AS Saint-Etienne made up ground in the race for a Champions League spot by defeating third-place LOSC Lille Metropole 2-0 on Friday in the French league.
Brazilian striker Brandao opened the scoring with a header in the 55th minute before winger Franck Tabanou volleyed home from close range to double the lead in the 61st.
Lille were down to 10 men in the 62nd, when midfielder Florent Balmont was red-carded for dissent.
Photo: AFP
Saint-Etienne bounced back from a French Cup elimination against fourth-division side Cannes on Tuesday to pull within three points of Lille.
“The team that wanted it the most tonight won the match,” Saint-Etienne coach Christophe Galtier said. “We showed courage to make things happen. My players were rewarded for their efforts.”
The hosts struggled to provide some decent service to Brandao in a tactical first half. Lille center back David Rozehnal cleared dangerous crosses from Saint-Etienne wingers Romain Hamouma in the 27th and Tabanou in the 33rd.
The visitors did not create much either, but were more threatening from set pieces. Lille defender Simon Kjaer headed a corner over the bar in the third minute, before Salomon Kalou connected with a free kick from Balmont in the ninth for a header that Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier palmed away.
One accurate final ball made the difference in the second half. A cross from Saint-Etienne leftback Faouzi Ghoulam eluded the Lille defense, but Brandao beat the offside trap to head in at the far post.
Six minutes later, Tabanou converted a rebound after Lille goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama parried a volley from Hamouma. Balmont spotted a foul from Tabanou in the build-up to the goal and argued with the referee, who sent off the Lille midfielder.
“I told him there was a foul and that it was a disgrace,” Balmont said. “In the heat of the discussion, I told him he was rubbish. To me, that’s not an insult, that’s what is frustrating, but he took it as an insult.”
Saint-Etienne could have added a third goal in the 78th, but Tabanou failed to convert from six yards a low cross from Hamouma. Ruffier kept a clean sheet by saving a close-range effort from Lille substitute Ryan Mendes in the 86th.
“We played for about an hour and then we faded after conceding that goal,” Lille coach Rene Girard said. “We gave up. We will sort out those problems together. It’s in the heads. We will have to put a few heads in the fridge. We must get back to things that are more down to earth.”
Yesterday Marseille were to face Valenciennes, Bastia to face Bordeaux, Lorient to face Guingamp, Nice to face Ajaccio, Rennes to face Evian and Sochaux to face Montpellier.
Today, Paris Saint-Germain host Nantes, Monaco visit Toulouse and Lyon face Reims.
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
RSS