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Football: Mbappe hat-trick fires PSG into French Cup last 16

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Paris St Germain" s="" Kylian="" Mbappe="" in="" action="" with="" Erwan="" Quintin.="" Stephane="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/reuters/01/04/psg.jpg"/><figcaption>Paris St Germain&#x27;s Kylian Mbappe in action with Vannes&#x27; Erwan Quintin. Stephane Mahe, Reuters</figcaption></figure></div>VANNES, France -- Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain overcame their COVID crisis and a drone-related interruption to ease into the French Cup last 16 on Monday with a 4-0 win over fourth-division Vannes.Despite the absence of five PSG players including superstar Lionel Messi and Danilo after positive tests for Covid-19, Mauricio Pochettino&#x27;s side were never worried by the Brittany minnows.Defender Presnel Kimpembe, wearing the captain&#x27;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.&quot;I&#x27;m happy to get started again,&quot; said World Cup winner Mbappe.&quot;It was not an easy match for us to play, but we were there.&quot;Pochettino added: &quot;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.&quot;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.&quot;Vannes&#x27; Cup dream was over with the Brittany side also missing out on their hoped for bonanza after the French government&#x27;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 euros ($282,000).&quot;We are missing out on what is a fortune to us,&quot; he said.Covid could also overshadow Tuesday&#x27;s Lens versus Lille Cup clash with seven players from the visiting team confirmed positive.&quot;We had four Covid cases which has now become seven,&quot; said Lille coach Jocelyn Gourvennec, without naming the players.&quot;We&#x27;re going to re-test all the players tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.&quot;Monday&#x27;s drone incident was another in a series of problems French football have had since the start of the 2021/22 season. Sunday&#x27;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 &quot;cut the legs&quot; of his team in a 4-1 French Cup defeat to Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Etienne.&quot;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,&quot; he said.&quot;The doctor explained to me that if it had exploded closer, I could have pierced my eardrum. At the time, it really shook me.&quot;<div>© Agence France-Presse</div>

Paris Saint-Germain overcame their COVID crisis to ease into the French Cup last 16 on Monday with a 4-0 win over fourth-division Vannes.