Ailing French giants Monaco got a much-needed morale boost on Tuesday when they reached the League Cup quarter-finals by beating Lorient 5-3 on penalties after their round-of-l6 clash finished 1-1 after extra-time.
Monaco — Champions League finalists in 2004 and whose last trophy was the 2003 League Cup — opened the scoring through a header by Swedish defender Petter Hansson in the 99th minute, their first goal in seven matches, only for Malian midfielder Sigamary Diarra to level two minutes from the end of extra-time.
However, their penalty takers all scored, whilst Monaco’s goalkeeping captain Stephane Ruffier saved their opponents first penalty to help secure the principality side’s place in the last eight.
PHOTO: REUTERS
More pleasing as well for the home supporters was that their expensive summer signing from Belgian side Standard Liege, Congolese striker Dieumerci Mbokani, scored the decisive penalty, which will ease some of the pressure on him as he has failed to sparkle thus far.
The victory may have bought coach Guy Lacombe more time after a dreadful run of just one win in their last 10 league matches, with this weekend’s league match against Girondins de Bordeaux pivotal.
Lacombe, who coached unfashionable Sochaux to the League Cup trophy, said that it was a hugely important victory.
PHOTO: AFP
“Is it a fire extinguished? Well, there was no fire in the first place, but of course there were question marks hanging over us,” said Lacombe, who guided Monaco to the French Cup final last season. “We were under pressure because we knew if we qualified we would be more confident for Sunday [against Bordeaux].”
“It is true that it is absolutely crucial we are really strong and win on Sunday,” added 55-year-old Lacombe, who as a player won an Olympic gold medal in 1984.
Bordeaux, coached by a former Monaco handler in Jean Tigana, exited the competition after a 1-0 defeat to high-flying rivals Saint-Etienne.
Midfielder Guirane N’Daw struck early on with a superb shot from the left to end a run of three matches without a win for Les Verts and also confirm his return to the fold after he was exiled by coach Christophe Galtier during the summer for his poor attitude.
Saint-Etienne failed to press home their advantage and it was Bordeaux, whose form has been described as only average by Tigana in his first season in charge after replacing France coach Laurent Blanc, who dominated the second period.
However, Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Jeremie Janot saved from Anthony Modeste, before also proving equal to a long-range shot by Czech international Jaroslav Plasil and from Jussie following the ensuing corner.
Tigana, a member of the great France midfield of the 1980s known as the “Magic Square,” was not too disappointed to have lost, especially as he said it was a markedly better performance than their league defeat by Stade Brestois 29 last weekend.
“The priority is the championship,” said Tigana, who hinted last week this would be his final coaching post. “The French Cup gets underway in January. We have the time to devote ourselves to the championship and it is crucial we get a good result against Monaco on Sunday.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite