AUXERRE, France: Bradley Barcola scored his second goal in two games to give Paris Saint-Germain a late win over lowly Auxerre and return to the top of Ligue 1 on Friday.
Barcola rescued PSG when, with the match heading to a 0-0 draw, he finished a counterattack in the 79th minute and squeezed the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.
Until then, second-to-last Auxerre had frustrated second-from-top PSG without threatening to score. Auxerre did not have a shot on target all night at Stade de L’Abbé-Deschamps.
Barcola’s sixth goal of the season capped a fine performance, although the winger will rue missed chances that could have secured the three points earlier.
The result took PSG two points ahead of surprise pace-setter Lens, which faces a difficult tie at third-placed Marseille on Saturday.
Auxerre remained above only last-placed Metz on goal difference.
PSG returns to the top of Ligue 1 after late win at Auxerre
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PSG returns to the top of Ligue 1 after late win at Auxerre
Alonso fears more pain in China with struggling Aston Martin
- Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia
SHANGHAI: Fernando Alonso said Thursday he expects another difficult weekend wrestling with his new Aston Martin at the Chinese Grand Prix after failing to finish the season-opener in Australia.
Silverstone-based Aston Martin endured a horror start after serious issues with their Honda power unit and a lack of spare parts.
Two-time world champion Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll had to endure extreme vibration in the chassis caused by the power unit, which was feared could cause the drivers permanent nerve damage.
“The situation unfortunately didn’t change within four or five days since Melbourne, so it will be a difficult weekend,” Alonso told reporters at the Shanghai International Circuit.
“We’ll limit the laps in one or two sessions as we are short on parts. We need laps, to find the window on the chassis side.
“I’ll be happy if we leave China with a more or less normal practice, more or less normal qualifying.”
The Spaniard could not put a timeframe on when improvements might come.
“What can I do within the team? Work harder, help Honda as much as I can,” said Alonso.
“We can allocate resources to help Honda with the power unit. We are one team, it is a bumpy start that I hope won’t last too long.
“We are pushing, we have very talented people in the team, so I hope within a couple of grands prix, we can have a normal weekend.
“To be competitive will take more time. Once we fix the reliability, we will be behind on power and things.”
The 44-year-old veteran has been in Formula One for more than two decades and has driven vastly different iterations of cars from the old V10 petrol engines through to the current complex hybrid configuration.
Despite the issues he said was embracing the challenge of the new cars enthusiastically in what could be his final season on the grid.
His Aston Martin contract expires at the end of 2026.
“Do we enjoy driving these cars? Yes, because we love racing,” Alonso said.
“I do four or five 24-hour races because I love racing and I love driving. So if you jump into an F1 car, you enjoy going fast.
“But it is a challenge, a different challenge.
“I was super lucky to race in (the last) era and I feel lucky to race in both.”
