PARIS: Monaco went top of the Ligue 1 table on Saturday with a 2-1 win away to Rennes, moving three points ahead of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Goals from Thilo Kehrer and Folarin Balogun sent the principality side to 19 points. PSG, who are on 16 with a better goal difference, will have the chance to overtake them when they play Nice on Sunday.
“After seven games, we have 19 points, that’s the reality and the truth, and we’re really happy about that,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter.
However, he added: “The championship is not a 100-meter sprint, it’s a 400-meter race, and we’ve started very well.”
Monaco’s match in the rain in Brittany was decided early in the first half. Kehrer opened the scoring before Ludovic Blas levelled and Balogun then tucked home the winner, all in the first 22 minutes.
Continuing his fine start to the season, Monaco youngster Eliesse Ben Seghir had a part in both of his side’s goals.
His sixth-minute corner met the head of Kehrer, who glanced it into the back of the net despite the efforts of a defender on the line.
Blas put Rennes back on terms five minutes later with a rocket of a left-foot strike from more than 35 yards that flew past Philipp Koehn.
But Balogun wrapped up the points for Huetter’s side when he clipped the ball past an advancing Steve Mandanda in the 22nd minute after a defense-splitting pass from Ben Seghir.
Earlier on Saturday, Lille moved up to fourth, coming from behind to win at home against lowly Toulouse.
Zakaria Aboukhlal gave the 16th-placed side a surprise lead six minutes before the interval when he squeezed a shot on the rebound over the line from a tight angle.
But former Manchester United playmaker Angel Gomes levelled for Lille on 57 minutes when he prodded home Osame Sahraoui’s lofted pass from close range.
Mitchel Bakker made it two wins in a week at home for Lille — after Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League — with a composed finish in the 72nd minute, rounding off a swift counter-attack.
A hat-trick from Zuriko Davitashvili propelled Saint-Etienne out of the relegation zone as they beat Auxerre 3-1 at home.
The Georgian opened the scoring first after a quarter of a hour with a thumping finish after carrying the ball 40 yards into the visitors’ penalty area.
He hit his second on 54 minutes after again cutting in from the left flank and taking aim with his right foot.
Theo Bair halved the deficit with 15 minutes remaining, before Davitashvili completed his triple with a dinked finish on 87 minutes.
On Sunday, Lyon host Nantes while Reims and Lens are also in action, before PSG travel to ninth-placed Nice.
Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
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Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- “After seven games, we have 19 points, that’s the reality and the truth, and we’re really happy about that,” said Monaco coach Adi Huetter
Saka scores on return from injury as Arsenal trims gap to Liverpool to 9 points in Premier League
Mikel Merino scored the 37th-minute opener for second-place Arsenal
LONDON: Bukayo Saka marked his first appearance in more than three months by scoring as a substitute in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham that trimmed the gap to Premier League leader Liverpool to nine points on Tuesday.
The England winger entered in the 66th minute to a huge ovation after his long absence because of a hamstring injury and, within seven minutes, was taking the acclaim of the Arsenal fans again after nodding home the second goal at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Merino scored the 37th-minute opener for second-place Arsenal, which require an unlikely collapse by Liverpool if they are to capture their first league title since 2004.
Liverpool host Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday, after which there are eight rounds left in the Premier League.
Rodrigo Muniz grabbed a stoppage-time consolation goal for Fulham.
Saka, who has been sidelined since sustaining his injury on Dec. 21 in a league match at Crystal Palace, is back in time to face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarterfinals starting next week.
Whether Gabriel Magalhaes will be available against the European champions remains to be seen. The Brazil center back went off with an apparent hamstring injury in the 16th minute against Fulham.
Wolverhampton beat West Ham 1-0 to push further clear of relegation danger, while Nottingham Forest were hosting Manchester United in a later kickoff on the opening night of a midweek round of fixtures.
