Latest news with #FredericDIDES
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Monaco beat faltering Marseille to take second place in Ligue 1
Monaco beat faltering Marseille to take second place in Ligue 1 Japan international Takumi Minamino scored the opening goal of Monaco's win over Marseille (Frederic DIDES) Monaco beat slumping Marseille 3-0 on Saturday to take second place in Ligue 1 from their opponents and boost their hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League. Heading into the weekend, only five points separated Marseille in second from seventh-placed Lille in a tight battle to secure European football. Advertisement Monaco took a big step towards the Champions League by inflicting a fourth defeat in five Ligue 1 games on Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille, who are in danger of throwing away a place in the competition next season after sitting second in the French top flight for much of the campaign. The teams who finish second and third behind champions Paris Saint-Germain will secure spots in the league phase, with the fourth-placed side heading into the qualifying rounds. Monaco took the lead in the 34th minute at the Stade Louis II when Takumi Minamino swept home his fifth league goal of the season following some dreadful Marseille defending. OM came close to an equaliser shortly before half-time, but Luis Henrique's effort was well saved by Monaco goalkeeper Philipp Kohn. Advertisement The hosts doubled their advantage shortly before the hour mark as Breel Embolo slipped the ball past Geronimo Rulli after an excellent pass through from Vanderson. The goal was eventually awarded following a lengthy VAR review for offside. Monaco added further gloss to the scoreline and bolstered their goal difference, which could prove crucial come the end of the season, through Denis Zakaria's late penalty. Later on Saturday, Lille visit Toulouse before fourth-placed Strasbourg host sixth-placed Nice. jc/ea
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Reims edge out fourth-tier Cannes to set up PSG French Cup final
Reims edge out fourth-tier Cannes to set up PSG French Cup final Malta international Teddy Teuma (C) scored the winning goal for Reims (Frederic DIDES) Reims clung on for a 2-1 victory at fourth-division Cannes on Wednesday to set up a French Cup final meeting with holders Paris Saint-Germain in May. Cannes were looking to become the first fourth-tier club to reach the final since Calais lost to Nantes in the 2000 showpiece, but came up just short. Advertisement Instead Ligue 1 side Reims moved to within one win of lifting their first major trophy since the 1991 French League Cup. They will face PSG, who came from two goals down to defeat second-tier Dunkerque 4-2 on Tuesday, at the Stade de France on May 24. Reims took a 14th-minute lead when Mamadou Diakhon powered to the byline and pulled the ball back for his fellow 19-year-old Hafiz Ibrahim to turn the ball into an empty net. Cannes pushed forward in search of an equaliser but almost fell two goals down before the half-hour mark when Reims countered from a corner, but Keito Nakamura could only drag his shot narrowly wide. Advertisement The hosts were dreaming of the final, though, when captain Cheikh N'Doye levelled seven minutes after half-time. The 39-year-old former Senegal midfielder rose highest at the back post to head home Cedric Goncalves' corner. But Reims restored their advantage before the hour mark, Ibrahim teeing up substitute Teddy Teuma to score. Cannes piled on the pressure, but Reims held on to keep their hopes of a third French Cup title, and first since 1958, alive. jc/nf
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Yes, oui, Cannes! Glamour name eyes place in French Cup final
Cannes players celebrate after beating Guingamp in the French Cup quarter-finals in February. They host Reims of Ligue 1 in the last four on Wednesday (Frederic DIDES) The French Cup is a tournament with a reputation for producing upsets and Cannes are the latest name dreaming of a shock result when the fourth-tier club play host to top-flight Reims in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Advertisement Paris Saint-Germain have unsurprisingly dominated the competition in recent years and are favourites to retain the trophy as they prepare to take on Dunkerque of Ligue 2 in the first semi-final on Tuesday. However, Cannes are following the example set by numerous other clubs from the lower leagues in recent years. Les Herbiers and Quevilly, both from the third division, each got to the final in the last decade, losing narrowly to PSG and Lyon respectively. More recently, fourth-tier clubs Versailles and Rumilly-Vallieres have made the semi-finals in the last four seasons. The ultimate example, however, is Calais, who in 2000 emerged from the fourth tier to get to the final, where they were unlucky to lose to Nantes. Advertisement Nevertheless, the Channel port of Calais does not have quite the same glamour as Cannes, the Cote d'Azur resort better known for its annual film festival than its football team. - Zidane's first club - And yet AS Cannes are a historic name in the French game. They won the French Cup in 1932 and were a fixture in the top flight for a time in the 1980s and 1990s, even making it to the UEFA Cup. Zinedine Zidane began his career in the Cannes youth academy and was handed his debut aged 16 in 1989, while a few years later Patrick Vieira was given his senior bow in a Cannes shirt. But the club slipped out of the professional leagues and disappeared practically into oblivion, being expelled to the depths of the seventh tier in 2014 due to financial problems. Advertisement They have slowly been working their way back up the divisions, and in 2023 were taken over by the US-based Friedkin Group which is involved in the film industry but also owns Roma and recently bought Everton. A world away from Serie A and the Premier League, Cannes have an operating budget of five million euros ($5.4m), and a total wage bill of one million euros, the club's general manager Felicien Laborde told AFP in February. - Friedkin takeover - Of the Friedkins, Laborde told sports daily L'Equipe that "they delegate completely, just like they do at Roma and Everton, with whom there is no collaboration". Advertisement "The difference in level is too great and they respect the different characteristics of each club," he said. He was speaking ahead of the quarter-final against Guingamp, who became the third Ligue 2 club eliminated by Cannes in this season's Cup, after Grenoble and Lorient. The stars in this Cannes team are the 39-year-old former Senegal midfielder Cheikh N'Doye, once of Birmingham City, and the prolific forward Julien Domingues. Cannes currently find themselves in the National 2, France's fourth tier which is split into three regionalised divisions, each comprising 16 teams. Advertisement The side finishing top of each group wins promotion, although Cannes are third in Group A, eight points behind leaders Le Puy with seven games left. "The Cup has give us a taste of the top level, as well as the desire to get back there," admitted Laborde, who insisted promotion was the priority over the Cup. However, after going five months unbeaten, Cannes have lost their last two matches, and it looks like that is going to prove costly in terms of promotion. Now Reims stand in their way in a Cup tie which Cannes will host at their Stade Pierre de Coubertin, a few kilometres west of the Croisette. Advertisement Two-time European Cup finalists in the 1950s, Reims are themselves hoping to reach the French Cup final for the first time since 1977 amid a difficult season in Ligue 1. "They are a Ligue 1 club, so if they want to take us they will take us. It all depends on them," admitted Cannes coach Damien Ott, subtly nudging the pressure onto the opposition. bur-as/pi
