A double by Paris Saint-Germain’s Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani eliminated Coupe de la Ligue holders AS Saint-Etienne 2-1 from this season’s competition after extra-time of their last-16 clash on Wednesday.
Cavani — who has scored 18 times in 23 games for PSG since he joined from Napoli in the close season — had given the hosts the lead in the first half, only for former PSG striker, Turkey international Mevlut Erding, to level in the second period to force extra-time.
However, Cavani grabbed the winner two minutes from the end of extra-time.
PSG’s bitter historical rivals, Olympique de Marseille, also progressed by the same scoreline against Toulouse, which resulted in their interim coach Jose Anigo announcing he would still be in the role after the winter break as he celebrated his first win in charge.
Former Toulouse star Andre-Pierre Gignac grabbed Marseille’s winner from the penalty spot in a competition that Anigo — who stepped in after Elie Baup was sacked earlier this month — said is low on his list of targets, compared with the French Cup.
Earlier, seven-time French champions Olympique Lyonnais reached the quarter-finals with a 3-2 win over fellow Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ¥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ¥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,