04/26/26 04:45:00
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04/26 16:43 CDT Lille stays level with Lyon in race for Champions League spot,
Nice frustrates Marseille
Lille stays level with Lyon in race for Champions League spot, Nice frustrates
Marseille
PARIS (AP) --- Matias Fernandez-Pardo's first-half penalty on Sunday was enough
for Lille to stay neck-and-neck with Lyon in Ligue 1's race for a direct
Champions League spot.
Pardo swept the spot kick inside the left post for Lille to beat Paris FC 1-0
away and end Antoine Kombouar's unbeaten start as coach since taking over at
the Stade Jean-Bouin in February.
Kombouar's team pushed hard for an equalizer but had team captain Pierre
Lees-Melou sent off late with his second yellow card after reacting badly to
his first.
Paris FC was languishing in 15th place with 11 rounds remaining when Kombouar
took over but the experienced 62-year-old steered the team to survival last
weekend with a 3-1 win at Metz that put it 13 points above the relegation zone
with four rounds to play. Paris FC was taken over in 2024 by France's richest
family, the Arnaults of luxury empire LVMH.
With three rounds remaining, both third-placed Lyon and fourth-placed Lille
have 57 points. Only the top three qualify directly for Europe's premier club
competition.
Marseille denied
Elye Wahi scored late with a perfectly taken "Panenka" penalty for Nice to
thwart Marseille with a 1-1 draw for a point in its battle for survival.
Wahi, who scored two goals including a penalty in Nice's French Cup semifinal
win over Strasbourg on Wednesday, faced a hostile chorus of whistles from
Marseille fans as he prepared to take the spot kick against his former side.
Marseille goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli was booked for delaying the penalty before
Wahi calmly chipped the ball in under the crossbar in the center of the goal
for Nice's equalizer in the 88th minute.
Nice goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf preserved the draw as Marseille pushed for the
winner in a furious finale that ended with a futile penalty shout for the home
side.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had scored Marseille's goal with a diving header in the
66th.
The draw is another disappointment for Marseille after its loss at Lorient last
weekend. Marseille stayed sixth, four points off the Champions League spots.
Nice moved five points above Auxerre in the relegation zone.
Rennes wins derby
Rennes defeated local rival Nantes 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time strike from
team captain Valentin Rongier.
Rongier muted his celebrations out of respect for the club where he developed
as a youth player before graduating to the senior team.
The win kept Rennes fifth, just a point behind Lille and Lyon, while Nantes is
second from last in a direct relegation place.
Strasbourg fought back from two goals down and scored twice in stoppage time
with Andrew Omobamidele getting the winner to stun Lorient with a 3-2 victory.
Strasbourg next faces Spanish side Rayo Vallecano away in the first leg of
their Conference League semifinal.
Last-placed Metz staved off relegation for another week at least with a 4-4
draw at Le Havre. Metz was heading toward the second tier until Gauthier Hein
headed the visitors' fourth equalizer of the match in the 85th minute.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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