A second-half goal by Alex gave Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 home win against archrivals Olympique do Marseille on Sunday as Carlo Ancelotti’s side remained in the hunt for a first Ligue 1 title in 18 years.
Former Chelsea defender Alex headed home on 61 minutes, two minutes after Andre Ayew had canceled out Jeremy Menez’s early opener to put PSG on 63 points with seven games left.
They are second to Montpellier Herault on goal-difference, but the leaders have a game in hand, which they will play at Marseille’s Stade Velodrome tomorrow.
PSG’s display was passable at best, but it was enough to see off Marseille who, despite some good spells at the Parc des Princes, continued their poor run with a 10th defeat in their last 11 games in all competitions. They remain ninth on 40 points.
The home side, who last won the French league in 1994, finished the game with 10 men when holding midfielder Mohamed Sissoko was sent off for a second bookable offense with three minutes left.
“It’s always a special game. I think we had a bigger desire to win,” PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu told Canal Plus. “The best thing, however, is that we stay in contact with Montpellier.”
Once again, Ancelotti fielded a team without a recognized striker as Brazilian Nene, usually a winger, was used as No. 9, with Menez and Javier Pastore to support him.
That trio proved too much for Marseille to handle as PSG took the lead after only six minutes when Menez volleyed home after Christophe Jallet fluffed his attempt into the path of the France winger.
However, the visitors imposed a patient, possessive pattern on the match, but failed to create clear chances as PSG held their one-goal advantage until the interval.
Marseille leveled just before the hour, when Andre Ayew headed home after being set up in the box by Loic Remy’s header, but they could not stay focused and conceded from the restart.
Alex beat Alou Diarra in the air to head home a corner kick and restore PSG’s advantage.
“We were strong, we played well. We were the strongest team, but we need to move on and go past this huge disappointment,” a dejected Jordan Ayew said.
Earlier, Stade Malherbe Caen moved out of the relegation zone and up to 16th with a 1-0 win against visiting Girondins de Bordeaux, while OGC Nice beat Lorient 2-0.
Additional reporting by Staff writer
New Taipei Kings guard Jeremy Lin on Friday was named the Taiwan Professional Basketball League’s (TPBL) Player of the Month, the first domestic player to win the award, while the Hsinchu Toplus Lioneers are to welcome their third head coach in less than a year. Lin averaged 22 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists over five games in October and last month, helping the Kings to second in the standings with a 4-2 record as of Friday. The Kings last night defeated the Lioneers 96-78 to move level with the top-of-the-table Formosa Dreamers (5-2), while in the night game, the New Taipei
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
TO NO AVAIL: The Denver Nuggets’ Serbian center Nikola Jokic surpassed his 53-point performance in the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix The Washington Wizards withstood a 56-point explosion from Denver star Nikola Jokic to beat the Nuggets 122-113 on Saturday and snap their 16-game NBA losing streak. Jokic, who won his third NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award last season, posted a career scoring high — surpassing a 53-point performance in game four of the 2023 Western Conference semi-finals against Phoenix and a 50-point regular-season best against Sacramento in 2021. The Serbian big man added 16 rebounds and eight assists, but it was all to no avail as Washington, buoyed by 39 points from Jordan Poole, won for the first time
RSS