French side LOSC Lille Metropole moved to within a step of this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage on Tuesday, despite being held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Grasshoppers of Switzerland in the third qualifying round.
Lille held a 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Zurich and stretched their lead on 19 minutes at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy as Florent Balmont fired in a spectacular long-range strike.
Grasshoppers midfielder Amir Abrashi replied with a fine long-distancce effort of his own just past the half-hour to give the visitors hope, before Kahraba volleyed against the base of the post as the Swiss side mounted a spirited challenge.
Photo: EPA
However, any hopes of the Swiss club mounting a remarkable turnaround were effectively extinguished when Daniel Pavlovic was dismissed with 20 minutes left for a poor challenge on Sebastien Corchia and Lille ultimately advanced 3-1 on aggregate.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Belgian side Standard Liege knocked out Panathinaikos after a 2-1 win in Greece against the 1971 European Cup finalists, while Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv could only draw 2-2 with NK Mariborto to allow the Slovenian side to go through 3-2 on aggregate.
BATE Borisov of Belarus defeated Hungarian side Debreceni VSC 3-1 to also move through to the playoff round, for which the draw will be made at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, France, tomorrow.
Photo: AFP
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The Greek basketball league finals between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos were suspended by the government on Monday following on-court scuffles involving rival security teams. The best-of-five series is at 1-1. The third game, scheduled for today, has been postponed. The owners of both clubs were summoned to meet with the country’s sports minister. They “will be asked to provide explicit guarantees that this situation will be brought to an end. If not, this year’s championship will be definitively canceled,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. “There can be no tolerance for such pathological phenomena of violence and delinquency.” In online posts, the owners of Panathinaikos and
Defender Steph Catley says her UEFA Women’s Champions League title win with Arsenal last week will act as motivation to secure continental glory with Australia when the country hosts the Women’s Asian Cup next year. Catley and compatriots Caitlin Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross were part of the Arsenal squad that defeated Barcelona in Lisbon on Sunday last week, before flying to Melbourne to feature in the Matildas’ 2-0 win over Argentina on Friday. The game was the first in a two-match series against the South Americans as the Australians continue preparations for the continental championship in March next year, when they would
RSS