Paris Saint-Germain lost 1-0 to AS Nancy-Lorraine on Sunday, but they kept the top spot in Ligue 1 on goal-difference.
Nancy fullback Jean Calve scored the winner with a curling shot into the top corner in the 49th minute.
The result made PSG coach Antoine Kombouare’s position more fragile after club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said anything other than the league title would be a failure.
Photo: Reuters
“We’re not proud because it’s a match we should have won,” PSG midfielder Nene said. “The team played well, but we lacked the finishing touch.”
The defeat ended PSG’s 12-game unbeaten run in the league, but PSG sporting director Leonardo was quick to come to Kombouare’s rescue after the match.
“The situation remains the same,” Leonardo said. “Kombouare still has the entire trust of the club. There’s no problem.”
PSG dominated possession, but struggled to create clear-cut chances, while Nancy played with a defensive 5-4-1 formation, hoping to capitalize on their few counterattacking chances.
PSG put Nancy under pressure in the opening minutes.
Brazilian midfielder Nene set up Blaise Matuidi with a backheel flick in the second minute, but Nancy goalkeeper Guy Ndy Assembe parried Matuidi’s low drive.
Nene then provided a cross for Kevin Gameiro in the fourth minute, but the France international headed over the bar. Nene cut inside a minute later to hit a curling shot that was stopped by Ndy Assembe.
Nancy threatened in their first counterattack after six minutes, but PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu punched away fullback Reynald Lemaitre’s powerful strike.
Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore made no impact on the game, his only noticeable efforts being a tame curling shot in the 27th minute that Ndy Assembe easily caught and a long-range drive that sailed wide in the 52nd minute.
Nancy took advantage of a passive PSG defense to open the scoring just after the restart. Lossemy Karaboue slipped the ball to Calve, who found the top corner with his shot. A dejected Sirigu banged the woodwork with his studs.
Nancy nearly added a second goal in the 67th minute. Calve hoisted a free-kick into the PSG box, but Sirigu tipped over a close-range header from Nancy centerback Andre Luiz.
“We knew we would have a few counterattacking opportunities,” Calve said. “We showed solidarity at the back. We managed to protect our lead and that allowed us to have the three points tonight.”
The victory helped Nancy move out of the relegation zone.
PSG’s best chance came in the 79th minute when midfielder Mathieu Bodmer knocked the ball down for Gameiro, but the France international’s flick bounced off the bar.
Assembe protected Nancy’s lead with an outstanding save in the 82nd minute. The Cameroon goalkeeper dived to stop a low drive from Nene, before crawling on the ground to deny Bodmer, who had pounced on the rebound.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Stade Brestois 29 and Valenciennes both won to move away from the relegation zone.
Brest beat 10-man Sochaux-Montbeliard 2-0, while Valenciennes rallied from a goal down to beat AJ Auxerre 2-1.
Brest midfielder Bruno Grougi converted a penalty in the 68th minute after Sochaux defender Mathieu Peybernes had fouled Eden Ben Basat — earning himself a red card in the process. Striker Nolan Roux pulled the ball back for substitute Romain Poyet to double the lead from close range in the 80th minute.
In Valenciennes, Burkina Faso midfielder Alain Traore beat goalkeeper Nicolas Penneteau in the 34th minute to notch his seventh goal of the season and put Auxerre ahead, but Valenciennes defender Nicolas Isimat-Mirin leveled by heading in a cross from Renaud Cohade in the 59th minute and forward Mamadou Samassa fired the winner in the 79th minute.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
RSS