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Post by Bismarck on Apr 27, 2008 22:52:19 GMT
Djibril Cisse netted with nine minutes remaining to give Olympique Marseille a 3-2 Ligue 1 win at Monaco on Sunday that revived his side's hopes of clinching a Champions League place.
The France striker collected a Mamadou Niang pass in the area to beat Monaco keeper Flavio Roma from close range.
Marseille are now third in the standings on 58 points with three matches left after Nancy (57) drew 1-1 at Valenciennes earlier on Sunday.
Eric Gerets's side went ahead on 28 minutes through playmaker Samir Nasri only for Ignacio Gonzalez to level the tie 10 minutes into the second half.
Nigeria defender Taye Taiwo put the visitors back in command six minutes later but Jerko Leko equalised again for Monaco in the 63rd minute.
Marseille's attempts to grab all three points were not rewarded until the 83rd minute and Cisse's 14th goal of the season.
Earlier, Nancy's hopes of remaining in third place suffered a setback in Valenciennes.
They opened the scoring in the 10th minute courtesy of a Pascal Berenguer goal.
However, the hosts moved up a gear after the break and four minutes into the second half, Johan Audel volleyed home to give his side a deserved equaliser.
Valenciennes stay 12th on 45 points.
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Post by Bismarck on May 3, 2008 19:47:46 GMT
Olympique Lyon missed a chance to close in on a seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title when they were held to a goalless draw at mid-table Nice on Saturday.
Leaders Lyon now have 73 points, five ahead of second-placed Girondins Bordeaux, with two games left.
The six times champions struck the bar twice before the interval through Juninho and Jeremy Toulalan but failed to score the goal that would have increased the pressure on Bordeaux, who play at third-placed Marseille on Sunday (1855 GMT).
Allez Lyon....
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Post by Bismarck on Aug 17, 2008 12:04:42 GMT
A determined Paris Saint Germain beat Girondins Bordeaux, among the favourites for the Ligue 1 title, with a goal by striker Guillaume Hoarau on Saturday.
Click Here Hoarau, Ligue 2 top scorer last season, got his first goal for his new club with a coolly taken strike in the 53rd minute. The win eased PSG's jitters after a 1-0 loss to Monaco in their first game revived memories of last term's relegation fight.
Elsewhere, a slick move started by France forward Bafetimbi Gomis and finished by Blaise Matuidi helped St Etienne to a 2-1 win over Sochaux.
Gomis wrongfooted the visiting defence with a sharp turn and pass to allow Matuidi to fire home in the 10th minute before Pascal Feindouno made it 2-0 eight minutes later with a penalty after Dimitri Payet was brought down in the area.
Sochaux dominated the second half and were rewarded with a consolation goal by Damien Perqiuis in the 73rd minute but they could not claim a point against a St Etienne side that had lost their opening match after finishing fifth last season.
In other games played on the second weekend of the season, Nice beat visitors Nancy 2-1 and Toulouse overcame travelling Le Havre by the same scoreline.
Nancy, who finished fourth last term and like St Etienne qualified for the UEFA Cup, had drawn their opening match.
Caen scored three times in the first half hour to ensure a 3-1 win against Valenciennes, whose former striker Steve Savidan grabbed one goal and helped set up the other two.
Two Modibo Maiga goals and one from Norway's Thorstein Helstad helped Le Mans to a 3-1 victory at Lille.
On Sunday, champions Olympique Lyon are at Lorient, Grenoble hosting Stade Rennes and Olympique Marseille hosting Auxerre.
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Post by Bismarck on Aug 26, 2008 16:26:54 GMT
August 24, 2008 Bordeaux 2-0 Nantes Auxerre 0-1 Nice Rennes 2-1 Lille
August 23, 2008 Lyon 2-0 Grenoble Le Mans 1-0 St Etienne Valenciennes 3-1 Lorient Monaco 1-1 Caen Sochaux 1-1 PSG Le Havre AC 0-1 Marseille
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Post by Bismarck on Sept 11, 2008 13:00:59 GMT
Olympique Marseille will chase their first Ligue 1 victory at Girondins Bordeaux in nearly 31 years on Saturday as well as a morale boost before hosting Liverpool in the Champions League three days later.
Leaders Marseille, one of two teams undefeated four games into the season with champions Olympique Lyon, have not won a league match at Bordeaux since a 2-1 victory in 1977.
