Paris Saint-Germain left it late before giving renewed life to their title push on Wednesday with a 5-2 victory at struggling northern outfit Boulogne.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime following a superb 36th-minute goal from Boulogne’s Guillaume Ducatel, the Parisians sparked into life on the hour mark with four goals in a 10-minute spree.
Midfielder Clement Chantome got the equalizer after 60 minutes, with Peguy Luyindula stepping up to convert a penalty three minutes later. A double in the space of three minutes from striker Mevlut Erding (67, 70) put the visitors well on the way to victory.
PHOTO: AFP
Boulogne got one back through a Johan Ramare penalty in the 82nd minute, but Jean-Eudes Maurice slotted home the fifth for PSG four minutes from time following a Younousse Sankhare pass.
After their 1-0 win over Auxerre last weekend, PSG will be hoping to continue their form when they take on table-toppers Bordeaux tomorrow.
PSG coach Antoine Kombouare said he was satisfied his side were finally showing consistency, but warned against over-confidence ahead of their clash against Bordeaux.
“Finally, we have two consecutive wins and it’s the best way to prepare for Bordeaux. It gives us hope and confidence,” he said. “Some players have found their marks again, but Bordeaux aren’t Boulogne. We’ll go there with more confidence, but against the French champions it will be difficult. I remain wary.”
Boulogne had been looking to end a spriral of 10 matches without a victory, but hit by the absence of their emblematic captain Gregory Thil and midfielder Alexandre Cuvilier, suffered their fifth straight defeat.
PSG are six points behind leaders Bordeaux, while Boulogne are second from bottom.
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De
RSS