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Rediff.com  » Sports » SOCCER PIX: Lacklustre PSG slump to first loss, Real downed

SOCCER PIX: Lacklustre PSG slump to first loss, Real downed

Last updated on: October 04, 2021 09:27 IST
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IMAGE: Stade Rennais' Gaetan Laborde celebrates scoring their first goal. Photograph: Stephane Mahe/Reuters

Paris St Germain suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Stade Rennais on Sunday to drop their first Ligue 1 points of the season.

Rennes won thanks to goals by Gaetan Laborde and Flavian Tait each side of the interval to end PSG's eight-game winning run in the league.

 

PSG, beaten in the pre-season Trophy of champions by Lille, stayed top of the standings with 24 points, six ahead of second-placed RC Lens who beat Stade de Reims 2-0 on Friday.

Rennes moved up to seventh on 12 points.

Five days after an impressive win over Manchester City in the Champions League, PSG got off to a lively start but lacked sharpness as Neymar skied a close-range attempt over the bar in the 22nd minute.

Lionel Messi's 25-metre free kick crashed against the crossbar and although he combined well with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, the visitors struggled to break the deadlock.

Rennes, who had less than 72 hours to recuperate after beating Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa League on Thursday, went ahead on the stroke of halftime in clinical fashion.

Laborde netted his sixth goal of the season by volleying home from Kamaldeen Sulemana's cross.

Having failed to manage a single shot on target in the first half, PSG were caught cold straight after the interval as Tait fired home from Laborde's cross.

The hugely disappointing Neymar was substituted by Mauro Icardi in the 76th minute but the Argentine failed to inspire PSG who also failed to muster a shot on target in the second half.

Rennes kept their composure in the closing stages as they handed PSG their first away league defeat for eight months.

Lille hand Marseille second Ligue 1 defeat in a row

Lille handed Olympique de Marseille their second consecutive Ligue 1 defeat when Jonathan David's double gave them a 2-0 home win on Sunday as the visitors finished with 10 men.

David struck after 28 minutes and again deep into stoppage time to lift the French champions to eighth in the standings on 14 points from nine games as they continue to recover from a bad start to the season.

The result left Marseille, who suffered their first loss in the league last weekend against RC Lens, in fifth place also on 14 points, although the Provence side have a game in hand.

Earlier, leaders Paris St Germain, who have 24, dropped their first points of the season in a 2-0 defeat at Stade Rennes.

Lille, who have now won their last three Ligue 1 games, broke the deadlock when David latched onto Mehmet Zeki Celik's cross.

They had a chance to double the advantage after 74 minutes but Jonathan Ikone's strike crashed against the bar, three minutes before Cengiz Under was sent off for Marseille after picking up a second yellow card.

David wrapped up the points after five minutes of added time from point-blank range.   

Real stunned by Espanyol as woes continue

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in action with Espanyol's Diego Lopez during their La Liga match at RCDE Stadium, Cornella de Llobregat, Spain on Sunday

Real Madrid's stuttering form continued on Sunday when they were stunned 2-1 away at Espanyol in LaLiga.

IMAGE: Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior in action with Espanyol's Diego Lopez during their La Liga match at RCDE Stadium, Cornella de Llobregat, Spain on Sunday. Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters

Carlo Ancelotti's side are now without a win in three games in all competitions but remain top of the table on 17 points, ahead of city rivals Atletico Madrid, who beat Barcelona 2-0 on Saturday, on goal difference.

A goal in either half from Raul De Tomas and Aleix Vidal was enough for Espanyol to secure the three points against Real. The Catalans moved up to 12th with nine points.

"We weren't comfy. We conceded early and that makes the game tougher for you," Real defender Nacho said.

"They got in behind us a lot, and we need to work on our defensive play and that will come with games.

"We've got a number of players missing but we still have a good squad and we should be doing better than in our last three games. We need to improve at the back and respond."

Former Real Madrid youth team player De Tomas opened the scoring on 17 minutes after Ardi Embarba got in behind David Alaba down the visitors' left and squared across goal.

Eder Militao headed wide on the stroke of halftime as Real sought a way back into the game but they found themselves two down when Vidal danced his way through the middle of the park on the hour.

Sergi Darder missed a glorious chance to make it three before Karim Benzema's curled effort halved the deficit 19 minutes from time. Real, though, were unable to find an equaliser, with Eden Hazard's late effort ruled out for offside.

Milan hang on to beat Atalanta and close gap with leaders Napoli

AC Milan continued their impressive start to the Serie A season on Sunday, surviving a late Atalanta comeback to earn a 3-2 away victory.

Milan raced into an early lead, with captain Davide Calabria poking home the ball at the second attempt after just 28 seconds.

The hosts piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser but could not make several chances count, and Atalanta's wastefulness proved costly as Sandro Tonali raced clear three minutes before the break to double Milan's advantage.

Milan did not let up as Rafael Leao seemingly put the victory beyond all doubt with a third goal with 12 minutes to go.

