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Former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia has backed Almeria striker Umar Sadiq for his maiden invitation to the Super Eagles after his fine performances in the Spanish second division this season.

The Nigeria U23 star is enjoying a rich vein of goalscoring form in Spain since he joined Rojiblancos on a five-year deal from Serbian club Partizan Belgrade in October.

He has scored nine goals in 18 appearances in the Segunda Division, which include a hat-trick against Ponferradina last Sunday.

Sadiq was part of the Dream Team VI that won bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games where he contributed four goals in six appearances, and he is yet to be considered for an international assignment in over four years.

When asked if the 23-year-old is ready for a role in Gernot Rohr’s team, Siasia told the Punch; “I believe Umar is ready to join the senior national team.

“I know him very well, he has grown to become disciplined, mature and a much better player.

“Osimhen and Umar are two different and unique players.”

Sadiq, meanwhile, is ready to wait for his opportunity with the Super Eagles as he acknowledges the abundance of Nigeria-eligible talents across the world.

“First of all, Nigeria is blessed with young talented players,” the former Roma striker told the Nation. “We have a lot of them. We are growing there in all the leagues of Europe.

“You can see a good number of Nigerian players in all the leagues of Europe. Some are even playing for the England national team.

“I will say that I will just wait for my time and when it comes, I hope I will just grab it. I have no doubt about it one day it will happen and we would all see it. At the moment I’m focusing on my club after playing in the Olympics.”

Monza forward Kevin-Prince Boateng has been named Serie B Player of the Month for December.

The 33-year-old contributed two goals and two assists as Monza recorded five wins and a draw after eight league matches in the month under review.

Boateng scored a quick-fire brace on December 15 when the White and Reds cruised past struggling Virtus Entella with a 5-0 victory at home.

Four days later, he assisted Davide Bettella in finding the back of the net as Monza fell to a 3-2 loss against Pescara. It was their second defeat in December after a 3-0 loss at Reggiana.

Boateng continued with another assist for Carlos Augusto as he helped the U-Power Stadium outfit bounce back to winning form with a 2-0 win over Ascoli on December 22.

Since he joined Monza from Fiorentina in September, the former Barcelona and AC Milan forward has contributed four goals in 13 Serie B appearances and his return in front of goal has helped the White and Reds climb to fourth in the league table as they aim for promotion to the Italian top-flight.

Monza started 2021 with a goalless draw against Lecce on Monday with the 33-year-old playing 86 minutes of football before he was replaced.

With four points adrift of the summit, Boateng will be aiming to help Cristian Brocchi's side boost their chances of promotion when they host Cosenza for their next league fixture on January 16.

Boateng moved a step lower to the second division in September to reunite with former AC Milan President Silvio Berlusconi who first brought him to Italy in 2010.

"How did Silvio Berlusconi convince me [to come to Monza]? He called me and said 'my son, come home'. There was no need for many more words," Boateng said.

Young Africans (Yanga SC) have confirmed they will add one new player into their squad before the transfer window closes.

The Jangwani giants are yet to sign a player since the window opened on December 23 and with its door set to close on January 15, GSM’s Director of Investment Hersi Said has revealed they will add one more player into their squad.

“We are in the final procedure to sign a new player and soon, he will be unveiled to the public. At the moment, I cannot disclose more details about him because we want to make it a big surprise,” Said explained as quoted by Daily News.

Said has also refused to reveal the reason why winger Carlos Carlinhos was withdrawn from the team’s camp in Zanzibar where they are taking part in the Mapinduzi Cup tournament.

“I cannot say much on that because only the coach can elaborate on what really happened. For me, I know nothing on that subject,” he said.

The Angolan star, who signed for the club at the start of the 2020-21 season, was forced to travel to Dar es Salaam with the club saying he had suffered another injury setback.

“The squad is in good shape; all the players are fit except for Carlinhos who has been forced to return to the capital, Dar es Salaam,” Yanga media officer Hassan Bumbuli told reporters in Zanzibar when the player was allowed to leave camp.

“He will have to continue with the treatment as well as the programs he was scheduled for due to his lack of fitness.”

His withdrawal made him join the list of Yanga players not in the tournament including Feisal, Kaseke, Yasin Mustapha, Farid Mussa, Bakari Mwamnyeto, Ditram Nchimbi, and striker Yacouba Songne.

In a recent interview, Yanga coach Cedric Kaze explained the reason he is targeting a striker in the transfer window.

