Paris Saint-Germain on Friday survived a scare without Neymar and Lionel Messi before beating Brest 4-2 and extending their winning start in Ligue 1 to three games.
Substitute Angel di Maria sealed the victory on a counterattack in injury-time just when it looked like Brest might score an equalizer to claim a point against the star-studded visitors.
Although Neymar and Messi were not ready for the game, PSG still had the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Achraf Hakimi and Netherlands midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum in their starting lineup.
Photo: AP
Messi has not played since joining from Barcelona on Aug. 10.
The 34-year-old great missed a month of training after leading Argentina to the Copa America title on July 10 and PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino evidently feels he needs more time to prepare for his French debut.
Messi trained with the team last week, but is not yet match fit.
Photo: AP
LA LIGA
AP, SEVILLE, Spain
Alvaro Negredo’s retaken penalty and Jeremias Ledesma’s key save on Friday saw Cadiz secure a 1-1 draw against Real Betis Balompie in La Liga.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The match was the first with fans at Seville’s Estadio Benito Villamarin since the start of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in March last year.
About 23,000 spectators were allowed to attend the match, 40 percent of capacity as set by health authorities.
Negredo put the visitors ahead in the 11th minute with a penalty thanks to the watchful eyes of the referee, who had ordered the spot kick to be repeated.
Photo: AP
Goalkeeper Rui Silva saved Negredo’s first penalty, but had both feet off the line.
“My first kick was horrible and he made a good save, but on the second try I had a clearer idea of what I wanted and put it in,” Negredo said. “Any time we take points on the road, it is a good result.”
BUNDESLIGA
AP, BERLIN
Jesse Marsch on Friday won the first Bundesliga duel between teams with American coaches by leading RB Leipzig to a 4-0 win over Pellegrino Matarazzo’s VfB Stuttgart.
As well as giving Marsch temporary bragging rights over his compatriot, the win made amends for Leipzig’s shock 1-0 loss against FSV Mainz 05 in the coach’s German league debut in the opening round.
“It was a super reaction after our defeat last week in Mainz,” Marsch said in German.
“From the beginning, we were clear, precise and good,” Marsch said.
“We wanted to be very intensive, very aggressive against the ball, with the ball. It was really a great performance from us,” he added.
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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,
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