"This is our first big test of the season," defender Ronald Zubar told Marseille's website. "We've been waiting for a win there for 31 years and that's a very long time. We'll go there determined to end a long wait."
Runners-up last season, Bordeaux have failed to live up to expectations so far and lie seventh, four points off the pace, having lost twice already.
Marseille might be without France forward Hatem Ben Arfa, who hurt his left knee in training this week. Coach Eric Gerets was expected to rest Ben Arfa on Saturday and save him for their Champions League opener against Liverpool on Tuesday.
Former European champions Marseille met Liverpool in the group stage last season, winning 1-0 at Anfield before being thrashed 4-0 at home.
"Against Bordeaux and then Liverpool we have two matches that promise to be very intense but we're ready for that," midfielder Mathieu Valbuena told reporters.
Lyon, second to Marseille on goal difference, could be tested on Saturday when they host surprise package Nice, in fourth position just one point off the pace.
The seven times champions face a month without Italy left-back Fabio Grosso, who fractured two ribs in a World Cup qualifier against Cyprus on Saturday.
"To have to make do without such an experienced player is a problem," said Lyon coach Claude Puel.
Bottom side Nantes, who have a new coach in Elie Baup, will be chasing their first win since returning to the top flight when they visit Paris St Germain on Sunday.
PSG, who narrowly escaped relegation last season, have reinforced their squad with former France midfielders Claude Makelele and Ludovic Giuly and have not started too badly. They are in sixth place, three points off the leaders.
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Post by Bismarck on Sept 17, 2008 3:17:01 GMT
Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc has his heart set on a return to the Premier League one day and says it is his 'supreme goal'.
IanKington/GettyImages
Laurent Blanc: Sights set on England The former Manchester United defender impressed in his first season in charge of the Ligue 1 outfit, finishing second behind perennial champions Lyon. The four point gap was the closest any team has come to stopping Lyon's dominance since Paris St Germain in 2004.
Blanc leads Bordeaux back into the Champions League after they failed to qualify last term and he knows a good performance against Chelsea at Stamdford Bridge tonight will further raise his stock.
He has been mentioned in some quarters as a possible solution to the problems at Newcastle United but it is unlikely any manager will take on such a poisioned challice while the current turmoil continues.
"When I came to England, football already represented so much there and it occupied the European scene," he said.
"For a coach, working in England really is the supreme goal. It is a personal aim for me.
"Now we have to see if it will happen."
Bordeaux have enjoyed a steady if not impressive start to the current Ligue 1 season and sit in 10th place with two wins and two defeats in their opening five matches. Lyon head the table again with four wins out of five.
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Post by Bismarck on Sept 23, 2008 16:35:06 GMT
Lyon striker Karim Benzema has a buy-out clause of 100 million euros, club president Jean-Michel Aulas revealed on Tuesday.
The France international agreed a new contract at the end of last season with the reigning seven-time Ligue 1 champions, tying him to the club until the summer of 2013.
The 21-year-old is one of Europe's most sought-after youngsters but anyone wishing to sign him will have to break the world record for a transfer fee.
"We made him sign a contract until 2013, with an exit clause of 100m euros," said Aulas, at a Lyon board meeting.
"His working contract does not include this clause, which would be illegal. It is a question of a contract 'sous seing prive'.
"The aim is to win the Champions League with Karim Benzema. It is a strong project, like the construction of a new stadium."
In French law, a contract which is 'sous seing prive' is one agreed in private by the parties involved.
Benzema was the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season with 20 goals, and he already tops the charts this season having found the net five times in six games.
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Post by Bismarck on Sept 25, 2008 3:15:05 GMT
Marc Overmars is set to make a return to professional football with Dutch second division side Go Ahead Eagles.
Injuries forced the former Ajax, Arsenal and Barcelona winger to retire in 2004 and he took over the role of general manager with the Eagles.
However, with the club finishing a disappointing 10th last season, Overmars has vowed to return to action in order to help the club 'move forward'.
He told the club's official website: 'I am doing it for Go Ahead. This will help the club move forward. Of course I will find it fun to play again too.'
The 35-year-old impressed during a recent farewell game for former Holland star Jaap Stam and is confident he can still perform to his best.
He added: 'I was surprised that things went so well during the Jaap Stam match, and that I still had the speed.
'I stopped playing four years ago and train just once a week, but a lot can happen on will power alone. I hope to pass that on to the team.'
Overmars could make his return for the Adelaarshorst side on Friday when they face Fortuna Sittard.
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Post by Bismarck on Sept 28, 2008 1:07:52 GMT
Newcomer Anthony Mounier turned 21 in style by setting up two goals to help Olympique Lyon beat Nancy 2-1 and pull six points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Forward Mounier, who has played only a handful of matches for the first team, celebrated his birthday by feeding France's Karim Benzema for Lyon's first goal just after half-an-hour and Brazilian striker Fred for their second in the 37th minute.
Nancy pulled one back through midfielder Pascal Berenguer a minute later but Lyon, warming up for a Champions League match at Bayern Munich on Tuesday, were clearly the better side.
Mounier, who developed at the club and played in the youth teams with Benzema for years, heard the fans at Lyon's Gerland stadium chant his name after a spectacular performance.
"We played a good match, winning possession and holding on to our lead, even if it's true that we did waste a few chances in the second half," he said
"There are a lot of talented players in our squad and when I get a chance to play, I try to make the most of it," he added.
The seven-times champions moved on to 19 points from seven matches, six points ahead of second-placed Olympique Marseille, who drew 1-1 at Le Mans, and third-placed Grenoble, who won 1-0 away to Paris St Germain.
France forward Hatem Ben Arfa raced into the box to open the scoring for Marseille after six minutes but Le Mans levelled five minutes later, Norway striker Thorstein Helstad exploiting a blunder by defender Laurent Bonnart to head home.
Marseille, who visit Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, have now gone five matches without a win in all competitions.
Promoted Grenoble extended a surprisingly strong start to the season with a 1-0 win over PSG courtesy of a superb drive from 25 metres by forward Nassim Akrour 14 minutes from time in the day's last match.
The capital club could now face a few games without former France midfielder Ludovic Giuly, who limped off with a thigh injury in the second half.
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 6, 2008 22:29:45 GMT
Lyon coach Claude Puel admitted his side "got what we deserved" after they were beaten 3-0 by Rennes on Sunday.
The seven-times French champions fell to their first defeat in Ligue 1 this season thanks to a hat-trick from Mickael Pagis.
While the veteran forward was in irresistible form, Lyon looked desperately off the pace after their Champions League exertions in midweek and Rennes could have been even more convincing winners.
And Puel admits his side simply did not show up to the game.
"We saw a great Rennes side, but not a great Lyon team," he told the Lyon website. "It's very difficult to lose without feeling like we could have done something. We got what we deserved.
"Pagis caused us plenty of misery, he's an excellent player but we gave him too much space."
Lyon's players refused to accept the side were suffering the consequences of their hard-fought draw with Bayern Munich on Tuesday, seeing as Rennes were also involved in European football on Thursday.
"Tonight we received a real slap in the face," said forward Frederic Piquionne. "Rennes played on Thursday in the UEFA Cup, so physically we should have been better than them.
"We're still top of the league but the others are coming up behind us quickly."
Despite the defeat, Les Gones still have a two-point cushion over their nearest rivals Toulouse.
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Post by Bismarck on Oct 26, 2008 20:07:20 GMT
Olympique Lyon extended a poor run of form in Ligue 1 with a dismal 0-0 draw at Auxerre on Saturday. Click here
The seven-times champions, now without a win in three league games, still lead with 21 points from 10 games, but Olympique Marseille could go top when they host arch-rivals Paris St Germain on Sunday. The Provence side have 19 points.
Le Mans, Girondins Bordeaux and Toulouse all failed to take advantage, remaining third, fourth and fifth respectively, three points behind Lyon, after they also drew.
Surprise package Le Mans were held 2-2 at Stade Rennes while Bordeaux squandered a two-goal lead in the final minutes of a 2-2 draw at Nice, whose equaliser by Loic Remy came deep in stoppage time.
Toulouse failed to break Monaco's defence despite many opportunities and had to settle for a goalless draw at home. The result ended a three-game losing streak for Monaco.
Lyon struggled to create chances at Auxerre four days after a thrilling 5-3 Champions League win at Steaua Bucharest.
Kader Keita hit the bar with a fine angled lob from outside the box in the early minutes of the game but Auxerre created the best opportunities.
An effort by Auxerre's Poland striker Ireneusz Jelen bounced off the post after the break and Lyon survived a scare when goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre brought down Kenya's Dennis Oliech outside the box but escaped punishment.
"It was a tough game," Lyon coach Claude Puel was quoted as saying on his club's website (www.olweb.fr).
"We are not going to look for excuses but it was an away game and we will settle for one point."
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