“Having been very successful in the defensive zone in the first round, we now want to make sure we add more edge to the attacking zone and that is why we are in the process of recruiting another striker who will strengthen the area,” Kaze said, as quoted by Sokalabongo.

“We want to see our team score more goals, to have a better balance of goals scored and conceded if we want to finish in a better position in the standings.”

Reports have already indicated the Jangwani giants are in the process of signing Congolese striker Ferebory Dore to boost their striking options.

Yanga are currently topping the 18-team table on 44 points from 18 matches.

Goal can confirm that Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement to sign Moussa Dembele on loan from Lyon, with a €33 million (£30m/$40m) option to buy set to be included in the final deal.

Dembele has spent the last two-and-a-half years on Lyon's books, having been snapped up from Celtic for €22 million (£20m/$27m) in the summer of 2018.

The Frenchman has scored 45 goals in 108 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit during that period, helping them compete for both domestic and European honours in the process.

However, only one of those efforts has been recorded in the current campaign, with Lyon sporting director Juninho admitting that Dembele's motivation levels have dipped in recent months.

The Groupama Stadium chief revealed that the 24-year-old has been in talks over a January transfer to Atletico after the team's 2-2 draw with Rennes on Saturday, telling Telefoot: "Moussa thinks that this is the moment to change teams, that he has lost a bit of motivation.

"This was not something we foresaw, I like him a lot. I think that Moussa has found an agreement with Atletico.”

Goal has learned that Dembele will arrive in Madrid to undergo a medical at Wanda Metropolitano on Monday before joining Los Rojiblancos on loan until the end of the season.

Atletico have moved for the former Celtic star as a replacement for Diego Costa, whose contract was terminated for personal reasons in December.

The current La Liga leaders can choose to buy Dembele outright in June if he impresses over the next six months, but a home fixture against Sevilla on Tuesday may come too soon for the forward to make his debut.

Dembele has just resumed training after recovering from a broken elbow, and will probably not be ready to return to action until Atletico take in a trip to Eibar on January 21.

Diego Simeone's side are currently on course to win their first league title since 2013-14, as they sit one point clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table having played three games fewer.

Angel Correa and Joao Felix have been playing up top alongside Luis Suarez since Costa's departure, but Dembele will likely slot in alongside the Uruguayan when he completes his move to Metropolitano Stadium.

Premier League referee Michael Oliver has admitted that Jordan Pickford should have been punished for injuring Virgil van Dijk.

Van Dijk has been out of action since suffering cruciate knee ligament damage during Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on October 17.

The Dutchman was the victim of a reckless flying tackle from Pickford, but Oliver took no action against the Toffees goalkeeper after VAR ruled that there had been an offside in the buildup to the incident.

The match official has now conceded that he was wrong for failing to show Pickford a red card, having been too preoccupied with trying to decide whether or not to give a penalty to properly assess the nature of his challenge.

“It was a big game. Both teams were flying. The assistant has given offside and there is the delay in the flag, as we have had this season. Jordan then comes out to Virgil," Oliver told the Daily Mail.

“The thought initially was, ‘It can’t be a penalty because it’s offside so we need to check the offside first’.

“I think I said to the VAR, ‘If it’s not offside, I’m going to give a penalty’.

“I have watched it back so many times. I genuinely don’t think Pickford has done anything apart from try to spread himself but he did it the wrong way, as the injury has shown.

“We have all, myself included, not thought about the challenge as much as we should have done. We could still have given offside and sent Pickford off.

“What I was surprised about looking at it afterwards was that nothing was expected on-field in terms of a red card. None of the players were asking for that.

“We got sucked too much into going step by step as opposed to thinking of the bigger process, which was considering the challenge as well and not just the fact it can’t be a penalty.

“We should have restarted wth the offside, as we did, but with a different punishment for Jordan Pickford.”

Van Dijk returned to training in the gym last month, but Jurgen Klopp revealed before Liverpool's defeat at Southampton on January 4 that the centre-back still has a "long way to go" with his recovery.

The Reds boss told reporters: "It's very good but still a long way to go, that's [the deal with] this kind of injury. I'm happy when I see these videos [of Virgil training] because it just shows he makes good progress. But it will still take a lot of time, that's how it is. 

"I'd like to say something else but these are the facts unfortunately."

Experienced defender David Ochieng' has revealed he chose to sign for Mathare United owing to their style of play.

The 28-year-old, who is commonly referred to as 'Cheche', opted to join the Slum Boys at the start of the season. He went on to say the 2008 league champions are among a few teams that play a passing game which fits him.

