Olympique Lyonnais celebrated the inauguration of their new 59,000-capacity stadium with a 4-1 victory over bottom side ESTAC Troyes on Saturday, snapping a six-game winless run in Ligue 1.
Alexandre Lacazette wrote his name into the history books by scoring the first goal at Parc OL to give Lyon an 18th-minute lead, but Fabien Camus silenced the home fans with a stunning equalizer midway through the second half.
However, Lyon went back in front courtesy of a fine Rachid Ghezzal strike on 72 minutes before Jordan Ferri and Claudio Beauvue added late goals to clinch a first league win for Lyon in two months.
Photo: Reuters
Lyon climbed up to sixth, while Troyes did little to dispel the likelihood of an immediate return to the second tier, having yet to win 20 matches into the season.
The hosts went ahead as Lacazette held off a defender before steering past Paul Bernardoni for his seventh goal of the season.
Troyes, who had recorded three straight draws in the league, pulled level on 67 minutes when Camus fired a swerving long-range shot past Anthony Lopes.
However, Lyon regained the lead five minutes later as Ghezzal swiveled inside the area and struck a sweet left-footed effort beyond Bernardoni.
Ferri then thumped home a third goal on 81 minutes after an inviting lay-off from Clement Grenier with Beauvue heading in a fourth in stoppage-time.
Elsewhere, AS Monaco needed a Fabinho penalty and a goal from veteran Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Gazelec Ajaccio after the visitors had taken control through first-half strikes from Khalid Boutaib and John Tshibumbu.
Pierrick Capelle and Billy Ketkeophomphone were on target for Angers SCO in a 2-0 win over Stade Malherbe Caen that bumped the hosts back up to second place, a point ahead of Monaco.
Stade Rennais fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Lorient as France playmaker Yoann Gourcuff, who joined Rennes as a free agent in November last year, made his first appearance in 10 months.
Wissam Ben Yedder netted a hat-trick to lead Toulouse to a 3-1 victory at 10-man Stade de Reims and move them within a point of safety, while Cheick Diabate grabbed the only goal for Girondins de Bordeaux in a 1-0 victory at Montpellier Herault.
Major League Baseball (MLB) star Shohei Ohtani wants his former interpreter to hand over hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of baseball cards he says were fraudulently bought using his money. The Los Angeles Dodgers star is also requesting Ippei Mizuhara, who previously pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud for stealing nearly US$17 million from the unsuspecting athlete, return signed collectible baseball cards depicting Ohtani that were in Mizuhara’s “unauthorized and wrongful possession,” court documents filed on Tuesday said. The legal filing alleges Mizuhara accessed Ohtani’s bank account beginning in about November 2021, changing his security protocols so that he
US skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she sustained an abrasion on her left hip and that something “stabbed” her when she crashed during her second run of an Audi FIS Ski World Cup giant slalom race on Saturday, doing a flip and sliding into the protective fencing. Shiffrin stayed down on the edge of the course for quite some time as the ski patrol attended to her. She was taken off the hill on a sled and waved to the cheering crowd before going to a clinic for evaluation. “Not really too much cause for concern at this point, I just
CLASH OF MANAGERS: Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler and Russell Martin of Southampton accused each other of disrespect, while both were booked Southampton on Friday were denied a priceless victory by a controversial decision as they drew with hosts Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 in the Premier League. Kaoru Mitoma spectacularly headed Brighton into a first-half lead and Flynn Downes hammered home an equalizer an hour in. Minutes later teammate Cameron Archer converted a cross from Saints substitute Ryan Fraser. A video assistant referee check of more than four minutes eventually decided that Archer was onside, but then penalized Adam Armstrong, who was offside, but did not touch the ball, for interfering with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. “I find it hard to accept,” Southampton manager Russell Martin
Mary McGee, a female racing pioneer and subject profiled in an Oscar-contending documentary, Motorcycle Mary, has died, her family said. She was 87. “McGee’s unparalleled achievements in off-road racing and motorcycle racing have inspired generations of athletes that followed in her footsteps,” her family said in a statement. The family said McGee died of complications from a stroke at her home in Gardnerville, Nevada, on Wednesday, the day before the release of the short documentary Motorcycle Mary, on ESPN’s YouTube channel. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton was an executive producer on the film, which became available globally on Thursday. Its premiere