French League Cup holders Paris Saint-Germain moved to within one win of retaining the trophy as a first-half goal from defender Maxwell gave them a 1-0 semi-final victory at LOSC Lille Metropole on Tuesday.
The French champions dominated affairs with the bulk of possession and mustered the only goal of the match on 27 minutes when Brazilian fullback Maxwell blasted a fierce shot into the corner leaving Lille’s Nigerian ’keeper Vincent Enyeama no chance.
The joy at reaching the final was tempered somewhat as after the game PSG’s star player Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic tried to persuade several of his teammates to ignore the waiting press.
Photo: AFP
“Follow me follow me. Nobody talks. Zlatan is the boss,” Ibrahimovic said in English as he led a group comprising, among others, Maxwell, Edinson Cavani and Brazilian Lucas out of the dressing room.
While a smiling Ibrahimovic progressed serenely through the mixed zone, Brazilian star Lucas disobeyed and stopped to speak with the press, speaking in Portuguese. Laurent Blanc’s side will play either Monaco or Bastia, who were to meet at the Louis II stadium yesterday, in the April 11 final at the Stade de France.
“We’re the Cup holders and we had the heart to defend that,” Blanc said. “We had to win here [Lille] first and that’s done, but what pleases me most is not only the victory, but also what we offered against a team that really dug in.”
“We didn’t give them hope, even if the score was only 1-0, and my team played some really good stuff, which will serve us in good stead for the future, but we still have to progress,” the former Bordeaux and France coach added.
The victory keeps PSG on track for a quartet of trophies with a Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea on Feb. 17 and a last-16 French Cup fixture against Nantes lying ahead. The capital club also have the chance to go top of Ligue 1 on Sunday when they attempt to overturn a two point deficit on Lyon when the teams meet at the Stade Gerland.
“We have a lot of matches and it’s going to be a marathon, but let’s hope it continues as long as possible. I hope that March will be complicated and the marathon continues into April and May which will mean we’re advancing in all competitions,” Blanc said.
Rene Girard’s Lille side were out of their depth against the star-studded PSG lineup who put a first choice team out including Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Thiago Silva and David Luiz. The hosts hardly conjured up a second half opportunity as reserve ’keeper Nicolas Douchez, standing in for Salvatore Sirigu, enjoyed a relaxed evening in the away goal.
Lucas and Cavani played a role in the winner, with the Uruguayan marksman sliding the ball across to Maxwell, who made no mistake from the edge of the penalty box.
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