"I joined Mathare because they play kind of football players want to be associated with," Ochieng' told Goal.

"They possess the ball and play as some big teams do. 

"Mathare is among the few teams in the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League who play tiki-taka type of football and that is my type of football."

The former Tusker FC and Nairobi Stima player has further thanked the Nairobi-based side for having faith in him and his abilities, to the point of going for his services.

"Football is a game of chances and I take this opportunity to thank Mathare United for giving me a chance to redeem my career," Ochieng' added.

"I am optimistic about repaying their faith in me by helping them to win as many matches as possible.  

"The national team is for every player, I might be there or not, but as long as I am playing football I cannot rule out the chances of making it to the team again. What matters is your performance especially at the club level." 

The 28-year-old has been a free agent after his contract with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ansar FC expired. 

Ochieng' started his professional career in 2011 with the National Super League side Nairobi Stima. A year later, he joined Tusker FC and was part of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title-winning team. He also won the KPL Super Cup.

The defender then left for Saud Arabia where he played for Al Tawoon FC from 2013 to 2015. He was among the key players at the team and went on to make 51 appearances, scoring one goal in the process.

American outfit New York Cosmos were interested in the 28-year-old's services and they signed him in 2016, but the defender left again a year later. At the time, he had played a total of 29 matches and scored one goal.

The next destination was in Sweden for Idrottsforeningen Brommapojkarna in 2018. It was a short-term contract for the player and he played 13 times for them before he made a return to Kenya, signing a six-month contract with AFC Leopards in 2019.

After that, he left for Al-Ansar where he was plying his trade before his contract expired.

The ‘Slum Boys’ also confirmed the arrival of striker Eugene Wethuli from National Super League (NSL) side Nairobi Simba, Cersidy Okeyo from Sofapaka, and defender Moses Mburu from AFC Leopards. 

Pep Guardiola says this season's packed fixture schedule is no issue for Manchester City star Ruben Dias, who he has described as an "incredible player".

Dias has been a mainstay in Guardiola's starting XI since joining City from Benfica for £64 million ($87m) at the end of September.

The 23-year-old has helped transform the Blues into the best defensive side in the Premier League while forging a formidable partnership with John Stones.

Dias has already racked up 22 appearances across all competitions for City in total, with his latest stellar display coming in a Carabao Cup semi-final win over Manchester United.

The Portuguese was colossal as Guardiola's side triumphed 2-0 in the derby clash at Old Trafford, and he could feature yet again in an FA Cup third-round tie against Birmingham City on Sunday.

Guardiola has no concerns that Dias will be hampered by burnout, having been amazed by the centre-back's powers of recovery in his first few months at Etihad Stadium.

“The player who influences the team and is important in the team is the player who can play every three days,” the Spanish head coach told City's official website.

“The quality is there, but if a player gets injured every few weeks, that is not good for the team.

“When you buy players you know their quality but don't know if they can play every three days, but he recovers immediately.

“His ability is incredible. He wants to learn. All of us are impressed with how he takes care of his body and his mind.

“The day after a game he is in the gym at 8:30 in the morning. He lives his profession 24-hours a day.

“I can assure you we have signed an incredible player for the next years. And it is not easy to find that.

"That’s why we are so fortunate. Hopefully, he can continue at this level.”

One man who could also be in Guardiola's line-up when City take on Birmingham is Zack Steffen, who has been filling in between the sticks in the coronavirus-enforced absence of Ederson.

The Blues head coach says Ederson remains his first-choice shot-stopper, but admits Steffen has given him more of a selection dilemma after performing well in wins against Chelsea and United.

“He can fight for No.1,” said Guardiola. “He can put pressure on Eddie, but Eddie is the No.1 in this position right now. If he performs well, he stays No.1.

“But we cannot forget he [Steffen] played at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and solved all the situations he faced brilliantly.”

Guardiola also reserved special praise for Derby County loanee Scott Carson, with the veteran 'keeper considered to have had a positive effect on the dressing room over the past few months.

“Scott Carson is like our captain behind the scenes,” he added. “It’s not noticed in the papers or on the field but in the locker room he is like another captain. Hopefully, he can stay longer with us.”

The government has moved to suspend the initial plan that allowed the return of Zambians to football stadia in November.

Initially, the Zambians had been banned from the stadium due to the emergence of the coronavirus but after broad deliberations between the Ministry of Health and Football Association of Zambia (FAZ), the ban was lifted in November.

