French leader Paris Saint-Germain lost its unbeaten league record and lost top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic to a red card in a 2-1 home loss to AS Saint-Etienne on Saturday.
An own goal from center back Mamadou Sakho gave the visitors the lead in the 55th minute, and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 2-0 in the 73rd. The defeat put an end to PSG’s four-match winning run in all competitions.
“I think we deserved to lose tonight because Saint-Etienne played better,” PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We were missing something. We used up a lot of energy against Marseille [in the League Cup] on Wednesday. Maybe that explains it. Of course we’re disappointed, but we have to look ahead to our next match in the Champions League” against Dinamo Zagreb tomorrow.
Ibrahimovic was shown a straight red card in the 70th for kicking goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier in the chest. Ibrahimovic was racing on to a long pass when he clattered into Ruffier, and both players fell to the floor.
Ruffier, who has been one of the league’s best goalkeepers this season, had stopped Ibrahimovic from scoring his 11th league goal of the campaign with a smart save early on.
Substitute Guillaume Hoarau pulled a late goal back for PSG, which had to replace midfielders Blaise Matuidi and Clement Chantome during the match due to injury.
PSG is three points clear of Toulouse and Olympique de Marseille, which has played two games less.
Toulouse were to play Girondins de Bordeaux and Marseille were set to visit AC Ajaccio yesterday.
Valenciennes climbed above Saint-Etienne on goal difference and into fourth place after beating struggling Sochaux-Montbeliard 3-1 at home, with striker Gregory Pujol scoring twice and midfielder Foued Kadir getting the other goal.
In other results, it was:
‧ Lille 2, Evian 0
‧ Nice 2, Nancy 1
‧ Rennes 1, Reims 0
‧ Troyes 1, Montpellier 1
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS