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LIGUE 1 ROUND-UP

LILLE

PSG extend lead after Lille slump to defeat

PSG extended their lead at top of Ligue 1 after a hard fought victory over Ajaccio at the weekend, while their two main rivals forthe title, Lille and Monaco, both slipped up. Catch up on all the action inthis round-up.

PSG extend lead after Lille slump to defeat
PSG players celebrate scoring against Ajaccio in a 2-1 win thatsaw their lead at the tope of Ligue 1 extended to five points. Photo: Pascal Pochard Casabianca/AFP

Marseille remain unbeaten in five domestic games under Jose Anigo after coming from behind to beat Evian 2-1 while Lille blew a chance to go second as they lost 2-1 to Reims.

On-loan winger Pape Amodou Sougou put Marseille in front against his parent club, but Benoit Cheyrou equalised for OM and Andre-Pierre Gignac netted what turned out to be the winner before the interval.

It was Marseille's first-ever win away to Evian and the three points lifted them back up to fifth place in the Ligue 1 table.

Lille meanwhile suffered only their second home defeat of the season as they slumped to a 2-1 loss against Reims, where Odair Fortes and Grzegorz Krychowiak hit second half goals.

Anthony Weber put the ball through his own goal to give Lille hope with two minutes left but it was too little, too late as the Champagne-region outfit held on for their eighth victory of the season.

The defeat, only Lille's fourth in 20 outings, keeps them third and seven points back of leaders Paris Saint-Germain while Reims climb above Bordeaux and Nantes into a tie with Marseille for fifth place.

Marseille remain eight points adrift of the Champions League qualification places despite their key win at Evian.

Last summer, OM raided Evian to sign their Tunisian international forward Saber Khalifa, with Senegalese winger Sougou moving in the opposite direction on a season-long loan deal.

Both players featured prominently at the Parc des Sports, with Sougou meeting a left-wing corner to send a looping header over goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and into the net at the far post on 15 minutes.

It was his fourth league goal of the season, although he refused to celebrate against the club to whom he still belongs.

The visitors were level within seven minutes, though, as Cheyrou collected a loose ball in a central position 25 yards from goal and curled a beautiful shot over 'keeper Bertrand Laquait and into the net.

Gignac then made it 2-1 in the 38th minute, heading in his sixth goal in five games in all competitions from a clipped Florian Thauvin cross.

OM had chances to increase their lead in the second half, notably when Khalifa hit the bar as he attempted to lob Laquait from 30 yards.

However, they held on to claim what was their first win in the league since late November, while the defeat leaves Evian just three points above the drop zone.

Earlier, Nantes beat local rivals Lorient 1-0 at the Stade de la Beaujoire, Ismael Bangoura firing home his first goal for the club since May 2012 to seal the points with just a minute remaining.

Yann Jouffre hit the bar from a free-kick in stoppage time for Lorient, who suffered a first defeat in eight Ligue 1 games.

Nantes are sixth after the win, and the impact of the Guinean Bangoura was particularly welcome.

The southern Brittany side face the prospect of a FIFA-imposed transfer ban, of at least a year, for allegedly going against the rules with their signing of Bangoura from Emirati club Al Nasr in 2012.

That could prove particularly damaging if this season's eight-goal top scorer Filip Djordjevic, who set up Bangoura's goal against Lorient, leaves as expected when his contract expires in the summer.

Paris Saint-Germain were not at their very best in their first Ligue 1 game of 2014, but they still managed to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points after coming from behind to beat Ajaccio 2-1.

Bottom club Ajaccio had taken the lead at the Stade Francois-Coty through an early Eduardo goal, but Ezequiel Lavezzi pulled the visitors level before the break and Blaise Matuidi headed in what proved to be the winner after 74 minutes.

It was not a classic performance from Laurent Blanc's side, but they are now five points clear at the top of the table from Monaco, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Montpellier on Friday.

"We knew this would be a difficult match. We needed to be on top of our game in the opening 20 minutes but we were not, and we switched off and conceded a goal," said Blanc.