But a recent spike of the coronavirus cases has forced the government to set aside the order and ban stadium attendance again.

“Following a recent spike in the number of Covid-19 cases reported in Zambia, the government has announced a ban of football fans from stadia in the 2020/2021 football season,” FAZ announced.

“In this regard, the Football Association of Zambia wishes to inform its stakeholders and all members of the football family that with immediate effect, there will be no fans who will be allowed inside football stadia as a precautionary measure.”

FAZ general-secretary Adrian Kashala stated the federation is ready to adhere to the new order by the Minister of Sports Emmanuel Mulenga until a time when a contrary notice is given.

“The health of players, officials, fans and other stakeholders remains our priority,” Kashala said.

“The decision by the government to prohibit fans from stadia will allow us to continue with a football under the new normal based on the advice we have received from the Ministries of Health and Sport.”

The FAZ official further stated the federation and the Zambia Medical Association will work hand in hand to ensure the players’ safety is taken into serious consideration. He also said their main priority is to see the ongoing league games are played in the safest of environment.

“The clubs must take responsibility and act in a responsible manner in the new normal and also I appeal to football-loving fans to adhere to the health guidelines and not to force their way into the stadium,” he added.

“We appeal to all clubs to ensure that they follow all Covid-19 health guidelines such as putting in place handwashing facilities, sanitising, social distancing and masking up without fail.

“These measures will help in ensuring that football continues to be played despite the prevailing situation in the country.”

The Zambian Super League and the lower competitions are ongoing and organisers will now have to adhere with the outlined new guidelines.

Seven days, three matches and seven points. East Bengal have indeed come a long way since their dismal start to the season and are now looking formidable with each passing game.

With the win over Bengaluru FC, East Bengal ended the first phase of the Indian Super League (ISL) on a high. They started the season with a winless run in five consecutive matches but in the last five games, the Red and Golds have remained unbeaten, collected nine points and are just five points off the play-offs spot.

The Kolkata side came into the match after a convincing performance against FC Goa and were up against a demoralised Bengaluru side who lost their last three games and had recently parted ways with their head coach Carles Cuadrat.

East Bengal started the match on a brighter note and dominated Bengaluru in the first half. Anthony Pilkington was once again kept out of the matchday squad as he is still nursing an injury. But the trio of Harmanpreet Singh, Jacques Maghoma and Bright Enobakhare upfront made sure that the former Norwich attacker was not missed.

Enobakhare, who has taken to the ISL in an efficient manner, was seen constantly coming deep into the midfield to take the ball and dictate play. He was ably supported by Jacques Maghoma whose towering figure and ability to control the ball is proving to be extremely beneficial to the side.

The five-man defence which started the game against FC Goa was kept unaltered and they delivered yet again against the Blues. Ahead of the match, East Bengal was handed a boost by the All Indian Football Federation's (AIFF) decision of cancelling skipper Daniel Fox's red card and scrapping his suspension. Under the leadership of Fox, the backline is improving.

East Bengal are changing gears and are peaking at the right time of the season. Their attack looks formidable since Enobakhare joined the team and with Pilkington joining the squad soon, it could become a potent force.

While the Red and Golds are slowly witnessing a change in their fortunes midway into the season, the Blues' misery continued. Bengaluru suffered their fourth defeat on the trot, something they experienced for the first time in the brief history of the club.

The South Indian club mostly played without purpose in the first half and struggled. Interim coach Naushad Moosa had decided to bench both their strikers Kristian Opseth and Deshorn Brown and deploy Cleiton Silva as the lone striker but the Brazilian did not have the same impact and spent more on the floor. 

In the second half, the Blues showed some urge but were toothless in the final third. Also, some top notch saves by Debjit Majumder in goal made things worse for them. It must be noted that East Bengal, playing their third match in seven games, decided to sit back and play on the counter which was one of the reasons Bengaluru could attack at will. In fact, East Bengal had plenty of chances on the counter and Enobakhare could very well have had a hat-trick on the night which showed how good Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was and how poor the defence was.

While Bengaluru FC will take heart from their attacking intent in the second half, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Five out of their next six matches are against teams who are placed below them on the table. This should make the going easy for Moosa, who has promised an entertaining brand of football.

However, entertaining brand of football always implies being defensively compact, something which was missing throughout the game against East Bengal. Against an opponent, whose strikers are in good form, this Bengaluru defence can certainly concede much more, if not for the presence of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.

After weeks of rumour, Kedah Darul Aman have finally made the official announcement; they have signed Singapore international Anumanthan Mohan Kumar.

