Posts

Showing posts with the label Ligue 1

Henry gets first Monaco win as PSG tighten grip on Ligue 1

Image
Radamel Falcao secured Thierry Henry his first win as Monaco boss with a free-kick that would have made his manager proud as Paris Saint-Germain warmed up for Liverpool's visit by strengthening their hold on Ligue 1 with a routine win over Toulouse without Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The Colombian striker struck with a dipping set-piece nine minutes after the break, and Henry could be be seen smiling on the touchline as his players celebrated Falcao's winner wildly. Falcao's fifth league goal of the campaign secured Monaco's first win in any competition since the opening day of the league season, a miserable run of form that has left them second-bottom in Ligue 1 despite Saturday's win. Earlier on Saturday Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani saved a disjointed performance from runaway leaders PSG to maintain their 100 percent start to the season ahead of the crunch Champions League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday. Neymar and Mbappe were both injured during fr...

Derby hammering of Marseille puts Montpellier second

Image
Gaetan Laborde fired Montpellier to second in Ligue 1 with a brace that helped his side to a crushing 3-0 derby win over stuttering Marseille on Sunday. In-form Laborde struck with a neat header in the 51st minute and a fine curling strike after chaotic Marseille defending 11 minutes later to make it six goals in seven appearances in all competitions, as the home side ran riot early in the second half. Paul Lanse made sure of the result and put his side level on 25 points with Lille in the table with a neat side-footed finish with 20 minutes left. Montpellier took their chance to snatch second spot from Lille after their rival's 2-1 defeat at runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain on Friday night. PSG are 11 points clear of their nearest challengers after Kylian Mbappe and Neymar fired the champions their 12th straight win, beating Tottenham Hotspur's old 11-match record for consecutive wins at the start of a season. With Sunday's defeat Marseille slip back to six...

Henry’s struggling Monaco side loses 1-0 at Reims

Image
Thierry Henry must be wondering what he sig ned up for as Monaco’s new coach. After four matches, the France great has yet to win one, and his side is languishing in 19th place in the French league after losing at Reims 1-0. Even with Colombia striker Radamel Falcao back from injury and coming off the bench for the entire second half, Monaco failed to score after Reims midfielder Alaixys Romao was sent off after 50 minutes. Monaco midfielder Pele was red-carded with 20 minutes left. Monaco has seven points from 12 games and will drop to last place if Guingamp draws at Nantes on Sunday. Henry has little to cheer him up, either. Next weekend Monaco is at home to runaway leader Paris Saint-Germain, which has won its opening 12 games to set a European record for the top five leagues. PSG’s latest win was 2-1 at home against Lille on Friday. Meanwhile, Lyon missed the chance to move into third place when it drew Bordeaux 1-1 at home, despite taking the lead through highly ra...

Xavi: Neymar, not Mbappe, most likely to reach Messi's level

Image
Barcelona legend Xavi believes that Neymar has more chance of reaching the levels of Lionel Messi than Paris Saint-Germain prodigy Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe is the leading scorer in Europe's top five leagues, with 11 goals from eight Ligue 1 appearances so far this term. The 19-year-old has enjoyed a stellar 2018, having excelled in his maiden season at PSG before going on to win the World Cup with France. However, Xavi – who played with Neymar at Barca – has backed the Brazil star as the player who could come close to Messi, stating that Mbappe still has much to learn. He's a very superior player physically," Xavi, who currently plays for Qatari club Al Sadd, told Catalunya Radio. "It's impressive that at his age he has those differences, but he could also get stuck, it's very difficult to predict. "He still has no football maturity but, he could be one of the good ones. He is so strong, but that does not always work in elite football, he has ...

Paris Saint-Germain set European record with 12th consecutive win to start Ligue 1 season

Image
Paris St Germain manager Thomas Tuchel hailed his side's victory over Lille as their best performance of the season. PSG set a new European record on Friday night by recording their 12th consecutive win since the beginning of the season after Kylian Mbappe and Neymar both struck in a 2-1 win. The Ligue 1 table-toppers now face Napoli in the Champions League next week, and Tuchel believes their victory against Lille - which extends their title lead to 11 points - puts them in the right frame of mind ahead of their trip to Italy. "I think it was our best match this season," Tuchel told  L'Equipe . "It was necessary against this opponent and it will also be necessary on Tuesday night. Napoli have a different style and it will be a big challenge. "The team is confident after this game. It was necessary to play with a lot of quality and we did. It was a wonderful performance. There was a lot of structure, possession of the ball, we closed the space...

Mbappe, Neymar Score as PSG Stays Perfect in Ligue 1, Beats Lille

Image
Kylian Mbappe scored a spectacular goal and then set up Neymar as runaway French league leader Paris Saint-Germain won at home to second-place Lille 2-1 on Friday. PSG's 12th straight win from the start of the season is a record for the top five European leagues, beating Tottenham's 11 opening wins in 1960 in England. PSG coach Thomas Tuchel picked midfielder Marco Verratti, who was stopped by police this week for driving over the alcohol limit. Verratti helped to create Mbappe's goal in the 70th minute, threading a quick pass to Neymar who then picked out Mbappe's run. The France World Cup star was slightly fortunate as Neymar's pass clipped the leg of a defender and rolled to him, but he finished exquisitely by curling the ball into the bottom right corner from about 20 meters. Even though the 19-year-old Mbappe has played in only seven of PSG's league games, he is already on a league-leading 11 goals. He flicked the ball to Neymar in the 84th, ...