Paris Saint-Germain failed to equal the record for their longest unbeaten run in France’s top flight as they suffered a shock 2-0 defeat away to Evian Thonon Gaillard on Wednesday.
Youngster Clarck Nsikulu put Evian in front at the end of a counterattack with 15 minutes remaining in freezing Annecy, and on-loan Olympique de Marseille winger Modou Sougou made sure of the win for the home side when he added another in the 87th minute.
That goal came just seconds after Javier Pastore had missed a glorious chance to bring the defending champions level, and the result ends PSG’s unbeaten record under Laurent Blanc.
Photo: AFP
Indeed, the capital club’s sequence of Ligue 1 matches without defeat ends at 26, one short of the club record set in their title-winning 1993-1994 campaign.
And their overall run without losing in all competitions ends at 36 matches, also one short of the club record.
However, that sequence does not include a defeat to Evian on penalties in the quarter-finals of the French Cup last season, and now the club from the shadow of the Alps can claim to be PSG’s bogey side.
“This win is marvelous for all our fans, the whole region. I have to congratulate my players,” said Evian coach Pascal Dupraz, who nevertheless admitted his frustration that his side were unable to produce such performances on a regular basis.
Blanc did not dwell long on the run coming to an end.
“We had our chances in the first-half and we can have regrets about the loss because we should have opened the scoring and that could have meant a different result,” he said.
Blanc’s side are now just a single point clear of LOSC Lille Metropole at the top of the table, with the northern side having beaten Marseille 1-0 on Tuesday, with Nolan Roux scoring a stoppage-time winner as Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama kept his 11th consecutive clean sheet.
Meanwhile, AS Monaco are just one point further behind in third after they won 3-0 away to OGC Nice in a Cote d’Azur derby on Tuesday, achieved without Radamel Falcao, as the Colombian missed a second successive game due to injury.
James Rodriguez, Emmanuel Riviere and Lucas Ocampos got the goals for Claudio Ranieri’s men, as Nice fell to a sixth straight defeat.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, veteran goalkeeper Mickael Landreau broke the record for the most appearances by any player in France’s top flight as he started for SC Bastia in their Corsican derby draw with AC Ajaccio.
French international Landreau played his 603rd Ligue 1 game, three days after equaling the previous record held by former Monaco goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori, in a game played on neutral ground on the mainland at the Stade Parsemain, home of second-tier club Istres.
However, Landreau, formerly of Nantes, PSG and Lille, was unable to help Bastia beat their island rivals as the game ended in a 1-1 draw, a late Eduardo strike for Ajaccio canceling out Florian Raspentino’s early opener.
“It is fabulous to experience this and to be able to share it,” Landreau said after the match. “The game was played behind closed doors, but I prepare for every match in the same manner. I can feel what this represents, and it is massive.”
AS Saint-Etienne missed the chance to reclaim fifth spot as they went down 3-1 away to Stade Rennes in Brittany, with Argentine striker Silvio Romero scoring his first two goals in French soccer for the hosts.
Girondins de Bordeaux inflicted a first home defeat on En Avant de Guingamp since the opening day of the season, winning 1-0 thanks to a solitary Julien Faubert strike, while Lorient increased the pressure on beleagured Montpellier Herault coach Jean Fernandez with a 2-0 victory at the Stade de la Mosson.
Maxime Barthelme put Lorient ahead, before Cameroon international forward Vincent Aboubakar scored his ninth goal of the season from the penalty spot at the death after the home side had been reduced to nine men by the dismissals of Vitorino Hilton and Abdelhamid El-Kaoutari.
However, Montpellier’s plight is not as serious as that of Sochaux-Montbeliard, who remain rooted to the bottom seven points from safety after losing 2-0 at home to Stade de Reims.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care