Prabhsimran powers Punjab to IPL win over Lucknow
- Punjab chased down the target of 172 set by Lucknow with nearly four overs to spare
- Lucknow started poorly, losing in-form opener Mitchell Marsh for a golden duck in the first over
LUCKNOW, India: Wicketkeeper-batsman Prabhsimran Singh scored an explosive 69 off 34 balls as Punjab Kings cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday for their second win this IPL.
Punjab chased down the target of 172 set by Lucknow with nearly four overs to spare, and captain Shreyas Iyer remained unbeaten on 52 off 30 balls.
Playing their first home game of the season, Lucknow Super Giants started poorly, losing in-form opener Mitchell Marsh for a golden duck in the first over of the match to Arshdeep Singh.
Marsh’s opening partner Aiden Markram hit Arshdeep for three boundaries in his next over but fell for 28 off 18 soon after to New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson, who was playing his first match for the Kings.
Captain Rishabh Pant’s stint at the crease was short-lived getting out for just two runs from five balls, leaving Lucknow reeling at 35-3 just prior to the end of the powerplay.
Nicholas Pooran and Ayush Badoni steadied the innings with a 54-run partnership for the fourth wicket, but Pooran eventually fell to spinner Yuzvendra Chahal in the 12th over after an entertaining 44 off 30 balls.
The attacking David Miller who came in next did not last long either, falling to fellow South African Marco Jansen for 19 off 18 deliveries.
Badoni (41) and Abdul Samad (27), both of whom were dismissed by Arshdeep in the last over of the match, provided some late momentum to Lucknow, propelling them to a total of 171-7.
In response, Punjab lost opener Priyansh Arya cheaply for eight runs off nine balls to spinner Digvesh Rathi in the third over.
But Lucknow’s bowling attack only again tasted success in the 11th over when Prabhsimran fell, courtesy of a spectacular catch at the fence.
By then, Iyer and Prabhsimran’s quickfire partnership of 84 — powered largely by the latter — had taken the match away from Lucknow.
Left-handed batter Nehal Wadhera (43) then teamed up with Iyer to take Punjab over the line without any further setbacks.
Rathi (2-30) was the only Lucknow bowler to be among the wickets.
Premier League to introduce semi-automated offside technology
- The league said it worked with referees and Genius Sports to develop the system
LONDON: The Premier League will begin using semi-automated offside technology from April 12, the league announced Tuesday.
The technology, which debuted in English soccer in the FA Cup, is designed to enhance “the speed, efficiency, and consistency of offside decision-making,” the league said in a statement.
“It provides more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, using optical player tracking, and generates virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for fans,” the league’s statement added.
Besides the FA Cup, there was also “non-live testing” of the technology in the Premier League.
The league said it worked with referees and Genius Sports to develop the system.
The early game on April 12 is Crystal Palace at Manchester City.
Bayern reportedly against giving club favorite Thomas Müller another season
- SportBild and Kicker magazine were reporting that Bayern would prefer to save his considerable wage packet than offer him a new one
- Müller made his Bayern debut under Jürgen Klinsmann in 2008
BERLIN: Bayern Munich favorite Thomas Müller could be about to end his career as media reports suggest the club will not extend his contract at the end of the season.
The 35-year-old Müller’s current deal runs only through June and both SportBild and Kicker magazine were reporting that Bayern would prefer to save his considerable wage packet than offer him a new one.
Müller made his Bayern debut under Jürgen Klinsmann in 2008 and his breakthrough came under Louis van Gaal the following season. He has since made more appearances than any other player at the club, 742 across all competitions (with 247 goals) including super cups and club world championships.
He has gone on to win a record 12 Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues – and he may win more because Bayern lead the former by six points with seven games remaining, and faces Inter Milan in the Champions League quarterfinals. Munich hosts the final in May.
Müller, who joined Bayern’s youth setup in 2000, brings vast experience and intelligence to the team, but his playing time has been limited. Of his 23 Bundesliga appearances, 15 were as a substitute this season. It’s similar in the Champions League with just three starts from 10 appearances. If he plays at all it’s often just for the final minutes. Last weekend, he went on in the 85th against St. Pauli, and the 87th against Stuttgart last month.
