FRANCE
Lyon triumph to go second
Olympique Lyonnais remained on course for next season’s UEFA Champions League after claiming a thrilling 3-2 victory at relegation strugglers Toulouse in Ligue 1 on Saturday. Marcel Tisserand struck just after halftime to give Toulouse the lead, but Clement Grenier’s free-kick pulled Lyon back on level terms with 73 minutes played. Alexandre Lacazette then fired Lyon ahead, only for Wissam Ben Yedder to equalize soon after, but Corentin Tolisso forced home the winner five minutes from time to move Lyon back into second place. “We knew coming here it would be difficult. These are three very, very important points,” said Lyon coach Bruno Genesio, with his side one point ahead of AS Monaco, who were due to visit Stade Rennais yesterday. “We still have our destiny in our own hands and that’s the good news from this evening. We never gave up when it was difficult and that’s been our hallmark for a bit now.” Defeat for Toulouse left the hosts three points from safety with just three games remaining.
FRANCE
Reims sack coach Guegan
Ligue 1 strugglers Stade de Reims have parted company with coach Olivier Guegan, the Ligue 1 club announced on Saturday. “After a series of poor performances since the start of March and considering the uncertainty surrounding the club’s position in Ligue 1 with three games to go, Stade de Reims have relieved coach Olivier Guegan of his duties,” the club said in a statement published on their Web site. The sacking comes a day after Reims lost 2-0 away at OGC Nice, a fourth defeat in five league games leaving them dangerously close to the relegation zone. With three games to play, the former European Cup finalists are just two points clear of the bottom three.
ITALY
Inter rally to down Udinese
Striker Stevan Jovetic scored twice as Inter rallied from a goal down to beat Udinese 3-1 at the San Siro on Saturday and consolidate fourth place in Serie A. Striker Cyril Thereau volleyed the visitors into the lead in the ninth minute, with Jovetic tapping in the equalizer in the 36th from Mauro Icardi’s cross. Jovetic struck again 15 minutes from time, chesting in a cross from Jonathan Biabiany, before substitute Eder rounded off the win five minutes into stoppage-time. Inter are four points behind third-placed AS Roma and 18 adrift of leaders Juventus. Juve were due to play at ACF Fiorentina yesterday, before second-placed SSC Napoli, nine points off the pace, are due to meet AS Roma in the capital today.
GERMANY
Fans offered pick-me-up
Fans of Hannover 96 have been offered a fruity pick-me-up, with a sex club in the city planning a raunchy party with their club poised to go down. With three games left, bottom side Hannover have only a mathematical chance of avoiding relegation. Their 2-2 draw at Ingolstadt 04 on Saturday left them nine points from safety, meaning they must win their three remaining games just to qualify for a two-legged relegation playoff. Under the motto, “After going down, something comes up,” the FKK Villa in Hannover is planning to host a party on May 14 — when Hannover play their final Bundesliga game away to Bayern Munich. Prostitution is legal in Germany and according to the establishment’s Web site, “for 96 euros, all drinks, except champagne, are free and included in the entry fee is a 15-minute quickie with a female club hostess of your choice.” As Bild pointed out, “at least this dreary season could still end with a climax for Hannover fans.”
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
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