Montpellier took over from Paris Saint-Germain at the Ligue 1 summit after a second-half onslaught inspired by Olivier Giroud swept them to a 3-0 win at home to Ajaccio on Saturday.
Ajaccio had gone six games unbeaten prior to the encounter at Stade de la Mosson and they frustrated Rene Girard’s side in the first half, with visiting goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa equal to everything the hosts threw at him.
However, Montpellier assumed the upper hand in the second period, with Younes Belhanda breaking the deadlock via a cool chipped penalty in the 53rd minute after Benjamin Andre had tripped Henri Bedimo inside the penalty area.
Giroud teed up Remy Cabella for the second goal in the 64th minute and Ligue 1’s top scorer claimed his 16th goal of the season three minutes later, chesting down Marco Estrada’s lofted pass and beating Ochoa with a crisp finish.
The result means Montpellier are still to concede a goal in all competitions this year and they now lead the table on goal difference prior to PSG’s trip to second-bottom Nice yesterday.
Lyon’s quest for Champions League qualification received an unexpected setback as they were prevented from leapfrogging Lille into third place by a shock 2-1 loss at home to Caen.
Romain Hamouma opened the scoring in the 13th minute, racing behind the Lyon defense to collect Pierre-Alain Frau’s pass and fire a low shot past Hugo Lloris into the bottom-left corner.
Caen had been without a win in Ligue 1 since Nov. 6 last year, but they sealed victory in stunning fashion in the 73rd minute, substitute Livio Nabab scoring with a sublime dipping volley from just outside the Lyon area.
Lisandro Lopez pulled a goal back from the penalty spot with four minutes to play.
Rennes joined Lille, who have two games in hand, and Lyon on 39 points with a 1-0 win over Sochaux.
A header in injury time by Swiss international Innocent Emeghara earned 10-man Lorient a 1-1 draw at Auxerre that prevented the hosts from registering a first league win since Dec. 11 and kept them mired in the relegation zone.
Defender Willy Boly had put Auxerre in front in the 18th minute and two minutes later Lorient had goalkeeper Fabien Audard sent off for handling the ball outside his area.
Valenciennes, who knocked holders Lille out of the French Cup in mid-week, edged Nancy 1-0 in their mid-table encounter thanks to a stoppage-time goal by substitute Mamadou Samassa.
The extreme cold weather currently assailing France has played havoc with the weekend’s Ligue 1 schedule, prompting several matches to be brought forward and forcing the postponement of Marseille’s trip to Evian.
In other Ligue 1 play, it was:
‧ Brest 1, Dijon 1
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS