Peguy Luyindula scored the only goal of the game as
Paris
St.
Germain
brought a controversial week to an end with a much-needed 1-0 win at Auxerre on Sunday to ease the club's relegation fears.
Luyindula headed home in the 49th minute from a cross from Jerome Rothen to clinch the three points, which will lift some of the pressure on coach Paul Le Guen.
Rothen had been the target of some vehement fan protests throughout the week and there was simmering tension before the game with riot police firing tear gas to disperse PSG fans.
The win kept PSG just one place above the relegation zone.
At the other end of the table, Bordeaux drew 1-1 with Nice to stay third, nine points behind leaders Lyon.
Marseille warmed up for today's do-or-die Champions League clash against Liverpool with a 2-0 win over Monaco on Saturday.
The win, their fifth of the season, also eased Marseille's relegation fears.
Central defender Julien Rodriguez, in the 53rd minute, and skipper Lorik Cana (70), both scored headed goals.
A win today would put Marseille into the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Coach Eris Gerets praised the support his team received and said their backing will prove crucial at the Stade Velodrome against Liverpool.
Meanwhile, six-time champions Lyon, who travel to face Rangers tomorrow in another must-win Champions League clash, slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Caen.
The loss cut their lead to four points with second-place Nancy unable to take full advantage by playing to a dull 0-0 draw at Valenciennes.
With one eye on the tricky trip to Glasgow, Lyon coach Alain Perrin put vital players Juninho, Sydney Govou and Karim Benzema on the bench and handed Nadir Belhadj, Abdul Kader Keita and Milan Baros starting places.
Caen took full advantage of the champions' uncertainty with Yoan Gouffran scoring the only goal of the game after 17 minutes after a misunderstanding between Sebastien Squillaci and Cleber Anderson.
Juninho, Govou and Benzema were all introduced into the action late in the game but were unable to prevent Lyon from slipping to their fourth defeat of the season.
Juninho said that Lyon had great respect for Rangers who won the first meeting between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Le Mans leapt into third place with a 3-1 win at Lens and are now four points behind Nancy.
Bottom club Metz, with just one win all season, were 2-0 losers at sixth-placed Saint-Etienne.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
When Wang Tao ran away from home aged 17 to become a professional wrestler, he knew it would be a hard slog to succeed in China’s passionate but underdeveloped scene. Years later, he has endured family disapproval, countless side gigs and thousands of hours of brutal training to become China’s “Belt and Road Champion” — but the struggle is far from over. Despite a promising potential domestic market, the Chinese pro wrestling community has been battling for recognition and financial stability for decades. “I have done all kinds of jobs [on the side]... Because in the end, it is very
No team in the CPBL can surpass the Taipei Dome attendance record set by the CTBC Brothers, except when the Brothers team up with Taiwanese rock band Mayday. A record-high 40,000 fans turned out at the indoor baseball venue on Saturday for Brothers veteran Chou Szu-chi’s first farewell game, which was followed by a mini post-game concert featuring Mayday. This broke the previous CPBL record of 34,506 set by the Brothers in early last month, when K-pop singer Hyuna performed after the game, and the dome’s overall record of 37,890 set in early March, which featured the Brothers and the
With a quivering finger, England Subbuteo veteran Rudi Peterschinigg conceded the free-kick that sent his country’s World Cup quarter-final into extra-time before smashing his plastic goalkeeper on the floor in frustration. In the genteel southern English town of Tunbridge Wells, 300 elite players have gathered to play the game they love. “I won’t say this is the best weekend I’ve ever had in my life, but it’s certainly in the top two,” said Hughie Best, 58, who flew in from Perth, Australia, to compete and commentate at the event. Tunbridge Wells is the “spiritual home” of Subbuteo, which was invented there in 1946