SportBild reported that Bayern’s board member for sport Max Eberl informed the player’s representatives two weeks ago that the club decided not to renew his deal, in contrast to the new contracts for teammates Manuel Neuer, Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich, all recently announced.
Müller reportedly wanted to play on for another season.
Bayern may opt to give the player a short contract extension so he can play at the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States this summer, but Müller will likely have to be content with “just” 13 Bundesliga titles.
Müller retired from international soccer after the European Championship last year, having clocked 131 appearances for Germany. He wore No. 13 for Germany, and always said it was his lucky number.
Two Moroccan fighters set for ONE Fight Night 30 in Bangkok
- Mouhcine Chafi will face in-form Englishman George Jarvis in a lightweight Muay Thai bout at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium
- Elmehdi El Jamari will be making his promotional debut on the same fight card against Thailand’s Thongpoon PK Saenchai
DUBAI: Two fighters will represent Morocco at global martial arts organization ONE Championship’s upcoming show ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles in the morning hours of this Saturday, April 5.
Mouhcine Chafi will face in-form English counterpart George Jarvis in a lightweight Muay Thai bout inside Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium.
Nicknamed “The Assassin,” Chafi will need to lean on his rich experience to bounce back from two consecutive defeats against top opposition, including former world title challenger Sinsamut Klinmee.
Despite his difficult start at ONE Championship, the 27-year-old Moroccan has all the skills needed to revive his career in the organization.
Chafi, who owns a 31-7 Muay Thai and kickboxing record, has beaten some of the most talented strikers in the world and picked up international Muay Thai titles, including the WBC Light Heavyweight Muay Thai championship.
Meanwhile, Chafi’s opponent, Jarvis, hopes to claim his fourth consecutive win in ONE Championship and to raise his 26-4 overall professional record.
After a split-decision debut loss, the 24-year-old English fighter went on to pick up two decision wins against Iraq’s Mustafa Al Tekreeti and Argentina’s Ricardo Bravo before scoring a knockout win against Thailand’s Rungrawee Sitsongpeenong.
While Chafi will enter his third fight in ONE Championship, Elmehdi El Jamari will be making his promotional debut on the same fight card.
El Jamari, who is the younger brother of ONE athlete Zakaria El Jamari, will face Thailand’s Thongpoon PK Saenchai in a strawweight Muay Thai bout.
The 27-year-old Moroccan fighter has won Muay Thai titles at the national, regional, and international levels. He is a seven-time Morocco Muay Thai champion, a two-time Arab Muay Thai champion, and a former world champion at reputable martial arts organizations WBC and K-1.
The 27-year-old Thai fighter had opened his promotional account with four consecutive wins — including three knockout victories — before losing to his next opponent’s older brother, Zakaria.
Most recently, Saenchai recovered from a decision loss against Rui Botelho with an impressive technical knockout victory against former world title challenger Danial Williams.
ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles will be headlined by two world title bouts. In the main event, Ukraine’s two-sport, two-weight division ONE world champion Roman Kryklia defends his ONE Heavyweight Muay Thai world championship against fellow England’s WBC Muay Thai heavyweight champion Lyndon Knowles.
Two-sport ONE world champion Regian Eersel will also defend his ONE Lightweight Kickboxing world championship in the show’s co-main event against former divisional titleholder Alexis Nicolas. The two stars are eying a decisive win in an exciting trilogy with the score tied with one win for each fighter against the other.
The show will also witness the returns of fan-favorite Seksan Or Kwanmuang, undefeated Uzbek star Sanzhar Zakirov, the debut of BJJ star Fabricio Andrey, and a pivotal featherweight Muay Thai contest between Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong and Nico Carrillo with the latter hoping to recover from his heart-breaking first promotional loss against Algeria’s Nabil Anane in their ONE Interim Bantamweight Muay Thai world title bout at ONE 170 in January.
