Johan Audel scored a hat-trick on Saturday to lead Valenciennes to a 3-1 win over Toulouse in the opening round of the French league.
Valenciennes, who barely escaped relegation last season, went ahead in the fifth minute when Audel scored on a cross from midfielder Carlos Sanchez.
But six minutes later, Nicolas Dieuze leveled with a powerful 20m shot.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Audel gave Valenciennes the lead again in the 29th minute with a header from close range, and he made the game safe in the 57th minute by scoring on a cross from Rudy Mater.
Nancy upset Rennes 2-0 with Marc-Antoine Fortune scoring in the 36th minute on a counterattack off a pass from Youssouf Hadji, who netted with a chip over Rennes goalkeeper Simon Pouplin in the 41st minute.
In Bordeaux, David Bellion, an offseason signing from Nice, gave the hosts a 1-0 victory over Lens.
Mathieu Chalme dribbled into the Lens area before pulling the ball back to Bellion, who scored from close range in the 30th minute. Lens midfielder Sidi Keita was sent off in injury time.
Newly promoted Caen edged Nice 1-0 with Lilian Compan beating Nice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 82nd minute with a header off a cross from Yoan Gouffran.
Monaco played out a draw with Saint-Etienne 1-1. Frederic Piquionne headed in a corner kick for Monaco in the 44th minute, but Saint-Etienne midfielder Pascal Feindouno equalized with a penalty kick in the 47th minute.
Sochaux drew 0-0 with PSG, who hit the post twice.
Pedro Pauleta, the top striker in the French league last season with 15 goals, struck the post in the 38th minute after a one-two with Peguy Luyindula. Substitute Amara Diane outpaced the Sochaux defense in the 67th minute -- but his shot also crashed against the post.
Lille also split the points with Lorient in a game with very few chances.
Lorient midfielder Ulrich Le Pen was replaced in the 49th minute with his face covered in blood after goalkeeper Fabien Audard accidentally kneed him in the face.
Earlier, newly promoted Strasbourg held Marseille to a scoreless draw.
Strasbourg had the best record at home last season in the French second division, staying undefeated in 19 matches.
Marseille, last season's runner-up, were without Samir Nasri with the France midfielder recovering from an ankle injury.
"We knew it would be tough today," Marseille winger Boudewijn Zenden told Canal Plus Television. "We tried. We had a few shots on target, but it wasn't enough."
Strasbourg had the best chances in the second half.
Midfielder James Fanchone headed just wide in the 52nd minute. Forward Wason Renteria's shot 11 minutes later on a cross from Eric Mouloungui was blocked by Marseille goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso.
Marseille striker Djibril Cisse had a goal disallowed in the 84th minute for offside.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set