David one goal from Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé may be Ligue 1’s top scorer, but he still gets his butt warmed by a Canadian. He feels Jonathan David’s warm breath on his neck and may even read David’s name in front of him on the weekends.

The French striker was the goalscoring king of the World Cup with eight paid goals. He also dominates the goalscoring chart in France with 13 hits after 19 games.

But Jonathan David doesn’t play in the north with 12 goals. So, as one commentator put it, he could very well overtake Mbappé over the weekend.

Both strikers will be on the pitch on Sunday. David and Lille (6th, 10-5-4) will be on Nice’s side while Mbappé and Paris Saint-Germain (1st, 15-2-2) will receive Reims at the Parc des Princes.

The challenge is practically the same in both cases given that Nice (6-6-7) is 10th with 25 points, as well as Reims (5-4-10), which follows close behind.

David is therefore just behind Mbappé on 12 goals scored, which puts him level with Lorient’s Terem Moffi.

However, what must make a little velvet for Ottawan is to note that they are ahead of a certain Neymar in the top scorer rankings.

Mbappé’s team-mate has hit the target 11 times this season, tied with Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder and Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette.

If we look a few lines below, we find the name of Lionel Messi in 11th place with eight goals.

David, a youngster from Ottawa, let’s remember, has been delighting Lille fans since arriving there in 2020.

Last weekend, a brace against Troyes made him the first foreign player to reach 40 goals for Lille in Ligue 1.

Let’s say it’s a nice gift that he gave himself as he celebrated his 23rd birthday on Saturday, the day before this final victory 5-1.

David has been regular as a metronome since arriving at Lille. In 2020-21 he has scored 13 goals and added 15 more last season. With already 12 hits and still half the season to play, he will surely live the best year of his career.

Exclusive group

David is lethal around the opponent’s goal and beyond when unleashing one of his powerful shots.

He can also be dangerous on the ball to prepare the ground for his teammates.

He also has four assists, which alone places him with Mbappé in the only group of players involved in at least 15 goals in the last three seasons.

On these fine stats, we would advise Lille to take advantage of David while he is there as he is likely to migrate to a more prestigious club in an indecent single-sum transfer in the rather near future.

When it comes to a prestigious club, it’s hard to beat Manchester United, where almost all the big names end up passing by one day.

Looks like the Red Devils are salivating to get their hands on him. In fact, the English club likes prolific and high-profile strikers. David is also quite muscular, his physique seems tailor-made for the Premier League.

The main interested party has already said he doesn’t know if “he could be seen anywhere else than in the Premier League”.

According to various sources, Lille would agree to part ways with their star player in exchange for the sum of 50 million euros (72.7 million Canadian dollars).

March in turmoil

Former Montreal Impact manager Jesse Marsch is in turmoil at Leeds United. His team are just two points above the Premier League relegation zone and there are rumors of mutiny among his players. Yet it’s not all black and white as Leeds have won their first FA Cup match in six by beating Cardiff 5-2 on Wednesday. Despite everything, doubts remain, but Marsch, with the determination we know him, will fight them. “My team is united, but I know it’s hard for everyone to be patient and I’m the one in the hot seat if we don’t get a result,” Marsch said after the game. “These rumors that players have leveled against me are awful porridge for cats. »

Manchester City the mighty

It’s not just on the pitch that Manchester City are effective. The English club is the first financial power in Europe with a turnover of 731 million euros (1.064 billion turnover) according to a study by Deloitte. We also find a trio of English clubs in the top 5 which also includes Real Madrid (713.8 million euros / $1.04 billion CAD), Liverpool (701.7 million euros / $1.023 billion CA), Manchester United (€688.6 million/CA$1.004 billion) and Paris Saint-Germain (€654.2 million/C$953.3 million). We see the dominance of the Premier League, occupying 11 of the top 20 places. Chelsea (8th), Tottenham Hotspur (9th), Arsenal (10th), West Ham United (15th), Leicester (17th), Leeds United (18th), Everton (19th) and Newcastle United (20th) °) are in the Top 20.

Memphis between Barcelona and Madrid

It’s about Memphis Depay who should change address soon as the FC Barcelona striker should go to Atlético Madrid. There was indeed an agreement in principle between the two clubs earlier this week. There is talk of a transfer fee of three million euros, which is a bargain in the case of a player like Depay, but with his contract expiring in six months, Barça were not in a strong position. It appears that the Dutchman, who has scored 14 goals in 42 games for Barcelona, ​​will sign a two-and-a-half-year contract with Atlético which will then run until the end of the 2025 season.

The doping in question

Photo Credit: REUTERS Photo

The former member of the Italian national team Dino Baggio threw a stone into the pond after the deaths of Sinisa Mihajlovic (leukemia) and Gianluca Vialli (pancreatic cancer). He argues that the culprit for these premature deaths would be a widespread doping system in the 90s on the TV7 channel. I don’t know if it’s due to that, but doping has always been there. We never took weird stuff because there was a percentage you had to meet. But over time we need to see if certain substances are good for you or not, if they can be eliminated or if they remain inside the body. I’m also scared, it happens to too many players. In my years there was too much doping. »

Moffi required

Photo credit: AFP photo

Terem Moffi he is the second goalscorer in the league with 12 goals, tied with Jonathan David. It is not surprising that the 23-year-old Nigerian striker is courted, he who currently wears the colors of Lorient (5th place). There’s Olympique Lyonnais who went for it, as well as Nice who passed on a €20m (CA$29.2m) offer, according to reports The group. Still according to the French media, the offers also come from abroad as West Ham United is ready to allocate 25 million euros (C$36.4 million) to obtain his services.

Games to watch

League 1

Lens against Troyes and Monaco against. Marseille

Lens is second in the standings with
44 points, three less than Paris Saint-Germain (47) who have played two games more. A victory would allow him to warm the backs of the Parisians. Marseille (42) are two points adrift of Lens, a win combined with a defeat for Lens and are second.

Premier League

Manchester United v. Arsenal

Arsenal are first in the standings
of the Premier League with 47 points and Manchester U are third with 39 points. A win would close the race.
The Gunners are undefeated
five games and Man U have not lost
in his last six outings.

La Liga

Real Madrid vs. Athletic Bilbao

Currently 8th in the standings with 26 points, Bilbao could make a big leap as they are only two points away from Atlético Madrid in 4th place. As for Real (38 points), they could reach Barcelona ahead with a win combined with a Catalan defeat.

A league

Turin FC v. Florentine

The two teams are level on 23 points, with Torino retaining 9th place in Serie A as their goal differential is better than Fiorentina’s by just one goal. It’s a close match that could be a turning point for both teams.