Paris Saint-Germain’s Guillaume Hoarau scored a last-gasp equalizer in a thrilling 4-4 draw at Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday, although they still surrendered top spot in Ligue 1 to Montpellier Herault.
PSG, unbeaten in all competitions since Carlo Ancelotti took over as manager from Antoine Kombouare two months ago, recovered from two goals down as Montpellier, who beat Girondins de Bordeaux 1-0, moved a point clear with 53 points from 25 games.
“We have mixed feelings, because we cannot concede goals like that,” striker Hoarau told French TV channel Orange Foot.
PSG went ahead after 21 minutes when Hoarau slotted the ball past France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from a Jeremy Menez free-kick, but Lyon, who are fifth on 40 points, stormed back.
Bafetimbi Gomis volleyed home from close range in the 34th minute and Lisandro Lopez doubled their tally when he latched onto a Michel Bastos cross two minutes later.
Brazil winger Bastos then fired a lone-range half-volley into the top corner to make it 3-1 five minutes before the break as Italian Ancelotti sat down on the bench with a vacant stare.
However, Nene pulled one back for the visitors with a penalty three minutes into first-half stoppage-time.
Lyon made a tame start to the second half, before Jimmy Briand headed home from a Bastos free-kick in the 57th minute to restore their two-goal advantage.
The visitors did not give up, though, and defender Marcos Ceara, who had just replaced Christophe Jallet, reduced the arrears on 73 minutes with a cross-shot.
Lloris then pulled off a couple of fine saves to deny Nene and Thiago Motta from close range, but four minutes into stoppage-time Hoarau headed in a Mathieu Bodmer cross to clinch a point.
Montpellier’s match was not as spectacular, but Utaka’s 80th-minute header from a Marco Estrada corner saw off Bordeaux.
Bordeaux, who were unbeaten in Ligue 1 this year, came close in the first half when Poland international forward Ludovic Obraniak curled a shot against the post just before the break.
AS Saint-Etienne stayed fourth on 43 points following a 0-0 draw at AJ Auxerre, who slipped a place to second bottom, as OGC Nice moved out of the relegation zone with a 1-0 home win over Stade Malherbe Caen.
Also on Saturday, AC Ajaccio defeated Dijon FCO 2-1, Evian Thonon Gaillard beat AS Nancy-Lorraine 2-0 and Valenciennes downed Lorient 2-0.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen yesterday exited at the BWF World Tour Finals in China, losing in the semi-finals to China’s world No. 1 Shi Yuqi. Shi, who was named the BWF Men’s Singles Player of the Year, had a 9-4 record against Chou going into the match. He extended that record to 9-5 with a 21-14, 21-18 victory. Chou advanced to the men’s singles semi-finals on Friday by upsetting top-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark in a must-win match at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. The 16-21, 21-18, 21-15 victory saw Chou secure his second semi-finals appearance at the tournament, despite his relatively older
‘REMARKABLE’: Gaelic football is a traditional Irish sport that blends the skills of soccer and rugby, and hurling is an ancient sport played with a wooden stick and ‘sliotar’ The Taiwan Celts Gaelic Football Club marked a milestone achievement at the Asian Gaelic Games in Bangkok on Nov. 23 and 24, with two sides advancing to the knockout stages and competing at hurling for the first time. The event brought together 68 teams from 16 clubs across Asia, with more than 800 players in men’s and women’s tournaments. Gaelic football is a traditional Irish team sport that blends the skills of soccer, rugby union and basketball. Hurling is an ancient Irish sport played with a wooden stick, called a hurley, and a small ball, or sliotar. The Taiwan Celts’ women’s team reached
LIVERPOOL WIN: The 50th Champions League goal by Mohamed Salah helped the leaders of the Premier League to keep their perfect record intact Real Madrid’s big stars on Tuesday turned on the style to revive the Spanish giant’s faltering UEFA Champions League title defense. Galacticos Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham all scored in a thrilling 3-2 win against Serie A leaders Atalanta BC. However, Madrid still had to ride their luck as Mateo Retegui fired over from in front of goal in stoppage-time when handed a golden chance to level the game. It was only Madrid’s third win in the competition’s revamped league phase and leaves the 15-time champions in the unseeded playoff positions in 18th place. “It’s a very important win. Not everyone wins
Indian teenager Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest chess world champion on Thursday after beating the defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final match of their series in Singapore. Dommaraju, 18, secured 7.5 points against 6.5 of his Chinese rival in the contest, surpassing the achievement of Russia’s Garry Kasparov, who won the title at the age of 22. The Indian teen prodigy has long been considered a rising star in the chess world after he became a chess grandmaster at 12. He had entered the match as the youngest-ever challenger to the world crown after winning the Candidates tournament earlier
RSS