Lens moved into second place in the French first division on Saturday despite being held to a 0-0 draw by visiting Rennes.
Third-place Sochaux drew 0-0 at Nice, while Nancy lost for the third time this season -- 2-0 at Lorient -- and slipped to fourth. Lorient won its third straight game with goals from winger Ulrich Le Pen and Hamed Namouchi.
Also on Saturday, it was: Bordeaux 0, Auxerre 0; Le Mans 1, Paris Saint-Germain 1; Nantes 2, Saint-Etienne 2; and Toulouse 3, Sedan 1.
PHOTO: EPA
Bordeaux's draw ended a four-match winning streak at home. Missing striker Jean-Claude Darcheville, Bordeaux fielded veteran Lilian Laslandes in attack, but he was unable to make any impact.
Gabriel Obertan almost won the match for Bordeaux, but the 17-year-old player missed the target with a powerful shot.
Bonaventure Kalou's 10th-minute penalty gave PSG the lead, but Chiguy Luca leveled for host Le Mans in the 37th.
PHOTO: EPA
Defender Eric Cubilier gave Nantes the lead in the 39th, and Guinea winger Pascal Feindouno equalized for Saint-Etienne just before halftime.
Nourdin Boukhari looked to have sealed the win for struggling Nantes in the 86th, but Vincent Hognon scored in injury time to earn Saint-Etienne a 2-2 draw.
At Toulouse, forward Johan Elmander scored twice and Fabinho added another for the hosts, with Fabrice Jau scoring a consolation for Sedan.
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
Taiwanese badminton player Lin Chun-yi had to settle for silver in the men’s singles at the Orleans Masters in France on Sunday after losing in the final to his French opponent. The 25-year-old Lin, ranked world No. 14, lost to Alex Lanier 13-21, 18-21 in a match that lasted 42 minutes at the Palais des Sports arena. It was the first time that the two players were facing each other in their professional careers. In the opener, Lin was slow to warm up, which gave the 20-year-old Lanier an opportunity to take an early lead with seven consecutive points. Despite
Taiwan’s Lin Chun-yi on Wednesday inflicted a first-round defeat on former badminton world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the All England Open. Lin came out of top after a back-and-forth first game before Axelsen dominated the second, but the Dane was not able to keep that form in the decider as Lin reeled off six points in a row on the way to a 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 victory. “If I don’t play my best, everyone can win against me,” said Axelsen, the world No. 4. “Today’s opponent played a fantastic game; it was disappointing, but that is how it is.” “I just tried
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