Cesc Fabregas scored a late winner from the penalty spot as AS Monaco came from two goals down to stun reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 in Ligue 1 on Friday.
Kylian Mbappe had netted a first-half brace, including a penalty, against his former side, taking him to 99 goals for PSG and leaving his team seemingly on course for a ninth consecutive league win.
However, German international Kevin Volland struck twice for Monaco after the break and Fabregas converted in the 84th minute after Abdou Diallo had been sent off for conceding the penalty.
Photo: Reuters
PSG remain clear at the top of Ligue 1, but the result is a major setback for Thomas Tuchel’s team before a crucial Champions League tie against RB Leipzig on Wednesday.
“I am more surprised than I am angry,” said Tuchel, who was also disappointed to see further first-half goals for Mbappe and Moise Kean disallowed. “I saw two totally different halves. First of all we completely controlled the game ... and then the second half was completely different. I can only say it is our responsibility.”
Niko Kovac’s Monaco climbed to second on the table, four points behind PSG, but Lille OSC can reclaim second spot and move to within two points of the leaders if they beat Lorient today.
Photo: AFP
“If you come back from two down to win 3-2, it is for sure something special, but I don’t want to glorify it too much,” Kovac said. “We cannot stop and say everything is done. It was a big victory, but nothing more.”
Elsewhere, Stade Rennais warmed up for their Champions League rematch against Chelsea in the worst possible fashion, going down to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Girondins de Bordeaux.
French international Hatem Ben Arfa scored the only goal of the game against his old club, collecting a Samuel Kalu pass and firing in low on his left foot from the edge of the box after 36 minutes.
Ben Arfa played in the Rennes side who won the Coupe de France last year before departing for a short-lived spell in Spain with Valladolid and signing for Bordeaux last month.
Despite seeing teenage France midfield sensation Eduardo Camavinga make his return from injury, Rennes have now won just once in nine games, a run that includes the first three group games of their debut Champions League campaign.
Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin has signed for the Golden State Warriors’ G League affiliate, Santa Cruz Warriors, ahead of the 2020-2021 season, the team said on Saturday. Lin spent the 2019-2020 season with the Chinese Basketball Association’s Beijing Ducks and guided them to the semi-finals, before they lost to eventual champions Guangdong Southern Tigers. He left the team in September. The 32-year-old began his NBA career with the Warriors in 2010 before joining the New York Knicks, where his strong performance in the 2011-2012 season gave rise to the term “Linsanity.” Lin also had spells with the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets,
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