Mamadou Niang scored twice to lead Marseille to a 2-1 win over Lyon on Sunday in the French league.
France playmaker Samir Nasri set up Niang, who outpaced the Lyon defense and blasted a shot through goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre's legs for the winning goal in the 43rd minute.
"That was a match with a lot of occasions on both sides," Marseille coach Eric Gerets told Canal Plus television. "Both teams had a good game. But in the end, I think we deserved the victory."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Marseille climbed into 17th place to move out of the relegation zone, while Lyon retained the top spot with 31 points from 14 matches, despite suffering its first loss at home this season in the league.
Brazilian playmaker Juninho put Lyon ahead in the 7th, heading in a rebound after goalkeeper Steve Mandanda had saved a semi-volley from Algeria leftback Nadir Belhadj.
Niang sent Vercoutre the wrong way on a spot kick to level for Marseille in the 10th. Mathieu Valbuena fed Niang inside the box, but centerback Sebastien Squillaci pulled the Senegal striker's jersey just before he shot.
Niang nearly scored on a bicycle kick in the 21st off a cross from Valbuena, but Vercoutre tipped Niang's shot over the crossbar.
Fred had two clear chances for Lyon in the first half but couldn't finish. The Brazilian forward headed a cross from Kim Kallstrom above the crossbar in the 20th. Unmarked at the far post in the 42nd, Fred missed again with a header off a corner kick from Juninho.
Lyon pushed hard after the break to rally but Mandanda preserved his team's lead.
"Unfortunately for us, Mandanda had a great game," Juninho told Canal Plus television.
The Marseille goalie denied Sidney Govou in the 47th and 53rd, and stopped a close-range shot from Karim Benzema in the 86th.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
SHORT-HANDED: Reigning champions the Boston Celtics were without stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but they still downed the Timberwolves Oklahoma City on Thursday stretched the NBA’s best winning streak to 13 games with a home victory, while reigning champions the Boston Celtics held on for a last-shot triumph at Minnesota. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had game highs of 29 points and eight assists to spark the Thunder over the Los Angeles Clippers 116-98, improving the Western Conference leaders to 28-5. The Thunder’s winning streak is the longest since the team relocated from Seattle after the 2007-2008 season. “It’s just being present, going day by day, working on ourselves, and I think we’re doing a good job on that,” said Isaiah Hartenstein, who added 11
RSS