Duvan Zapata got Atalanta back into the contest from the penalty spot with four minutes left, before Mario Pasalic ensured a nervy finish for Milan in stoppage time with a second goal for the hosts but it proved too little, too late.

A sixth victory from seven league games this season for second-placed Milan helped them to close the gap with leaders Napoli to two points, while Atalanta, who finished third behind Milan last term, are eighth after their first defeat in six matches in all competitions.

"After it went to 3-2 we were worried but it is over now," Tonali told DAZN. "We had a great match.

"We went strong despite a bit of tiredness after the Champions League in midweek. Now let's continue like this. If you come to Bergamo and play a match like that it means that you are on the right path."

Milan were the away-day specialists last season, winning 16 of their 19 games on the road in Serie A, and maintaining their unbeaten away record this term became much more achievable in Bergamo following Calabria's early goal.

Calabria's finish was the third-fastest Milan goal in Serie A since the 2004-05 season -- when such statistics were first gathered.

Zapata and Ruslan Malinovskiy both should have done better from good positions for the home side as they chased a leveller, while goalkeeper Mike Maignan was again in fine form for Milan.

The goal that gave Milan breathing space was avoidable, as Remo Freuler was caught in possession by Tonali who was able to stroke home his third of the season unopposed.

Atalanta tailed off as the match wore on, with Alexis Saelemaekers missing a glorious chance to make it three midway through the second half before Leao hammered home his third goal of the season.

Out of nowhere, Milan debutant Junior Messias was adjudged to have handled in the penalty area, giving Zapata the chance to unsettle Stefano Pioli's side, which he converted with aplomb.

That bolt from the blue proved to be disruptive as substitute Pasalic was left unmarked to stroke home from close range but there was not enough time to complete the comeback.

"We did better than our opponents, we deservedly won against a strong team and on a difficult pitch," Pioli told reporters.

"We knew that Atalanta start strongly at home, but we started better than them with the goal from Calabria, it gave us greater conviction."

Napoli recover to win 2-1 at Fiore and maintain perfect start

Napoli came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory at Fiorentina in Serie A on Sunday, ensuring they remain the only side in Europe's top five leagues with a 100% record this season.

The league leaders started sluggishly and were punished in the 28th minute as Lucas Martinez Quarta took advantage of some slack marking to fire Fiorentina into a deserved lead.

The opener acted as a wake-up call for Napoli with Hirving Lozano firing them level 10 minutes later, following up after goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski had brilliantly saved Lorenzo Insigne's penalty.

Victor Osimhen then almost edged Napoli in front before halftime with a spectacular overhead kick. However, the visitors did not have to wait much longer to complete the turnaround, with Amir Rrahmani giving them a 2-1 lead in the 50th minute.

Napoli had chances to extend their advantage but saw the game out to secure a seventh straight win and stay top, two points clear of second-placed AC Milan, who beat Atalanta 3-2.

Fiorentina remain fifth after their third defeat of the season.

It is only the second time in Napoli's history that they have won their opening seven matches of a Serie A campaign, but that was still not enough to please coach Luciano Spalletti.

"We still need to improve, to see out results after battling to be in front," he told DAZN.

"This (margin of) victory is small and there was a chance to do better. Some players are still not fully fit. Playing every three days is not easy. We still have a lot to do."

Bayern suffer first home loss to Frankfurt in 21 years

Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat of the season and their first Bundesliga home loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in 21 years when Filip Kostic drilled home an 83rd-minute goal to earn the visitors a shock 2-1 victory on Sunday.

Kostic picked up the ball on the edge of the box, charged forward and beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with a powerful low drive to seal Eintracht's first win of the season and snap Bayern's nine-game winning run in all competitions.

The Bavarians had only themselves to blame for not killing off the game earlier with a string of golden chances but remain top of the table with 16 points, ahead on goal difference of Bayer Leverkusen, who crushed Arminia Bielefeld 4-0 with two goals from Czech striker Patrik Schick.

Borussia Dortmund and Freiburg are a point behind in third and fourth respectively.

"Defeats always hurt," Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann said.

"Today that was the case as well. Firstly because it was our first defeat and secondly because it was completely avoidable.

"We did not do some things right just like we had done in the past weeks. The opponents before did not take advantage of it but today we were punished.

"We had a lot of chances to score our own goals."

Eintracht, whose last league victory in Munich was in 2000 before the Allianz Arena was even built, are on eight points in 13th place.

The home side took the lead when Leon Goretzka benefited from a Martin Hinteregger mistake to score in the 29th minute.

The Austrian defender, part of a five-man Frankfurt defence, quickly made amends by powering a header into the net for the equaliser three minutes later.

Both teams had a chance to take the lead before the break with Eintracht's Almamy Toure forcing a superb save from Neuer in the 43rd minute and Bayern's Serge Gnabry hitting the post from close range a minute later.

Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp was kept busy in the second half, repeatedly denying Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Robert Lewandowski as the hosts pushed forward in search of the winner.

Bayern were punished for their missed opportunities though when Eintracht scored what proved to be the winner against the run of play through Kostic before Trapp made another key save in stoppage time to palm a Goretzka shot wide.

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