A stoppage-time strike by Andre-Pierre Gignac secured Olympique de Marseille three crucial points in their Ligue 1 title pursuit as they beat Montpellier Herault 3-2 on Saturday.
Andre Ayew had given Marseille the lead on 14 minutes, before Emanuel Herrera replied for the visitors.
John Utaka’s 56th-minute goal put a resurgent Montpellier on course for a fifth win in six matches, but Jordan Ayew leveled 11 minutes from time, before Gignac’s late intervention earned Elie Baup’s side a dramatic victory.
Photo: Reuters
“I had a difficult match against two beasts at the back. It took only one [chance], which came at the end, [making it] even better for the team and the supporters,” Gignac said.
The result pushed Marseille to within one point of leaders Olympique Lyonnais, who were held to a goalless draw at home to Evian Thonon Gaillard on Friday, with archrivals Paris Saint-Germain lying third, three points off the pace, ahead of their trip to Girondins de Bordeaux yesterday.
Andre Ayew, available for selection after his omission from Ghana’s Africa Cup of Nations squad, put Marseille ahead when he twisted to head Joey Barton’s cross beyond Geoffrey Jourdren.
The hosts’ lead was short-lived, though, as Emanuel Herrera hauled Montpellier level just three minutes later, running onto Utaka’s pass, before rounding goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and steering in from a tight angle.
Defending champions Montpellier, whose hopes of retaining their Ligue 1 crown were extinguished following a disastrous start to the campaign, appeared on track for a fifth win in six matches as Utaka stabbed home after latching onto Remy Cabella’s ball into the box, but Jordan Ayew turned in his brother’s low cross from close range to draw Marseille back on level terms, before Gignac capitalized on a defensive error by Daniel Congre to slot the ball beyond Jourdren in the first minute of stoppage-time.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Lorient jumped up to fourth following a 3-2 win at home to strugglers ES Troyes AC.
First-half efforts from Kevin Monnet-Paquet and Enzo Reale gave the hosts a two-goal lead, before Jeremie Brechet pulled one back for Troyes on 66 minutes. Gregory Bourillon then added a third for Lorient, while Fabien Camus netted a late consolation.
AS Saint-Etienne halted a sequence of six matches without a victory as Brandao’s second-half goal secured a 1-0 victory at Stade Brestois 29 for Christophe Galtier’s side, while a Franck Tabanou brace guided Toulouse past bottom club AS Nancy-Lorraine 2-1.
Adrian Mutu notched his fifth goal of the season for AC Ajaccio as the Corsicans drew 1-1 against Valenciennes, with Opa Nguette tallying his first senior goal.
Earlier, Sochaux-Montbeliard climbed out of the relegation zone following a controversial 1-0 victory at home to Stade de Reims that saw them maintain their perfect start to the year.
Loic Poujol forced the ball over the line from Rafael Dias’ corner on 15 minutes, with replays suggesting the midfielder pushed it in with his arm.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB