Skip to main content

Lille held as Ligue 1 top five separated by two points Décines-Charpieu (France) (AFP) – Lille stuttered to a 1-1 draw at struggling Saint-Etienne on Sunday to miss the chance to draw level on points with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1, but the rest of the chasers took advantage of the defending champions’ latest slip-up. Lille sit second in the table, two points behind PSG — who drew 2-2 with Bordeaux on Saturday — and above Lyon, Monaco and Montpellier on goal difference. Lyon continued their fine form with a 3-0 win over Reims, while Monaco beat Nimes by the same scoreline to also move within two points of PSG, while Montpellier edged out Lorient. Lille would have hoped to take all three points from a Saint-Etienne side on a seven-match losing streak in the league before kick-off. But Christophe Galtier’s team fell behind to a first-half penalty from Tunisian Wahbi Khazri and needed a second-half strike from Jonathan Ikone to rescue a draw. Karl Toko Ekambi, Bruno Guimaraes and Moussa Dembele scored for Lyon as they made it 16 points from their last six matches. “We must continue in this vein and look upwards. We must put a run of victories together,” said Lyon coach Rudi Garcia. “This is the first time that we have won three times in a row. As in Angers (last week), we had an opportunity to (move up the) table. We seized it.” PSG gave the chasing pack a chance to cut the gap with a 2-2 home draw against Bordeaux on Saturday, having blown a two-goal lead to lose to Monaco last week. Reims, who had Moreto Cassama sent off on 33 minutes, remain fourth from bottom and look destined for a relegation dog-fight. Toko Ekambi, returning from suspension, proved the key for Lyon, hitting the post early on before scoring in the 22nd minute with a header at the back post from a cross by Memphis Depay.  Toko Ekambi also created the second — Guimaraes’s first for Lyon — four minutes after the break, the Brazilian’s shot taking a deflection off Marshall Munetsi. Toko Ekambi also teed up Dembele for the third. Dembele had just come on as a substitute for Tino Kadewere who had hit the post in the first half and had a goal ruled out for offside. Cassama was sent off for a foul on Depay who looked to be in on goal. – Monaco march on – Monaco eased to victory over Nimes to notch their fourth straight league win. Young midfielder Sofiane Diop gave the hosts an early lead at the Stade Louis II, before Gelson Martins and Kevin Volland struck in the second half to see off Nimes, who had Lucas Deaux dismissed in the 69th minute. Germany striker Volland has scored five Ligue 1 goals for Monaco since his close-season move from Bayer Leverkusen. The principality outfit have finished ninth and 17th in the last two seasons and coach Niko Kovac was eager to play down any thoughts of a repeat of their shock 2017 title triumph. “The title? Not after 12 games, we’re not there, no,” said the Croatian. “It’s a good period for us, we have to keep working, we are a young team. We will also lose matches.” Fifth-placed Montpellier also extended their winning streak to four matches as Petar Skuletic scored late on to grab a 1-0 win at Lorient, despite midfielder Teji Savanier’s missed penalty in the first half. Marseille, who have also won four league matches on the spin, are only four points behind PSG in sixth, with two games in hand.


Décines-Charpieu (France) (AFP) – Lille stuttered to a 1-1 draw at struggling Saint-Etienne on Sunday to miss the chance to draw level on points with Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1, but the rest of the chasers took advantage of the defending champions’ latest slip-up.

Lille sit second in the table, two points behind PSG — who drew 2-2 with Bordeaux on Saturday — and above Lyon, Monaco and Montpellier on goal difference.

Lyon continued their fine form with a 3-0 win over Reims, while Monaco beat Nimes by the same scoreline to also move within two points of PSG, while Montpellier edged out Lorient.

Lille would have hoped to take all three points from a Saint-Etienne side on a seven-match losing streak in the league before kick-off.

But Christophe Galtier’s team fell behind to a first-half penalty from Tunisian Wahbi Khazri and needed a second-half strike from Jonathan Ikone to rescue a draw.

Karl Toko Ekambi, Bruno Guimaraes and Moussa Dembele scored for Lyon as they made it 16 points from their last six matches.

“We must continue in this vein and look upwards. We must put a run of victories together,” said Lyon coach Rudi Garcia.

