Football: Messi snatches dramatic win for PSG after Neymar stretchered off

PARIS, France -- Lionel Messi scored a 95th-minute free-kick to give Paris Saint-Germain a 4-3 win over Lille in an extraordinary Ligue 1 game on Sunday in which Kylian Mbappe scored twice but Neymar was taken off on a stretcher with an ankle injury.

Messi's last-gasp winner came after PSG had squandered a two-goal lead and fallen 3-2 behind, with Mbappe grabbing a late equaliser before the Argentine's stunning strike.

The result ends a run of three straight defeats for PSG and ensures they end the weekend as they started it, five points clear of second-placed Marseille, who won 3-2 at Toulouse and host the Parisians next.

"We came through it. It wasn't a great performance," Mbappe told broadcaster Amazon Prime.

"We made lots of mistakes and lost concentration too often and against a quality side you pay dearly for that, but we showed that even when we are not at our best and the context is not exactly favourable we are a different team with different players and we can always find a way."

Of immediate concern to PSG is the injury to Neymar, who looked to be in tears as he was helped onto a stretcher early in the second half after turning his right ankle.

- No fracture -

PSG later confirmed a scan had shown no fracture, but said further tests would need to be carried out on the damage to the ligaments in the coming days, building fears the Brazilian could miss the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich on March 8.

"I hope 'Ney' is going to come back quickly because he is an important player for us," added Mbappe, as PSG also saw Nuno Mendes forced off with an ankle problem.

Christophe Galtier's team were looking to bounce back from a 1-0 home loss to Bayern in the first leg of that European tie, and they went ahead early on against Lille through Mbappe -- making his first start after returning from a recent thigh injury.

Neymar soon made it 2-0 against a side PSG beat 7-1 in their last meeting in August, but Bafode Diakite pulled one back for Lille midway through the first half.

The home side then saw Neymar carried off within five minutes of the second half starting, and Lille drew level when Jonathan David converted a penalty for his 17th goal this season following a Marco Verratti foul in the box.

Jonathan Bamba made it 3-2 to the away side with a superb finish and the hosts looked set for a fourth successive loss before Mbappe converted from a Juan Bernat assist with three minutes remaining.

That was his 27th goal this season in all competitions, but it was not the end of the drama as Messi won a free-kick when he was fouled just outside the area by Benjamin Andre.

The World Cup winner stepped up to dispatch the dead ball into the net off the post to round off a remarkable game.

- Marseille keep up pressure -

Marseille have now won nine and drawn one of 11 league games played since their elimination from the Champions League in early November, after they came from behind to win in Toulouse.

Dutch striker Thijs Dallinga gave mid-table Toulouse an early lead, but Marseille came roaring back in the second half at Le Stadium.

Chancel Mbemba equalized and Cengiz Under put Marseille in front before Nuno Tavares netted his sixth goal of the season on loan from Arsenal, with Ado Onaiwu pulling one back for the hosts.

Monaco followed up their 3-1 victory over PSG last weekend by winning 2-1 in Brest to sit two points behind Marseille in third.

Aleksandr Golovin and Myron Boadu scored for the principality side, with Jeremy Le Douaron pulling one back.

Fourth-placed Lens were 3-1 winners against Nantes, while Rennes moved back above Lille into fifth by beating Clermont 2-0, ex-PSG forward Arnaud Kalimuendo scoring both of their goals.

There were also wins for Lorient and Montpellier, while Strasbourg moved out of the relegation zone on Saturday by beating bottom side Angers 2-1 on new coach Frederic Antonetti's debut.

Fellow strugglers Auxerre beat Lyon 2-1 on Friday, while Nice and Reims drew 0-0.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Havertz and Pulisic earn Chelsea 2-0 win over Lille

LONDON - Goals in each half from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic earned defending champions Chelsea a solid 2-0 first-leg victory over Lille in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, but the London side will be concerned about injuries to key players.

Germany forward Havertz, who had already had two attempts on goal early in the game, headed down a Hakim Ziyech corner in the eighth minute and the ball bounced high off the turf into the net.

Chelsea left struggling striker Romelu Lukaku on the bench and it was American Pulisic who hit the second in the 63rd minute with a curling finish after N'Golo Kante's surging run and pinpoint pass.

The action was at times frenetic as Ligue 1 champions Lille sought to take something from the game into the second leg at home on March 16.

"They played good football and the first half was very difficult for us. Now it is halftime and the next game we have to win as well," Havertz told BT Sport.

The French side, who topped their qualifying group ahead of Salzburg, VfL Wolfsburg and Sevilla, kept Chelsea busy going forward with buzzing runs from Renato Sanches, Benjamin Andre and Jonathan Bamba.

But efforts from all three and from Canadian striker Jonathan David were either blocked, usually by defensive rock Thiago Silva, or collected easily by Edouard Mendy in the Chelsea goal.

Chelsea, who face Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday, may be satisfied with their two-goal lead in the tie but they will be concerned for the fitness of pivotal midfielder Mateo Kovacic and of in-form Ziyech who both limped off early in the second half.

Thomas Tuchel's side are on an exhausting run of games with matches this month played or scheduled in five competitions.

They won the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi 10 days ago and injured trio Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi paraded the trophy round Stamford Bridge before kickoff.

They also won games in the FA Cup and Premier League before Tuesday's game and Sunday's final at Wembley.

