Stade Rennais stayed in the hunt for a Europa League spot when they beat lowly OGC Nice 3-1 in Ligue 1 on Monday.
Rennes, who faced anger from their fans after being knocked out by third division Quevilly in a French Cup semi-final last week, are fifth on 51 points.
The team finishing fifth will secure a Europa League playoff spot if fourth-placed Olympique Lyonnais beat Quevilly in the French Cup final on April 28.
Photo: AFP
Nice are 14th on 34 points, only one point above the relegation zone.
On Monday, the Roazhon Celtic Kop, reserved for Rennes’s largest fans group, was empty in a demonstration of anger toward the players.
Rennes went ahead on 23 minutes when Julien Feret fired a low shot past David Ospina.
Tongo Hamed Doumbia doubled the tally a minute before the interval with a downward header, only for Francois Clerc to reduce the arrears shortly before the hour mark with a long-range strike.
However, Jonathan Pitroipa put the result beyond doubt eight minutes from time with a fine chip.
Today, League Cup winners Olympique de Marseille take on Stade Malherbe Caen, while losing finalists Olympique Lyonnais travel to Toulouse.
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
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
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