“This is the first time that we have won three times in a row. As in Angers (last week), we had an opportunity to (move up the) table. We seized it.”

PSG gave the chasing pack a chance to cut the gap with a 2-2 home draw against Bordeaux on Saturday, having blown a two-goal lead to lose to Monaco last week.

Reims, who had Moreto Cassama sent off on 33 minutes, remain fourth from bottom and look destined for a relegation dog-fight.

Toko Ekambi, returning from suspension, proved the key for Lyon, hitting the post early on before scoring in the 22nd minute with a header at the back post from a cross by Memphis Depay. 

Toko Ekambi also created the second — Guimaraes’s first for Lyon — four minutes after the break, the Brazilian’s shot taking a deflection off Marshall Munetsi.

Toko Ekambi also teed up Dembele for the third. Dembele had just come on as a substitute for Tino Kadewere who had hit the post in the first half and had a goal ruled out for offside.

Cassama was sent off for a foul on Depay who looked to be in on goal.

– Monaco march on –

Monaco eased to victory over Nimes to notch their fourth straight league win.

Young midfielder Sofiane Diop gave the hosts an early lead at the Stade Louis II, before Gelson Martins and Kevin Volland struck in the second half to see off Nimes, who had Lucas Deaux dismissed in the 69th minute.

Germany striker Volland has scored five Ligue 1 goals for Monaco since his close-season move from Bayer Leverkusen.

The principality outfit have finished ninth and 17th in the last two seasons and coach Niko Kovac was eager to play down any thoughts of a repeat of their shock 2017 title triumph.

“The title? Not after 12 games, we’re not there, no,” said the Croatian.

“It’s a good period for us, we have to keep working, we are a young team. We will also lose matches.”

Fifth-placed Montpellier also extended their winning streak to four matches as Petar Skuletic scored late on to grab a 1-0 win at Lorient, despite midfielder Teji Savanier’s missed penalty in the first half.

Marseille, who have also won four league matches on the spin, are only four points behind PSG in sixth, with two games in hand.



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2Jv3XgM
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bayern down Mainz to go six points clear in the Bundesliga Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum. 

Berlin (AFP) – Defending champions Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to six points on Saturday after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 home win against Mainz. Second-half goals by Kingsley Coman and 18-year-old Jamal Musiala sealed the victory behind closed doors at Munich’s Allianz Arena after Mainz had taken a shock lead. Bayern remain firmly on course to win the German league for the tenth straight season after stretching their lead at the top of the table as second-placed Dortmund were held 1-1 at Bochum.  from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3lVLPNa
Post a Comment
Read more

Rangers brush aside title rivals Hearts Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland striker saw his lob tipped over by Allan McGregor. It was Rangers who scored with their first chance of the match after nine minutes when Ryan Kent’s cross reached Fashion Sakala and the Zambian cut the ball back to Morelos, who fired home from six yards out. Sakala shot just wide from close range moments later before Morelos headed wide from James Tavernier’s corner. Rangers’ second goal came in the 13th minute when Aribo ran on to a brilliant long diagonal from Connor Goldson and fired an angled low shot beyond the exposed Craig Gordon. Gary Mackay-Steven saw his angled shot pushed behind by McGregor early in the second half. Rangers had a let-off in the 53rd minute when Calvin Bassey knocked a Ginnelly cross off the underside of his own crossbar. Rangers remained a threat, however, and Scott Arfield and Sakala were both denied by saves from Gordon. Boyce fired over from close range after being set up by Mackay-Steven before Stephen Kingsley cracked a free kick off the bar from 30 yards out. In the 80th minute, Ginnelly was sent off after being shown a second yellow card for squaring up to Borna Barisic.