"That galvanised them, but we managed to get the equaliser, and in the second half we had chances to put the game to bed.

"We have had a little break, and it takes the bodies and heads of the players a little while to get back into things."

Monaco were held to a 1-1 draw at Montpellier on Friday.

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FOOTBALL

OPINION: Mbappé’s title, but PSG need to breathe new life into Qatari project

After being the star of France's 2018 World Cup triumph, Kylian Mbappé has been the standout player for Paris Saint-Germain in a Ligue 1 title-winning campaign that has been slightly marred by the manner in which they limped over the line.

OPINION: Mbappé's title, but PSG need to breathe new life into Qatari project
Photos AFP

PSG finally wrapped up the title on Sunday after second-placed Lille failed to beat Toulouse, having not won any of their previous three games when the opportunity to confirm a sixth French crown in seven seasons was there.

The Qatari-owned club can still make it a domestic double, with the French Cup final to come against Rennes next weekend, yet this will not be remembered as a vintage year.

While Neymar once again went missing due to injury at the crucial point, Edinson Cavani has struggled with fitness too, and coach Thomas Tuchel has regularly lashed out at the lack of depth in his squad.

The 5-1 capitulation at Lille a week ago was the worst league result for PSG since Qatar Sports Investments bought the club in 2011, and the first time they had let in five in a league game since 2000.

A record-breaking 14-match winning run with which they started the season now seems like a long time ago, the latest Champions League failure clouding Tuchel's first campaign in charge.

Mbappé, at least, has been a constant, revelling in his status as a World Cup winner and hardly ever being rested. He only turned 20 in December, but has now won three Ligue 1 titles in a row.

Mbappé has 36 goals in 40 games this season, with 30 in the league. And, frighteningly, his team-mate Daniel Alves told RMC recently that “he doesn't realise how good he is, he can go much further”.

He is also not used to losing, and may have upset some of his teammates with his assessment of last week's defeat at Lille. “We played like beginners,” he said.

Hollow ring

To be fair, they have usually been exceptional domestically. However, the problem is that as long as they keep failing in the Champions League, domestic success for a club backed by a Gulf state will continue to ring hollow.

The title has effectively been in the bag for some time, but their season has been winding down ever since their exit against Manchester United in the last 16.

That, combined with being knocked out in the League Cup quarter-finals, means Tuchel in his first season has actually done worse than Unai Emery, his unloved predecessor.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel has actually done worse than his predecessor, Unai Emery
However, according to sports daily L'Equipe, Tuchel has agreed to extend his contract to 2021. Thoughts have already turned to the future, with new signings needed at the Parc des Princes.

The costly Neymar experiment cannot be said to have succeeded until he stays fit for the games that matter, and there will always be speculation about his future.

“We have a contract, we're not even halfway through that contract,” Neymar's father pointed out to RMC Sport.

Time for a clear-out? 

Mbappé is the one man they really cannot afford to lose, but is it time for a clear-out elsewhere?

Some of the excitement of the early part of the decade has gone, replaced with a staleness. The days of Thiago Silva, Edinson Cavani and Marco Verratti are maybe ending.

Youri Djorkaeff, a World Cup winner for France and a PSG star in the 1990s, offers a frank assessment, suggesting real change is needed higher up.

“If you're not great in every compartment, from the bus driver to the girls who clean the shirts, you will go nowhere,” he told Ligue 1 Podcast, 'Le Beau Jeu'.

“Paris Saint-Germain, after many years without success, have to rebuild everything, restart from scratch, because the foundations are not good. You cannot expect to one day win the Champions League without these foundations.”

The Qatar project needs a breath of fresh air, and all eyes will be on president Nasser al-Khelaifi and sporting director Antero Henrique.

UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules remain a problem, though, with PSG said to have a hole of around 100 million euros and the need to present a balanced budget by the end of June. The next few months will be interesting.

By Andy Scott/AFP

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