The 26-year old midfielder's signing on a one-year contract was revealed by the club on Saturday, with Anumanthan replacing compatriot Shakir Hamzah in the club's ASEAN player slot.

The Red Eagles are his first ever overseas club, and prior to his move across the Causeway, he had played exclusively in the Singaporean league for Young Lions, Huogang United and Home United.

In an interview produced by the club's media department, Anumanthan spoke of his eagerness to take part in the coming Malaysia Super League season, to the extent that he has been training on his own prior to linking up with his new club.

"My training didn't start on my first day here. In fact, I didn't rest between the end of my last Singaporean league season and my arrival here. I had started my pre-season on my own, doing weight training five times a week with the Singaporean Sports Council. 

"I could have started training full pelt when I got here, if not for the need to familiarise myself with the team first, especially after my seven-day [Covid-19 precautionary] quarantine," revealed the midfielder.

He also spoke of his desire to continue his success story with former head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak, when the Singaporean trainer was still coaching in his home country.

"I am very happy to join Kedah and reunite with [former] coach Aidil. Everyone greeted me warmly on my first day here, and I look forward to greater challenges at a big club such as Kedah. I'm lucky and fortunate to be here and I'm ready to be in action.

"I look forward to the big matches such as the Sumbangsih Cup (season opener between defending league champions JDT and runners up Kedah) next month. Kedah are a great team and we will be able to face off against any team in the league. In 2021, I personally want to win titles and go far in the AFC Cup. I've been successful with Aidil previously, we've won the zonal AFC Cup stage together, and this time around we want to go farther," explained the 2016 S.League Young Player of the Year.

Julian Nagelsmann backed Erling Haaland to get even better after his RB Leipzig team were on the receiving end of a masterclass from the Borussia Dortmund striker. 

Haaland scored twice and had a hand in another goal for Jadon Sancho as Dortmund beat Leipzig 3-1 on Saturday, with Nagelsmann's side missing the opportunity to take top spot in the Bundesliga from Bayern Munich. 

The brace took Haaland's Bundesliga total to 25 goals in 25 matches, of which only 20 have been starts. He has netted with a hugely impressive 34.3 per cent of his shots, too.

BVB's opponents on Saturday were also interested in Haaland when he left Salzburg and coach Nagelsmann acknowledged his latest performance was evidence of why he was so sought after. 

He also pointed to the talent around Haaland in the Dortmund team to explain why it is so difficult to deal with one of Europe's standout stars. 

"Erling we could have defended, but not if the players around him have too much space in a one-against-four situation," Nagelsmann said.

"Of course, he is an exceptional striker - this is why we wanted him, too. Dortmund got him.

"I think he just scored 25 goals in 25 Bundesliga games, something like that. This is truly extraordinary. Unbelievable stats."

Haaland had also scored twice against Leipzig in the sides' meeting at the end of last season.

Nagelsmann added: "This is not the first goal he scored against us. He has some serious quality and is very young.

"So, I think I can't judge him as well as our opponent but he for sure has some potential to develop. He will get even better.

"And the league will have a lot of joy with him. Not the opponents, though."

With several clubs across Europe interested in Haaland, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke  expressed his belief this week that the striker will stay for at least one more season.

Haaland is contracted to remain on Dortmund's books until 2024, but it has been reported that a €75 million (£67m/$92m) release clause was included in that deal which is due to become active in the summer of 2022.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that Paul Pogba, Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw all missed Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Watford on Saturday through injury.

Scott McTominay's header in the fifth minute against the Hornets was the game's only goal at Old Trafford,  sending United through to the fourth round with a 1-0 win.

Pogba, Lindelof and Shaw all started on Wednesday, as United fell 2-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-final. 

But in his post-game press conference just days later, Solskjaer confirmed that all three were injured – though he did not elaborate on the nature of their concerns.

Asked about the trio, Solskjaer would only say: "They’re injured."

With those three players out and Solskjaer looking to rotate his squad amid a busy fixture schedule, several fringe players got a chance to start against Watford. 

Among them was Donny van de Beek, who hasn't enjoyed a consistent run of playing time after making a summer move from Ajax.

Solskjaer was happy with what he saw from the Dutch international on Saturday, saying he demonstrated his considerable ability. 

"I think Donny showed again his qualities, his pace, he is very technically clean," Solskjaer said.

"One little flick to play Juan [Mata] through and he’s got that quality to open up tight games. He will benefit from this game as well."

