Skip to main content

Lille trace unlikely path towards French title Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain have claimed statement wins in Barcelona and Munich in the Champions League while leaving the door unlocked at home, giving Lille the chance of a first Ligue 1 title in a decade. Lille stunned PSG in the capital last weekend, winning 1-0 to go three points clear of the reigning champions with seven matches remaining. PSG have lost eight times this season, while Monaco and Lyon are also within five points of Lille. It is an unpredictable title race, and the fact only the the top three qualify for next season’s Champions League adds spice. Lille’s operating budget is understood to be around a quarter of PSG’s, but shrewd buying and selling has taken them to where they are, along with an outstanding coach in Christophe Galtier. After finishing second to PSG in 2019 they sold Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal for a reported 80 million euros ($87m). In the last Ligue 1 season, curtailed due to the pandemic, they came fourth and then sold top scorer Victor Osimhen to Napoli for an initial 70 million euros. Plenty more have left, but the knowledge of Luis Campos, a Portuguese super-scout who helped build Monaco’s title-winning team of 2017, allowed Lille to keep re-generating.  Three starters against PSG — goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Boubakary Soumare and Jonathan Ikone — all left Paris for Lille in search of first-team football. Another ex-PSG youngster, Timothy Weah, did likewise and came off the bench for Lille in that game. Lille have invested elsewhere though, including 27 million euros to sign Canadian striker Jonathan David from Gent — he scored the winner in Paris. “This season, more than the last two, we have been very strong collectively despite having a bit less individual talent than the other three teams fighting for the title. Without that we wouldn’t be able to compete,” Galtier, in charge since late 2017, told AFP. Previously successful at Saint-Etienne, Galtier has kept Lille on course despite off-pitch turbulence. In December the club was sold to Callisto, a subsidiary of the Merlyn Partners investment fund. Campos departed, while a new president was appointed. Galtier feels this season has been his “biggest challenge”. “We need to keep going and give ourselves the best possible chance while understanding we might not end up being champions and we might not even qualify for the Champions League. The key is to have no regrets,” he said. The 54-year-old, once the assistant manager at Portsmouth, could go at the season’s end too and has been linked with Lyon and Nice. However, he says he is entirely focused on delivering success to Lille, who face Metz this weekend. “I am really happy here, but I don’t think I will stay for seven or eight years like I did at Saint-Etienne.” Could he return to England? “Four or five years ago I wanted to go abroad, less so now. If I did, I have always said the English league would be the dream. Their league has become the best in the world. There is so much passion!” Player to watch: Kevin Volland Volland has been a revelation for Monaco since signing from Bayer Leverkusen, and you have to wonder why Joachim Loew continues to leave him in the wilderness from the Germany team. The 28-year-old, last capped by his country in 2016, is one of the main reasons Monaco are title contenders, having scored 14 Ligue 1 goals. Monaco have lost just once in 16 games. Key stats 10 – Lille are unbeaten in their last 10 away Ligue 1 games. 3 – PSG have lost their last three league games immediately following a Champions League fixture 11 – Bottom side Dijon have lost their last 11 Ligue 1 games. One more will see them equal the French top-flight record of 12 in a row set by CA Paris in 1933/34. Fixtures (Kick-offs GMT) Friday Metz v Lille (1900) Saturday Strasbourg v Paris Saint-Germain (1500), Montpellier v Marseille (1900) Sunday Rennes v Nantes (1100), Brest v Nimes, Lens v Lorient, Nice v Reims, Saint-Etienne v Bordeaux (all 1300), Monaco v Dijon (1505), Lyon v Angers (1900)


Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain have claimed statement wins in Barcelona and Munich in the Champions League while leaving the door unlocked at home, giving Lille the chance of a first Ligue 1 title in a decade.

Lille stunned PSG in the capital last weekend, winning 1-0 to go three points clear of the reigning champions with seven matches remaining.

PSG have lost eight times this season, while Monaco and Lyon are also within five points of Lille. It is an unpredictable title race, and the fact only the the top three qualify for next season’s Champions League adds spice.

Lille’s operating budget is understood to be around a quarter of PSG’s, but shrewd buying and selling has taken them to where they are, along with an outstanding coach in Christophe Galtier.

After finishing second to PSG in 2019 they sold Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal for a reported 80 million euros ($87m).

In the last Ligue 1 season, curtailed due to the pandemic, they came fourth and then sold top scorer Victor Osimhen to Napoli for an initial 70 million euros.

Plenty more have left, but the knowledge of Luis Campos, a Portuguese super-scout who helped build Monaco’s title-winning team of 2017, allowed Lille to keep re-generating. 

Three starters against PSG — goalkeeper Mike Maignan, Boubakary Soumare and Jonathan Ikone — all left Paris for Lille in search of first-team football. Another ex-PSG youngster, Timothy Weah, did likewise and came off the bench for Lille in that game.

Lille have invested elsewhere though, including 27 million euros to sign Canadian striker Jonathan David from Gent — he scored the winner in Paris.

“This season, more than the last two, we have been very strong collectively despite having a bit less individual talent than the other three teams fighting for the title. Without that we wouldn’t be able to compete,” Galtier, in charge since late 2017, told AFP.

Previously successful at Saint-Etienne, Galtier has kept Lille on course despite off-pitch turbulence.

In December the club was sold to Callisto, a subsidiary of the Merlyn Partners investment fund. Campos departed, while a new president was appointed.

Galtier feels this season has been his “biggest challenge”.

“We need to keep going and give ourselves the best possible chance while understanding we might not end up being champions and we might not even qualify for the Champions League. The key is to have no regrets,” he said.

The 54-year-old, once the assistant manager at Portsmouth, could go at the season’s end too and has been linked with Lyon and Nice.

However, he says he is entirely focused on delivering success to Lille, who face Metz this weekend.

“I am really happy here, but I don’t think I will stay for seven or eight years like I did at Saint-Etienne.”

Could he return to England?

“Four or five years ago I wanted to go abroad, less so now. If I did, I have always said the English league would be the dream. Their league has become the best in the world. There is so much passion!”

Player to watch: Kevin Volland

Volland has been a revelation for Monaco since signing from Bayer Leverkusen, and you have to wonder why Joachim Loew continues to leave him in the wilderness from the Germany team.

The 28-year-old, last capped by his country in 2016, is one of the main reasons Monaco are title contenders, having scored 14 Ligue 1 goals. Monaco have lost just once in 16 games.

Key stats

10 – Lille are unbeaten in their last 10 away Ligue 1 games.

3 – PSG have lost their last three league games immediately following a Champions League fixture

11 – Bottom side Dijon have lost their last 11 Ligue 1 games. One more will see them equal the French top-flight record of 12 in a row set by CA Paris in 1933/34.

Fixtures (Kick-offs GMT)

Friday

Metz v Lille (1900)

Saturday

Strasbourg v Paris Saint-Germain (1500), Montpellier v Marseille (1900)

Sunday

Rennes v Nantes (1100), Brest v Nimes, Lens v Lorient, Nice v Reims, Saint-Etienne v Bordeaux (all 1300), Monaco v Dijon (1505), Lyon v Angers (1900)



from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/3g629cn
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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