PSG face Nice with one eye on Barcelona clash

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Paris Saint-Germain's Italian forward Moise Kean drives the ball during the French Cup round-of-64 football match between Stade Malherbe Caen and PSG at the Michel-d'Ornano Stadium in Caen, France on Feb. 10, 2021. (AFP / Sameer Al-Doumy)
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Updated 13 February 2021
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PSG face Nice with one eye on Barcelona clash

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain will have one eye on next week’s Champions League clash with Barcelona, but cannot afford to fall further behind in the Ligue 1 title race when they host Nice on Saturday.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men suffered another setback ahead of Tuesday’s last-16 first leg against Barca at the Camp Nou when Neymar joined Angel Di Maria on the sidelines after suffering a groin injury in midweek.

But the French champions need to avoid dropping more points in Ligue 1, where they sit third, three points behind leaders Lille.

Neymar has been ruled out for “around four weeks” after sustaining a groin injury during Wednesday’s French Cup win over Caen.

But Pochettino defended his decision to play the Brazil attacker in the Cup last-64 game, for which Neymar was captain against second-division opposition.

“Every game is important. I believe that PSG must win every game,” said Argentinian Pochettino, who took over from the sacked Thomas Tuchel last month.

“If we had lost, you would have criticized me for not having given importance to the French Cup. We make the decisions, we analyze, we try to find the best team.”

PSG have bounced back strongly from a shock 3-2 loss at lowly Lorient on January 31, with league wins over Nimes and arch rivals Marseille.

Nice have started to find their feet in recent weeks, though, with a Cup victory over Nimes and last weekend’s success over Angers their first back-to-back wins since November 1.

Lille, chasing a first major trophy since winning the league and French Cup double in 2011, host Brest on Sunday.

PSG and Lyon, who welcome Montpellier to the Groupama Stadium after the Parisians’ game, could therefore both go top at various points of Saturday.

Marseille eased some of the gloom surrounding the club with their first win since suspending Andre Villas-Boas by beating second-tier Auxerre in the Cup.

But they will be without the suspended Dimitri Payet for Sunday’s trip to Bordeaux after the winger’s red card in the 2-0 loss to PSG last weekend.

Fourth-placed Monaco, the last team to deny PSG the Ligue 1 trophy, may also still have title aspirations.

The principality club, six points behind Lille, will bid for an eighth straight league win when they host Lorient.

With Neymar and Di Maria both missing, Italy striker Kean could stake a claim for a starting place against Barcelona.

The 20-year-old, on loan from Everton, has impressed for the capital giants despite struggling in the Premier League last term.

His goal in the 1-0 victory over second-tier Caen was his 12th this season, including two in the Champions League group stage.


Liverpool rocked by last-gasp defeat at Wolves

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Liverpool rocked by last-gasp defeat at Wolves

  • Liverpool’s first defeat in five games in all competitions will raise fresh questions about Slot’s Anfield future

LONDON: Liverpool suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolves as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the Premier League’s bottom club on Tuesday.
Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux.
Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November.
But Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool.
It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017.
Liverpool have conceded 14 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, with only Newcastle shipping more in the same period in the Premier League.
The Reds remain fifth but their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League have been hurt by a defeat that means sixth-placed Chelsea will go above them if they beat Aston Villa on Wednesday.
Liverpool’s first defeat in five games in all competitions will raise fresh questions about Slot’s Anfield future.
This was the first of Liverpool’s two trips to Molineux in the space of four days, with an immediate chance for revenge in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday.
Slot this week said he no longer finds Premier League matches a “joy to watch” due to the rise in set-piece goals, and Liverpool supporters took no pleasure from this dismal performance.
Wolves and Liverpool fans joined in a sustained round of applause on 18 minutes in memory of Diogo Jota, who wore that shirt number during his time at Molineux before joining the Reds.
Portugal forward Jota died in a car crash in Spain last year.

Crest-fallen Slot

That emotional tribute seemed to suck the energy from both teams in a scrappy first half.
Liverpool were punished for their lethargy in the 78th minute.
Tolu Arokodare got away with a nudge on Virgil van Dijk to win the ball before playing a superb pass to Rodrigo Gomes, who held off Ibrahima Konate and guided a clinical finish past Alisson Becker.
Liverpool finally awoke from their slumber after that shock, grabbing an equalizer in the 83rd minute with a helping hand from Wolves.
Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was guilty of a woeful pass that Salah intercepted, racing into the area for a shot that eluded Jose Sa’s weak attempted save.
Salah has scored just eight goals — five in the league — during a turbulent season.
Liverpool were still creaky at the back and Andre pounced on Alisson’s poor clearance four minutes to steal the points in stoppage-time.
Andre’s powerful strike deflected off Liverpool defender Joe Gomez and looped over the wrong-footed Alisson as Wolves boss Rob Edwards sprinted down the touchline in a wild celebration while Slot looked on crestfallen.
Wolves are 11 points from safety with eight games left and relegation remains almost certain despite this memorable victory.
Everton ended their dismal home form and pushed Burnley closer to relegation with a 2-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Buoyed by their 3-2 win at Newcastle last weekend, Everton dispatched second-bottom Burnley with their first win in eight home league matches.
Former Burnley defender James Tarkowski put Everton in front with a powerful header from James Garner’s 32nd minute free-kick.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall doubled Everton’s advantage on the hour taking Iliman Ndiaye’s pass and clipping a composed finish past Martin Dubravka from six yards.
Everton remain in contention for a European berth, while Burnley are eight points from safety with just nine games left.
Habib Diarra’s penalty fired Sunderland to a 1-0 victory against Leeds on their first Premier League visit to Elland Road since 2002.
Bournemouth and Brentford shared a goalless draw at the Vitality Stadium that did little to improve either side’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.