Brandon Williams also got a start against Watford. After a breakthrough campaign last season, Williams has seen his playing time limited in 2020-21, leading to talk he could leave the club on loan this month. 

"I thought he had a very good game," Solskjaer said of the 20-year-old defender. "He’s not played for a while, playing on right-hand side. It might be easier on the right side but very pleased with Brandon, one of the positives."

United face a quick turnaround after their victory over Watford, as they travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley in a Premier League match on Tuesday. 

Solskjaer's side are currently level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table, and have played one game fewer than Jurgen Klopp's men.

Lyon have confirmed they are in talks with Atletico Madrid over the sale of Moussa Dembele to the Liga leaders.

Atletico are seeking a replacement for Diego Costa, who had his contract terminated by mutual consent last month.

With Diego Simeone’s side fighting for honours on a number of fronts, the coach has spoken of the need to secure support for Luis Suarez in attack.

It would appear as if he has settled on the former Fulham and Celtic forward – who has also been linked with West Ham – to fill Costa’s boots.

Following Lyon’s 2-2 draw at Rennes on Saturday, sporting director Juninho confirmed the talks were taking place.

"Moussa came to see me, he thinks that this is the moment to change teams, that he has lost a bit of motivation,” Lyon sporting director Juninho told Telefoot. “This was not something we foresaw, I like him a lot. 

“Keeping someone who does not really want to keep up the intensity through the next five months, that is not ideal. 

“We are in talks with Atletico, I think that Moussa has found an agreement with Atletico.”

It is clear that Atletico need reinforcements, as they are in a position of strength in La Liga and would not want to squander it.

They are one point clear of defending champions Real Madrid at the top of the table, but following the postponement of their game against Athletic Club on Saturday they have played three games fewer than their title rivals.

Lyon will now look to bring in a replacement for Dembele, as they are locked in a title battle in Ligue 1, leading Paris Saint-Germain and Lille by a point after 19 games.

Juninho said that out-of-favour Leicester City forward Islam Slimani could be brought in, after the club nearly signed the Algerian over the summer.

"Slimani is a player we appreciate a lot, but he's one of a few possibilities," he said. "Halfway through the season, it's not always easy to find a striker to play for six months or a year and a half. It is expensive.

"We are looking at other players. We spoke with [Slimani] at the start of the season, we had almost reached an agreement. He wants to come and wear our jersey."

Mauricio Pochettino insists there is still room for improvement from his Paris Saint-Germain side after brushing aside Brest 3-0 on Saturday .

Second-half substitutes Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia added to Moise Kean's opener as the reigning Ligue 1 champions ran out comfortable winners at the Parc des Princes.

The win, coming three days on from a 1-1 draw with Saint-Etienne in Pochettino's first game in charge, moves PSG within a point of leaders Lyon, who were held 2-2 by Rennes.

But despite the comfortable manner of the scoreline, Pochettino - named as Thomas Tuchel's successor last week - accepts there are still things to work on.

"We are satisfied with the result, it is the fruit of the effort of all the players," he told Canal+.

"But there is still a lot we have to correct. We must continue to work with high standards."

Kylian Mbappe fired a blank for the third time in four outings, failing to find the net from any of his three shots on target - more than any other player on the field.

But the France forward claimed an impressive assist for Sarabia's goal by taking the ball past a couple of opponents and teeing up his team-mate.

He cut a frustrated figure at times but Pochettino is pleased with Mbappe's overall display.

"Mbappe has done good things," Pochettino said. "He had chances and it's a shame he didn't score. But he had a good game."

PSG had 60.9 per cent of the ball against Brest - compared to an average of 63.9 per cent under former boss Tuchel - and attempted 11 shots on target.

Sarabia, who netted his third league goal of the season 27 minutes after being brought off the bench, believes Pochettino's style of play is already clear to see just two games in.

"He wants us to have a lot of the ball and to knock the ball a lot to destabilise the opponent," he said.

"He asks us to do a lot of pressing, very high. It is very important to capture all the ideas of the coach to try to do the best possible. 

"There are things that are similar between Tuchel and Pochettino but there are things that are very different. We have to work because there are a lot of things that are new."

PSG now switch focus to Wednesday's Trophee des Champions clash with Marseille and a chance to win a first piece of silverware of the Pochettino tenure.

"It's a very special match for Paris and for me too," the former Tottenham boss said. 

"We hope to have a good match and to arrive in the best conditions to be competitive. And of course, like every time we play Marseille, we have to win."