LOSC Lille Metropole edged En Avant de Guingamp 1-0 to pull within six points of second-placed AS Monaco in Ligue 1, despite a mediocre performance on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, AS Saint-Etienne kept pace with Lille in the race for a UEFA Champions League spot by defeating Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 and Stade Rennais thrashed SC Bastia 3-0 to move closer to securing safety.
Lille centerback Marko Basa redirected a corner toward Salomon Kalou, who flicked home the winner in the second minute of stoppage-time for his 11th league goal this season.
Photo: Reuters
“We struggle each time we face a team parking the bus,” Kalou said. “We don’t find the solutions.”
Guingamp had three clear-cut chances in the second half, but failed to convert them.
Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama denied striker Mustapha Yatabare in the 52nd minute and parried a volley from midfielder Fatih Atik in the 55th. Christophe Mandanne then rounded Enyeama in the 60th minute, but centerback Simon Kjaer rushed back to clear off the line.
At the Stade de Gerland, Max-Alain Gradel gave Saint-Etienne the victory in a heated Rhone derby.
The Saint-Etienne substitute converted a rebound in the 74th minute after goalkeeper Anthony Lopes palmed a cross from Renaud Cohade into his path.
“I’m so happy for the supporters,” Gradel said. “We made it for them because for years they’ve been humiliated. Today, we want to thank them with this victory.”
Saint-Etienne opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Brazilian forward Brandao knocked a high ball down for Mevlut Erding, who beat Lopes from close range.
Bafetimbi Gomis helped the hosts equalize in the 39th minute by dribbling past two defenders to send a ball over the top to Alexandre Lacazette. The Lyon striker volleyed into the bottom corner for his 14th league goal this season.
A physical Saint-Etienne side kept Yoann Gourcuff quiet. The Lyon playmaker was replaced at halftime after picking up an ankle injury following a tackle from Cohade, who received a yellow card.
In Rennes, the hosts took the lead in the 14th minute with a powerful strike from Romain Alessandrini which goalkeeper Mickael Landreau fumbled into his own net.
Sweden forward Ola Toivonen fired a half-volley into the top corner to double the lead in the 28th minute and set up midfielder Jean Makoun for the third in the 59th.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but