Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s second-half brace on Saturday guided Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-0 victory at SC Bastia, as the reigning champions extended their unbeaten start to the campaign.
Ibrahimovic slotted home the opener in the 72nd minute after he was set up by Edinson Cavani, despite the Uruguayan being offside in the build-up.
The Sweden striker then netted his second of the contest seven minutes from time.
Photo: AFP
It was a far from convincing performance from Laurent Blanc’s men, but the result kept PSG five points clear of Angers SCO and Stade Malherbe Caen at the top.
“I am very happy with the three points,” Blanc said. “Our preparation has not been ideal, with players returning very late [from the international break] and having traveled long distances.”
Goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu made his first start of the season in place of the injured Kevin Trapp, while PSG were also without Blaise Matuidi, Marco Verratti and David Luiz.
Angel di Maria was rested, while Adrien Rabiot and Benjamin Stambouli were handed starts in central midfield.
Second-placed Angers continued their remarkable return to the French top flight, as goals from Cheikh Ndoye and Abdoul Camara saw them win 2-1 at Toulouse after falling behind to an Oscar Trejo strike.
Caen stayed third, level on points with Angers, as Julien Feret’s second-half effort steered them to a 1-0 victory away to Stade de Reims.
AS Saint-Etienne bounced back from consecutive defeats, with Robert Beric and Kevin Monnet-Paquet on target in a 2-0 win over bottom side Gazelec Ajaccio.
Goals from Valentin Rongier, Youssouf Sabaly and Yacine Bammou steered Nantes to a 3-0 victory over ESTAC Troyes, while En Avant de Guingamp striker Jimmy Briand canceled out Sofiane Boufal’s opener for Lille OSC in a 1-1 draw.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two
RSS