Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored one goal and made another as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed struggling Evian Thonon Gaillard 4-0 to move into provisional second place in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
PSG had dropped down to fourth after three losses in their previous five league games — including two at home — but Ibrahimovic settled the nerves in the 28th minute with his league-leading 14th goal of the season.
Three minutes later, the imposing Swede expertly chested the ball down for Argentina international winger Ezequiel Lavezzi to make it 2-0.
Photo: AFP
Midfielder Thiago Motta and striker Kevin Gameiro added two late tap-ins to make the score more emphatic.
“It was a good game, a good performance from the team,” PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “It was an important game for us.”
PSG restored morale by beating Porto 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday last week and Ancelotti was confident things were back on track after another win at the Parc des Princes.
“I wanted us to show the same attitude we showed against Porto,” Ancelotti said.
PSG were two points behind leaders Olympique Lyonnais, who had a tough trip to bitter rivals AS Saint-Etienne yesterday. Olympique de Marseille needed only a draw at home to Lorient yesterday to move into second place.
In other matches on Saturday, it was Montpellier Herault 3, AC Ajaccio 0; AS Nancy-Lorraine 1, Valenciennes 1; Stade Rennais 2, Stade Brestois 29 2; Sochaux-Montbeliard 1, LOSC Lille Metropole 1; and ES Troyes AC 1, OGC Nice 1.
Sixth-place Rennes missed the chance to pressure the top four teams.
Winger Julien Feret and midfielder Romain Alessandrini put Rennes 2-0 ahead in the second half, but goals from midfielder Benoit Lesoimier and Dutch striker Charlison Benschop in the last 20 minutes helped Brest scrape a draw.
Draw specialists Nice earned a point at relegation battlers Troyes to move up to ninth place, thanks to Argentine striker Dario Cvitanich’s stoppage-time goal — his seventh in the league this season.
Nolan Roux put midtable Lille ahead in the 63rd minute, but the visitors’ lead lasted only two minutes before Tunisia midfielder Yassin Mikari equalized for Sochaux with his first goal of the season.
Montpellier climbed up to 12th place thanks to goals from striker John Utaka, winger Remy Cabella and midfielder Younes Belhanda.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up a brief visit to Brazil on Friday with a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but despite the defeat, the team outshone their divisional rivals in the fight for the hearts and minds of Brazilian fans. In Sao Paulo for just the second-ever NFL game in the city, Chiefs players — especially quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — were treated as major celebrities throughout their stay, turning Corinthians Arena into a scene reminiscent of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium. Before kickoff, crowds of fans gathered around the Chiefs’ tunnel, eager to catch a
RIVALRY: Carlos Alcaraz lost his previous two matches against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open quarter-finals this year and Paris Olympics final last year Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday dazzled at the US Open to make the semi-finals before Novak Djokovic of Serbia danced his way through to book a New York showdown with the Spaniard that would mark the latest chapter in their generational rivalry. Former champion Alcaraz produced yet another entertaining display at Flushing Meadows to dismantle 20th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 at a sunbathed Arthur Ashe Stadium, securing his place in the last four without dropping a set this year. “Sometimes I play a shot that I should not play in that moment, but it’s the way I love
New Zealand stayed firm at their Eden Park fortress to claim an attritional 24-17 win over South Africa in a heavyweight clash between the world’s top two rugby sides yesterday. Under pressure after conceding a first-ever defeat on Argentine soil against the Pumas two weeks ago, the All Blacks responded with a performance of grit and discipline to stretch their unbeaten run at their Auckland stronghold to 51 matches. Two well-taken tries by Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan set up a 14-3 lead at halftime before Quinn Tupaea grabbed a third five-pointer for the hosts 13 minutes from time. Well-held for most of
RSS