Glasgow (AFP) – Alfredo Morelos and Joe Aribo fired Rangers to a 2-0 win at Hearts on Sunday as the Scottish Premiership leaders extended their strong start under new boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Van Bronckhorst has won four successive league games since replacing Steven Gerrard after his predecessor’s move to Aston Villa. Morelos and Aribo scored in the early stages at Tynecastle, giving Rangers six consecutive league victories encompassing the end of Gerrard’s reign. Hearts had Josh Ginnelly sent off late on as they squandered a chance to close the gap on the champions. Rangers are 12 points clear of third placed Hearts and seven ahead of second placed Celtic, who host Motherwell later on Sunday. Van Bronckhorst made six changes to the Rangers side that began Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Lyon in the Europa League. Liam Boyce had a great chance to open the scoring for Hearts in the third minute when he ran on to John Souttar’s clipped ball over the top, but the Northern Ireland stri...
Post a Comment
Read more

Xavi under no illusions ahead of fairytale on Barcelona return Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left Camp Nou to play for Qatari club Al Sadd in 2015, after making 767 appearances for Barcelona, with eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among his 25 trophies. “It’s time to come home. Welcome, Xavi,” Barca tweeted in the early hours of Saturday morning, as Spain slept.  “It wasn’t goodbye, it was see you later,” it wrote, along with a video montage of the player’s departure in 2015. Barcelona said in a statement they had reached an agreement with Xavi to become first-team coach for the rest of the season and two more seasons, replacing the sacked Ronald Koeman. “It is expected that Xavi Hernandez will arrive in Barcelona this weekend and that on Monday 8, November his presentation as new FC Barcelona first team coach will take place in an event open to the public at Camp Nou,” it said. Nicknamed the “Maquina” (the Machine), Xavi is widely considered one of the club’s greatest players and there is huge excitement about his potential as a coach after his influence on the iconic Barca team managed by Pep Guardiola. His passing style was seen as the embodiment of Guardiola’s “tiki-taka” team that won the treble in 2009. “One of the greatest midfield maestros of all time, he helped redefine the art with his creative mind, pinpoint passing and sublime ability to read the game,” Barca said in their statement, heralding the return of “an absolute legend”. Al Sadd, which Xavi had coached since 2019, hours earlier said they had reached an agreement with Barca and posted photos on social media of the Spaniard saying goodbye to the players and staff. – ‘The dream’ – Barcelona’s attempt to appoint Xavi as Koeman’s successor had been held up on Friday over his Al Sadd release clause, with Xavi and Barca considering splitting the payment to complete the deal. Al Sadd said Barca had agreed to pay the clause in Xavi’s contract, which is reportedly set at around five million euros ($5.8 million), but Barcelona did not give any details of the deal in their statement. Spanish sports daily Marca headlined the club hero’s return and estimated the cost to Barca of sacking recent managers Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setien and Koeman at 32 million euros. Xavi had made no secret of his desire to return to Barcelona, which he joined through the club’s La Masia academy at the age of 11. “My main objective, when I can do it, is Barca,” Xavi told Marca last year. “It’s my home, that’s the dream.” Barcelona sat ninth in La Liga on Saturday morning, with concerns growing they might not qualify for next season’s Champions League. The club are also in dire financial straits, having posted debts of 1.35 billion euros. They could not afford to renew Lionel Messi’s contract in the summer, and the Argentine left for Paris Saint-Germain. Xavi will also be charged with improving the team’s style of play, which was a key criticism during the tenure of Koeman, another former Barca player. Xavi’s flight is due to touch down as Barca take on Celta Vigo in La Liga in Juan Barjuan’s last game as caretaker coach before he hands over to the man the fans are pinning their hopes on to turn the club around.

Barcelona (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez said he is prepared for the “biggest challenge of his career” before leaving Qatar for Spain on Saturday, as Barcelona’s legendary former midfielder returns home to take over as coach. Xavi’s appointment was confirmed by Barca in the early hours of Saturday morning and the 41-year-old will be presented to fans at Camp Nou on Monday. “I’m very happy as you can imagine, it’s the biggest challenge of my career,” Xavi told Spanish journalists at Doha airport. “I’m going home and I am very happy.” Xavi faces a huge challenge, with Barcelona adrift of La Liga’s top four, struggling to make the knock-out stages of the Champions League and grappling with debts of more than a billion euros. “I have also experienced bad situations,” Xavi said. “It’s not the best moment in the history of the club but I want to explain what my idea is and to work hard, to make a team. Obviously the first thing is to talk to the players to see how they are.” Xavi left...
Post a Comment
Read more