TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2013 SPORTS Victory ‘a must’ as Marseille travel to Lille PARIS: French giants Marseille travel to With Lille on a 10-game unbeaten goals in his last four league matches. “I’m quickly and it’ll be tough,” added Girard. Christmas. “Now we have a match today high-flying Lille today knowing that they streak and Monaco looking to have got delighted to be doing good things for the “We’ll try to recover well, we don’t have against Nice, a derby,” he said. “We need must win if they harbor any hopes of chal- over their November blip and back to team. It was my objective to repay the much of a choice. “We’re not going to to win again, the aim is to win all our lenging for the Ligue 1 title this season. winning ways these last two weeks, confidence the club has shown in me. I complain, it would only use up more remaining matches up to Christmas. Although that objective already appears Marseille know they cannot afford to think I’m doing that well now,” he added. energy.” Monaco, meanwhile, travel to the “We’ve just gone through a tricky beyond Elie Baup’s men, they must at come away empty-handed from the Lille coach Rene Girard is hoping his side Allianz Riviera today to face local rivals patch, I hope that was just that. “I always least take something from the game to north. And they will be looking to in-form can continue the impregnable form Nice. said we’d have one, afterwards you have remain in Champions League contention. forward Florian Thauvin to continue his they’ve been showing in remaining Italian coach Claudio Ranieri has said to react but the hardest thing is to be con- Marseille won for the third time in a row recent goalscoring run against his former unbeaten, both in terms of results and he is quietly optimistic that record for- sistent.” Champions and leaders Paris on Friday with a 2-0 success over 2012 employers. Thauvin had a difficult start to goals conceded, for their last 10 matches. ward signing Radamel Falcao will be fit to Saint-Germain will be looking for revenge champions Montpellier, currently strug- life on the south coast after his protracted “Ten matches in a row without conced- return having missed the 2-0 success over when they travel to Evian on Wednesday. gling at the wrong end of the table. That summer move from Lille, and he is not ing a goal, that’s a first in my career,” said Rennes. Having gone three matches with- The minnows, better known for their bot- ensured they remained within sight of the expecting to be welcomed back with Girard. “That shows the character of this out a win, which saw them drop to third tled water, were the last side to beat the top three but should they lose to Lille at open arms. team, the lads are committed, we can play having spent most of the early part of the Parisians, on penalties in a French Cup the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, they could find “The match at Lille will be like any oth- them out of position-they make sacrifices, season at the top of the table, Monaco quarter-final back in April. Their last themselves distanced to eight points off er. I’ll get a tough reception but I’m going they turn up.” Lille have had one less day have now won two in a row. France mid- league defeat, 26 Ligue 1 matches ago, the top three by the end of the midweek there to win and take three points,” said to recover, though, having played on fielder Jeremy Toulalan believes they can was to Reims at the beginning of fixtures. the 20-year-old, who has scored four Saturday. “The Marseille game is coming continue in that vein right up to March.—AFP PSG outclass Lyon PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain under- lined their superiority over the rest of the French top flight on Sunday as Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted twice in a 4-0 win against Lyon at the Parc des Princes. Ibrahimovic scored both of his goals from the penalty spot as he moved clear at the top of the Ligue 1 scorers chart, while South Americans Edinson Cavani and captain Thiago Silva also found the target to help PSG continue their unbeaten record in all competitions this season. They remain four points clear of Lille and five ahead of Monaco at the top of the standings after eas- HULL: Hull City’s David Meyler (centre) celebrates after scoring his team’s second ing past a Lyon side who once goal during the English Premier League match between Hull City and Liverpool on dominated the French scene them- Sunday, Dec 1, 2013. —AP selves but who are currently lan- guishing in mid-table. But while Lyon coach Remi Garde accepted Hull fans refuse to be that his team are “not competing in the same league as Paris”, opposite tamed in tiger row number Laurent Blanc insisted the scoreline was not necessarily a fair LONDON: It should have been a weekend Hull City, We’ll Die When We Want” while reflection on the game. “The size of of celebration for Hull City but a 3-1 victory Bruce said he hoped to sit down with Allam the scoreline could make you think over Liverpool was overshadowed by an and find a “happy solution”. The gallows it was easy from beginning to end, increasingly bitter row between the club’s humor will strike a chord with fans up and but Lyon made life difficult for us owner and the diehard fans. Egyptian-born down the country, however, who have early on,” he said. Assem Allam’s wish to re-brand the 109- watched their clubs change hands, some- “If we keep playing at 100 per- PARIS: Lyon’s Burkinabese defender Bakary Kone (left) vies for the ball with Paris Saint-Germain’s Swedish year-old Yorkshire club as Hull Tigers has times with catastrophic results. cent, I think it will be very difficult forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (right) during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) provoked a fierce backlash and things Foreign owners divide opinion more to beat PSG. But we need to avoid and Lyon (OL) on December 1, 2013. — AFP came to a head after comments he made to than most. Blackburn Rovers fans, who complacency and be at our very the bar. But PSG got their noses in more pain to come for the visitors Luc Ettori’s record of 602 appear- a Sunday newspaper, suggesting those have watched the club slide out of the best every game.” The build-up to front nine minutes before the as Ibrahimovic beat Vercoutre from ances in France’s top flight as he opposed to his view were “hooligans” and Premier division since being taken over by the match was overshadowed by interval when Cavani met a corner the spot once again after being kept a clean sheet for Bastia in a 2- that they “could die as soon as they want”. Indian chicken producers Venky’s, still pine the news that both team buses from the left and headed in fouled by Samuel Umtiti, taking his 0 win over Evian. Businessman Allam was reacting to a for the days of local businessman Jack were stoned on the way to the sta- through the legs of Yoann tally to 20 goals in his last 13 The 34-year-old French interna- fans’ campaign group named “City Till We Walker whose money fuelled a league title. dium, while Lyon lost Bafetimbi Gourcuff, who was standing on the games for club and country. tional began his career at Nantes in Die” which was formed when his desire to Cardiff City fans’ joy at their club reaching Gomis to injury in the warm-up. In near post. PSG are now unbeaten in 26 1996 and won the title with Les change the club’s name in order to attract the Premier League this season was tem- his absence, OL played with a Five minutes later, the Ligue 1 matches and maintain a Canaris in 2001 before spells at more investment first became known. Poor pered by the fact that the team now play in three-man central defence and for Uruguayan was brought down safe distance from Lille, who won Paris Saint-Germain and Lille, with old manager Steve Bruce found himself red rather than blue and the club crest much of the first half they succeed- again inside the box. This time, 1-0 at northern neighbors whom he won the double in 2011. treading carefully on Sunday, not wishing changed from the bluebird to the dragon, ed in frustrating the hosts. Lyon goalkeeper Remy Vercoutre Valenciennes on Saturday as “I have worked so hard to get to to alienate the heart and soul fans or the all at the command of billionaire Malaysian They were also helped by refer- was the culprit, and a penalty was Nigerian goalkeeper Vincent this point. I am enormously lucky,” man who writes the cheques. “I am happy owner Vincent Tan. ee Antony Gautier’s decision not to awarded. Ibrahimovic sent Enyeama extended his remarkable said Landreau after drawing level to speak to the owner and give him my Then again, Manchester City and award a penalty when Cavani went Vercoutre the wrong way as he run without conceding a goal to with Ettori, who spent his entire opinion,” a diplomatic Bruce said after the Chelsea fans are hardly likely to complain down under a challenge from coolly chipped into the net, and 945 minutes.