Struggling Ligue 1 sides Marseille and Paris Saint Germain kick-started the New Year on a winning note after winning French Cup matches on Saturday.
Marseille beat minnows Beauvais 2-0 to book their place in the last 32, while Paris Saint Germain also won 2-0 at Epinal.
It was welcome success for Marseille and PSG, who, although normally among France's most successful clubs, find themselves in the bottom half of the league table.
Ten-time French Cup champions Marseille had little trouble in brushing aside their national division club opponents as first-half goals from Lorik Cana and Djibril Cisse went unanswered.
Cana opened the scoring for Marseille when he acrobatically scissor-kicked home a rebound from a free-kick 24 minutes in.
Cisse, who has failed to find the back of the net in all competitions since late October, doubled the scoreline eight minutes later with a clinical finish off a Mamadou Niang pass.
PSG, who have won the French Cup on seven occasions, thanked first half goals from Clement Chantome and Sylvain Armand for their 2-1 victory over fourth division club Epinal.
"Mission accomplished," said under-fire PSG coach Paul Le Guen. "It's good because the conditions were a little difficult with a tricky pitch. This could have been a booby-trap for us but we came through it well."
Caen, fourth in the top flight, were knocked out by second division Sedan 3-2.
Alexandre Bonnet, Moussa Sow and Djamel Abdoun were on target for Sedan with Lilian Compan and Yoan Gouffran finding the net for the top flight UEFA Cup hopefuls.
It was Caen's first defeat in two months.
Ligue 1 Le Mans needed extra time to overcome the fierce resistance of fifth-division Selongey.
The amateur players from a town of 2,500 inhabitants in eastern France were level at 1-1 after 90 minutes but finally bowed out 3-2 after extra time, with Serbian defender Marko Basa scoring the winner in the 100th minute.
In Friday's curtain-raising match of the round when top flight sides enter the French Cup, Racing Lens, third from bottom in Ligue 1, were knocked out 1-0 at home by second division Niort.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most