FOOTBALL - FRANCE
Paris-SG wake up before Christmas
Monday, December 24, 2007
Paul Le Guen's men will spend Christmas without worrying about their relegation. Paris-SG have won against St Etienne, who've lost their first home game since last August. Rennes and Toulouse drew to maintain their respective places.
Monday, December 24, 2007
By AFP
Peguy Luyindula's second half header lifted Paris Saint Germain to a vital 1-0 win at Saint Etienne on Sunday, an early Christmas present that lifted Paul Le Guen's side out of the danger zone.
This fifth win of a tortuous campaign moved PSG clear of relegation territory by one point into fifth from bottom to give Le Guen some crucial breathing space.
The match started at a good tempo despite the freezing conditions with both sides battling to get an early stranglehold on the game.
David Gigliotti came close to opening the scoring for the home side on the ten minute mark when his superbly struck shot from outside the box left Mickael Landreau stranded and rattled the far post.
Saint Etienne keeper Jeremie Janot was called into action on the 31st minute after a through-ball from PSG's Clement Chantome found its way into the path of a goalbound Peguy Luyindula.
Janot, however, was quick to react and slid out to meet the PSG forward blocking the shot.
With ten minutes to the break Saint Etienne piled on the pressure.
They were once again denied the opener by the uprights when a Geoffrey Dernis free kick was missed by all in the box and bounced back off the post but an acrobatic Didier Digard missed the rebound firing the ball over the bar.
Digard was left rueing another missed chance seconds later when he found himself with the ball six yards out and with only Landreau to beat, however his low shot was predictable, causing no problem for the Parisian keeper.
Gigliotti remained very lively up front trying his luck almost every time he got the ball as the Paris defence, which includes former St Etienne player Zoumana Camara, looked more and more vulnerable on the back foot.
PSG then broke the deadlock with their first real attacking move worthy of the name in the 51st minute when Luyindula outjumped the Saint Etienne defence to head Ceara's cross low and into the far corner of Janot's net.
This was the 28-year-old Kinshasa-born striker's third goal of the campaign.
David N'Gog really should have put PSG further clear but he failed to make the most of his shot with only Janot to beat six minutes from time.
In Sunday's other fixture former PSG coach Guy Lacombe's first outing at the helm of Rennes was met with a goalless draw away at Toulouse.
Rennes headed into the encounter having lost their last six games and gladly took a share of the spoils after being dominated throughout the tie by the home side, who had a goal disputably disallowed just before the break.
Meanwhile surprise package this season Nancy held league leaders Lyon to a 1-1 draw in Saturday's top of the table clash.
The stalemate made sure of status quo at the summit heading into the three-week winter break with Pablo Correa's Nancy just four points off Alain Perrin's six-time champions.
On-form Caen notched up their fifth straight win with a 2-0 victory over Strasbourg on Saturday.
The result moved the club up into fourth place two points off Bordeaux, who needed a last-gasp goal to beat relegation strugglers, and French Cup winners, Sochaux 1-0.
Also in action on Saturday were former French greats Marseille who grabbed a much-needed three points by beating Le Mans 1-0 to move them up three spots to 11th.
Auxerre also distanced themselves from the danger zone with a 1-0 win over Monaco, while Nice continued to trouble the top clubs with a 1-0 win over Valenciennes.
This fifth win of a tortuous campaign moved PSG clear of relegation territory by one point into fifth from bottom to give Le Guen some crucial breathing space.
The match started at a good tempo despite the freezing conditions with both sides battling to get an early stranglehold on the game.
David Gigliotti came close to opening the scoring for the home side on the ten minute mark when his superbly struck shot from outside the box left Mickael Landreau stranded and rattled the far post.
Saint Etienne keeper Jeremie Janot was called into action on the 31st minute after a through-ball from PSG's Clement Chantome found its way into the path of a goalbound Peguy Luyindula.
Janot, however, was quick to react and slid out to meet the PSG forward blocking the shot.
With ten minutes to the break Saint Etienne piled on the pressure.
They were once again denied the opener by the uprights when a Geoffrey Dernis free kick was missed by all in the box and bounced back off the post but an acrobatic Didier Digard missed the rebound firing the ball over the bar.
Digard was left rueing another missed chance seconds later when he found himself with the ball six yards out and with only Landreau to beat, however his low shot was predictable, causing no problem for the Parisian keeper.
Gigliotti remained very lively up front trying his luck almost every time he got the ball as the Paris defence, which includes former St Etienne player Zoumana Camara, looked more and more vulnerable on the back foot.
PSG then broke the deadlock with their first real attacking move worthy of the name in the 51st minute when Luyindula outjumped the Saint Etienne defence to head Ceara's cross low and into the far corner of Janot's net.
This was the 28-year-old Kinshasa-born striker's third goal of the campaign.
David N'Gog really should have put PSG further clear but he failed to make the most of his shot with only Janot to beat six minutes from time.
In Sunday's other fixture former PSG coach Guy Lacombe's first outing at the helm of Rennes was met with a goalless draw away at Toulouse.
Rennes headed into the encounter having lost their last six games and gladly took a share of the spoils after being dominated throughout the tie by the home side, who had a goal disputably disallowed just before the break.
Meanwhile surprise package this season Nancy held league leaders Lyon to a 1-1 draw in Saturday's top of the table clash.
The stalemate made sure of status quo at the summit heading into the three-week winter break with Pablo Correa's Nancy just four points off Alain Perrin's six-time champions.
On-form Caen notched up their fifth straight win with a 2-0 victory over Strasbourg on Saturday.
The result moved the club up into fourth place two points off Bordeaux, who needed a last-gasp goal to beat relegation strugglers, and French Cup winners, Sochaux 1-0.
Also in action on Saturday were former French greats Marseille who grabbed a much-needed three points by beating Le Mans 1-0 to move them up three spots to 11th.
Auxerre also distanced themselves from the danger zone with a 1-0 win over Monaco, while Nice continued to trouble the top clubs with a 1-0 win over Valenciennes.
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