French League Cup holders Paris Saint-Germain moved to within one win of retaining the trophy as a first-half goal from defender Maxwell gave them a 1-0 semi-final victory at LOSC Lille Metropole on Tuesday.
The French champions dominated affairs with the bulk of possession and mustered the only goal of the match on 27 minutes when Brazilian fullback Maxwell blasted a fierce shot into the corner leaving Lille’s Nigerian ’keeper Vincent Enyeama no chance.
The joy at reaching the final was tempered somewhat as after the game PSG’s star player Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic tried to persuade several of his teammates to ignore the waiting press.
Photo: AFP
“Follow me follow me. Nobody talks. Zlatan is the boss,” Ibrahimovic said in English as he led a group comprising, among others, Maxwell, Edinson Cavani and Brazilian Lucas out of the dressing room.
While a smiling Ibrahimovic progressed serenely through the mixed zone, Brazilian star Lucas disobeyed and stopped to speak with the press, speaking in Portuguese. Laurent Blanc’s side will play either Monaco or Bastia, who were to meet at the Louis II stadium yesterday, in the April 11 final at the Stade de France.
“We’re the Cup holders and we had the heart to defend that,” Blanc said. “We had to win here [Lille] first and that’s done, but what pleases me most is not only the victory, but also what we offered against a team that really dug in.”
“We didn’t give them hope, even if the score was only 1-0, and my team played some really good stuff, which will serve us in good stead for the future, but we still have to progress,” the former Bordeaux and France coach added.
The victory keeps PSG on track for a quartet of trophies with a Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea on Feb. 17 and a last-16 French Cup fixture against Nantes lying ahead. The capital club also have the chance to go top of Ligue 1 on Sunday when they attempt to overturn a two point deficit on Lyon when the teams meet at the Stade Gerland.
“We have a lot of matches and it’s going to be a marathon, but let’s hope it continues as long as possible. I hope that March will be complicated and the marathon continues into April and May which will mean we’re advancing in all competitions,” Blanc said.
Rene Girard’s Lille side were out of their depth against the star-studded PSG lineup who put a first choice team out including Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Thiago Silva and David Luiz. The hosts hardly conjured up a second half opportunity as reserve ’keeper Nicolas Douchez, standing in for Salvatore Sirigu, enjoyed a relaxed evening in the away goal.
Lucas and Cavani played a role in the winner, with the Uruguayan marksman sliding the ball across to Maxwell, who made no mistake from the edge of the penalty box.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS