In Ligue 1, the Lensois have confirmed their solidity and take second place in the standings behind PSG. In Spain, nobody worries Real but it is the French who made the show. In Germany, Bayern returns to the Berlin surprise. In Italy, Napoli still dominate Calcio, and in England, the Gunners are showing signs of running out of steam. Like every Monday, France 24 offers you a tour of European stadiums.
Lens dolphin of PSG, Olympique de Marseille distanced
At the end of the 12e day, RC Lens took second place in Ligue 1 in Lorient, thanks to their 1-0 victory on Saturday in Marseille, which lost for the third time in a row in the league. Despite a festival of strikes and chances, Igor Tudor’s team lost to the tough and realistic Sang et Or who scored the only goal of the match, signed David Pereira da Costa in the 78the.
On Friday, PSG easily won in Ajaccio. Goal by Mbappé on a pass from Messi (24e), Messi’s goal on a backheel from Mbappé (79e) and, finally, doubled for Mbappé on a pass from Messi (82e): without shining, the Parisians easily imposed themselves.
On Sunday, Laurent Blanc obtained his first success at the head of Olympique Lyonnais by snatching victory (2-1) in Montpellier. Captain Alexandre Lacazette was the great architect of Lyon’s success. Passer on the goal of Houssem Aouar (33e), the former Arsenal striker handed victory to his team at the last minute of the game.
At the end of the weekend, Lille from Losc chained a third success against Monaco after a spectacular meeting (4-3), thus returning to the lead car in Ligue 1.
Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann at the top
On Saturday, Real Madrid consolidated their leadership in La Liga by beating Sevilla FC 3-1 (goals from Luka Modric in the 6theVinicius at 79e and Valverde at the 81e), after the presentation at the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium, by Karim Benzema, out of injury, of his Ballon d’Or.
Sunday, it was on the lawn of the Barcelona rival that another Frenchman distinguished himself. Masterful, Ousmane Dembélé carried FC Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao in the 11e league day. With a header in the 12the and three assists for Sergi Roberto (18e), Robert Lewandowski (22e) and Ferran Torres (73e) the “mosquito” bent the encounter.
On the side of Atlético Madrid, Antoine Griezmann has confirmed his return to great shape. In Seville, the French striker scored from a direct corner in the 54ethen doubled the bet a quarter of an hour later (70e), before Nabil Fekir, back from injury, closed the gap with a superb direct free kick in the 84e. “I am very happy (…) to find the Griezmann who had left”, rejoiced his coach, the Argentinian Diego Simeone, in a post-match press conference.
Union Berlin still leading, Bayern on their heels
By losing Sunday against the red lantern Bochum (2-1), Union Berlin is only ahead of its Munich runner-up by one point. Still surprise leader at the end of the 11e Bundesliga day, the Berlin club is now closely followed by Bayern Munich, who won on the lawn of Hoffenheim on Saturday (2-0).
For its part, Borussia Dortmund ended its series of three unsuccessful matches with a big victory against Stuttgart (5-0) which allows it to return to fifth place in the championship. The fourth, Eintracht Frankfurt, which will host Marseille on Wednesday in the Champions League group stage, won in Mönchengladbach (3-1).
Naples still the leader, the tears of Ribéry
Napoli, winner of their last eleven matches in all competitions, are three points ahead of AC Milan, the new runner-up, and five over Lazio and Atalanta. Full of confidence, Naples won on Sunday against AS Roma (1-0) thanks to Victor Osimhen, during the 11e daytime. “I feel a bit of injustice, it was a balanced match, under control, but the first team to score won,” commented the irascible José Mourinho, in charge of Roma since May 2021.
Terribly effective, AC Milan crushed promoted Monza 4-1 in the Milan derby. A gala Brahim Diaz showed the way to the Rossoneri with his first double (16e41e). In the second half, ex-Liverpool striker Divock Origi scored his first (nice) goal in Italy (65e) then Rafael Leao concluded the festival with a serve from Théo Hernandez (84e).
Franck Ribéry, with his number 7 on his back and tears in his eyes, said goodbye to Salernitana supporters the day after the formalization of the end of his playing career, at 39. Forced to hang up due to recurring knee pain, the new retiree took a lap of honor before his family’s victory against La Spezia (1-0), applauded by standing tifosi.
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The former star of the France team and Bayern Munich will now join the technical team alongside coach Davide Nicola. “In the future I would like to be a coach. I like being on the pitch and being close to the team,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Arsenal remains leader ahead of City, new disappointment for Liverpool
The Gunners dropped two points at Southampton (1-1) on Sunday in the 13e Premier League day, and see Manchester City come back in their wheel, while Newcastle, winner at Tottenham (2-1), gets involved in the race for the C1. With this first draw of the season, the Gunners remain leaders but are only two units ahead of the defending champion.
The day before, the clash between Chelsea and Manchester United ended in a draw (1-1). The Londoners, who had opened the scoring in the 87e on penalty (Jorginho), thought they would leave with the three points but Manchester woke up and equalized in added time with the first goal of summer rookie Casemiro. Also note the tearful exit of Raphaël Varane, who was injured during this meeting.
Among the leaders, Manchester City beat Brighton (3-1) with a brace from Erling Haaland while Liverpool fell to Nottingham Forest (0-1). The Reds remain seventh with 16 points. “I have no idea how we could have lost this match,” testified a disappointed Klopp at the microphone of the BBC, after the meeting.
Still on Saturday, the dismissal of Steven Gerrard on Thursday had spectacular effects: Aston Villa indeed crushed Brentford (4-0).
With AFP