LOSC Lille Metropole clinched a Champions League berth after beating Lorient 4-1 on the final day of Ligue 1, which also saw Evian Thonon-Gaillard retain their top-flight status at the expense of Sochaux-Montbeliard.
Needing a victory to assure themselves of a third-place finish and a spot in next year’s Champions League third qualifying round, Lille fell behind at the Stade du Moustoir after Jeremie Aliadiere’s 22nd-minute opener for the hosts.
However, Lille, who have occupied no spot lower than third since October last year, replied through leading scorer Salomon Kalou 10 minutes later.
Photo: AFP
Having laid on the first goal, Nolan Roux then put Rene Girard’s visiting side in front seven minutes after half time, heading into an unguarded net after Lorient goalkeeper Fabien Audard flapped unsuccessfully at a Florent Balmont cross.
Another blunder from Audard presented Kalou with his second and Lille’s third on 65 minutes as he bundled home from close range to take his season’s tally to 16.
A late own-goal from defender Gregory Bourillon added gloss to the scoreline, which rendered AS Saint-Etienne’s 3-1 victory at home to rock-bottom AC Ajaccio irrelevant, forcing les Verts to settle for fourth and a Europa League berth.
At the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Loic Perrin headed a Max-Alain Gradel cross to put Saint-Etienne ahead before Mevlut Erding doubled their lead after Gradel squared to the unmarked Turkish striker, who put home his 12th goal of the term.
Perrin put the game out of reach with his second after the interval, before Issa Baradji pulled one back for Ajaccio in stoppage-time.
At Montbeliard, Evian’s 3-0 win over Sochaux consigned the hosts to the second tier after their seven-match unbeaten run was abruptly ended by their relegation rivals.
Herve Renard’s men needed a win over les Croix de Savoie to stay up, but soon found themselves on the back foot at the Stade Auguste Bonal, where they had been unbeaten since January, as Denmark international Daniel Wass fired in an acrobatic volley on nine minutes.
Aldo Angoula netted a second before the break, before Wass sealed the three points and Evian’s place in Ligue 1 with his third.
Also on Saturday, Champions Paris Saint-Germain set a new record for wins in a season with their 27th of the campaign courtesy of a 4-0 rout of Montpellier Herault.
Zlatan Ibrahimovc netted his league-best 26th goal, as Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lucas and Adrian Rabiot also got on the scoresheet to extend PSG’s record points haul to 89.
Following les Verts into the Europe League were Olympique Lyonnais, who booked their ticket with a 1-0 win over OGC Nice.
A sixth-minute header from Bakary Kone saw Lyon finish fifth, one point ahead of Olympique de Marseille, who beat En Avant de Guingamp by the same scoreline.
Elsewhere in Ligue 1, AS Monaco were held 1-1 by Girondins de Bordeaux, while SC Bastia goalkeeper Mickael Landreau kept a clean sheet in his final league game in a goalless draw against Nantes.
Also on Saturday, Stade Rennais beat Stade de Reims 3-1 and Toulouse crushed Valenciennes 3-1.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and