylian Mbappe scored twice against one of his former clubs as Real Madrid eased past Monaco 6-1 at home to boost its chances of finishing in the top eight of the Champions League league phase.
The striker, who began his career at Monaco, put Real Madrid ahead after five minutes with a clinical finish from a through ball by Fede Valverde, before sliding in at the far post 20 minutes later to make it 2-0 at halftime.
Franco Mastantuono added a third in the 51st minute as Monaco left big gaps at the back, and Thilo Kehrer then turned the ball into his own net. Vinicius Junior made it 5-0 and Jude Bellingham added a sixth after Jordan Teze pulled a goal back for Monaco.
Elsewhere, Luis Suarez struck in the 74th and 90th minutes as Sporting Clube de Portugal beat Paris Saint Germain 2-1 at home to move up to sixth in the standings.
PSG were on top for most of the game and had two strikes ruled out before falling behind when Suarez finished coolly in the 74th minute. Substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia levelled with a wonderful curling effort five minutes later, but there was time for Suarez to head in a rebound and send Sporting up to sixth.
Meanwhile, Ajax clinched a dramatic victory against winless Villarreal thanks to Oliver Edvardsen’s late strike.
After a goalless first half, the home side broke the deadlock when Tani Oluwaseyi powered past Vitezslav Jaros but Ajax responded through Oscar Gloukh’s free-kick 12 minutes later.
With the scores tied in the final minutes, Ajax substitute Edvardsen latched onto a low cross and swept the ball into the bottom corner.
In another action, Olympiacos picked up their first win in 14 games against German opposition as they defeated Leverkusen 2-0 in Piraeus.
The hosts opened the scoring inside two minutes through Costinha and Mehdi Taremi finished off a quick counterattack to double their advantage just before half-time.
Leverkusen did create several opportunities throughout the game, but Kostas Tzolakis was consistently equal to their efforts.
–IANS
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