"We did not play our best football," Havertz said. "We could not get the aggressiveness of the last few weeks but we won 2-0 and that is the most important thing. Sunday is another competition and we have to focus on that now."

(Reporting by Clare LovellEditing by Christian Radnedge)

-reuters-

Football: Superb Willian strike earns Chelsea win at Lille

LILLE, France - A brilliant late strike by Willian earned an otherwise unimpressive Chelsea a 2-1 win at Lille in Champions League Group H on Wednesday.

Brazilian Willian volleyed home with 12 minutes left on his 300th Chelsea appearance after Tammy Abraham's opener had been cancelled out by Lille's Victor Osimhen in the first half.

Chelsea are third on three points behind second-placed Valencia who beat the Premier League side in the opening round of matches.

Ajax Amsterdam top the standings with a maximum six points after they claimed a 3-0 win at Valencia and Lille are bottom without a point.

"We knew we needed to win. I knew I would get a chance and I took it well. Never an easy place and Willian scored a worldie - no surprise there," said Abraham, as coach Frank Lampard noted that Chelsea still had a long way to go.

"Having lost against Valencia, it made this a more important game. This is such a tough place," Lampard said. "They were quick on the counter-attack and our performance was really good.

Lille captain Jose Fonte said his team must learn from their mistakes.

"We played a good game but in the end we have zero points. Maybe we didn't learn anything from the Ajax game," Fonte said.

Lampard’s side, who lost their opening game against Valencia, had Ngolo Kante in their team after the Frenchman passed a late fitness test and he stabilised Chelsea’s midfield.

The visitors enjoyed possession in the early stages as Lille looked to use their speed to hit them on the break.

Both teams, however, failed to properly threaten until Abraham beat the offside trap to collect Fikayo Tomori’s long cross and score his first Champions League goal from close range on his 22nd birthday.

But Lille stuck to their plan and Luis Araujo came close at the end of a sharp counter-attack.

It led to two consecutive corners and from the second, Osimhen powered a header home to level in the 33rd minute.

Chelsea struggled on set-pieces and Benjamin Andre's glancing header was well saved by keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga in the 52nd minute.

Lille seemed to run out of energy in the closing stages and Chelsea benefited from poor defending to wrap up the win in the 78th.

From the left flank, Callum Hudson-Odoi sent a long cross to the far side and Willian, who had been left unmarked, unleashed a volley that bounced down into the ground and over Mike Maignan.

Lille pushed forward in the closing stages but Chelsea held on to extend the hosts' run to 10 consecutive European home game without a win. 

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

29 hurt as French stadium barrier collapses

AMIENS, France -- Twenty-nine fans were hurt, five of them seriously, when a barrier collapsed Saturday at a stadium in the northern French city of Amiens as away supporters celebrated their opening goal.

A fence separating Lille fans from the pitch gave way as they surged forward to celebrate the goal against Amiens, a regional rival that has just been promoted to the top flight in French football.

Several tumbled about one and a half metres (five feet) and were crushed by other fans who fell on top of them. Injuries included head, chest and abdominal trauma, medical authorities said.

Referee Thomas Leonard suspended the match in the 16th minute as Red Cross and emergency workers rushed to help the injured. The fixture was later abandoned.

"It happened all of a sudden. I don't even know who scored. It just suddenly fell on me. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't see anything and then the emergency workers took me away," said Georges Penel, a 21-year-old Lille fan who suffered injuries to his leg and back.

The prefecture of the Somme department gave a provisional toll of 29 hurt, five of them seriously. Among the injured were three minors, all in their teens, medical authorities said.

The incident happened when Lille's Fode Ballo-Toure ran towards the section of visiting fans after scoring the opening goal, prompting a surge that caused the barrier to give way.

Built in 1999, the Stade de la Licorne ("Stadium of the Unicorn") is the smallest of the 20 French Ligue 1 clubs, with a capacity of only 12,000.

Renovation work is taking place throughout the 2017-18 season, as newly promoted Amiens brings the ground up to a higher standard.

- 'Hardcore fans' -

The venue boasts an eye-catching, futuristic design with a transparent roof, which is being renovated. The seats are also being progressively replaced under the 7.5-million-euro ($8.9-million) scheme.

"The work is going to start in June and will be done stand by stand," local politician Alain Gest said last May.

"The consequence is that we're going to lose seats in the ground but we'll make up for it by adding additional temporary stands."

The Amiens public prosecutor, Alexandre de Bosschere, said an investigation had been opened into "accidental injury", focusing on why the barrier gave way.

"We have put legal seals on the site (to bar access to it), and an assessment will be carried out in the next few days."

Amiens' president, Bernard Joannin, dismissed any idea that there were problems with the barrier.

"The police had warned us that there were 200 hardcore fans, really wound up, who were in the section set aside for Lille fans. They surged forward, chaotically, more than 500 people, against this barrier, which was in perfect condition."

Gest, in his comments in May, had suggested that upkeep of the stadium had been neglected by previous local administrations but was now "perfectly in line with regulations" and "up to standards for playing in Ligue 1".

A safety audit in 2016 had noted that the stadium roof presented "serious dangers", he said.

"This forced us to dismantle at the beginning of the year all the (roof) glass -- almost 2,000 glass plates per stand."

The official said the plates had to be replaced by "a rigid and transparent plastic material like those used at the stadiums of Le Havre and Nice".

source: news.abs-cbn.com