A first half strike from South Korean forward Park Chu-young ensured leaders Lille suffered just their fourth defeat of the season as Monaco moved out of the drop zone with their 1-0 win on Saturday.
Lille have lost an important tie with a view to claiming their first league title in 53 years, as they could see their lead shaved to just one point should champions Marseille have won at home to Toulouse yesterday.
Third-placed Stade Rennais’ title ambitions were further hit as they fell 2-0 to Stade Brestois 29 in Saturday’s late match, leaving them four games without a win and in danger of being overtaken by Lyon who were to host Lens yesterday.
The leaders were reduced to 10 men after 37 minutes when Gervinho was given his marching orders, as their rivals showed a battling spirit which ensured they move out of the relegation zone into 14th place.
Monaco got off to an attacking start with Lille’s defenders deflecting out an early effort from Cameroonian Benjamin Moukandjo after seven minutes.
However, it was a nightmare return from injury for Lille’s Adil Rami as his poor pass to goalkeeper Mickael Landreau allowed Park to score the winning goal.
In Brittany, Brest opened with a superb first half goal from Nolan Roux under the eyes of Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish, who had come to watch Rennes goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez.
However, it wasn’t to be Douchez’s night as he could find no reply when Roux fired in from 35m to opening the score after 29 minutes. Bruno Grougi scored the second after 55 minutes as Brest move up two spots to 11th.
Paris Saint-Germain got back to winning ways with a 2-1 success at Stade Malherbe Caen as they stay fifth with 49 points with eight games to play.
Christophe Jallet opened for PSG after 13 minutes with Clement Chantome getting the second after 69 minutes. Romain Hamouma pulled one back for Caen three minutes into extra time.
European hopefuls Saint-Etienne were held to a 2-2 draw by struggling Auxerre, while Girondins de Bordeaux’s European hopes took a knock as they were held to a goalless draw at home to tailenders Arles-Avignon.
Midtable Lorient and Sochaux drew 1-1 as did Valenciennes after a last-gasp goal by Marama Vahirua gave visiting Nancy a share of the points.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two