RC Lens brings down PSG, OL sees the podium slipping away

The Sang et Or inflicted on PSG, Sunday January 1, its first defeat of the season (3-1).

In this clash of the 17th day between the first two, RC Lens took the best of Parisians deprived of Lionel Messi (on leave) and Neymar (suspended), and this time Kylian Mbappé could not save his team as this was the case against Strasbourg on Wednesday – where he snatched victory (2-1) at the last second.

The Lensois, who played in an incandescent Bollaert stadium, were able to count on a Loïs Openda of the great evenings – scorer and passer – to return to four points behind PSG in the standings.

They also take advantage of this prestigious success to extend their lead to seven points over Olympique de Marseille (3rd), who play in Montpellier on Monday (7 p.m.).

To start 2⃣0⃣2⃣3⃣, the nets shook 3⃣ times 🎆#FierDEtreLensois #RCLPSG pic.twitter.com/y0pl3Sgn40

— Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) January 2, 2023

Far behind, Monaco (4th) came back up to OM by beating Brest (1-0), thanks to a superb strike from Russian Aleksandr Golovin.

The podium, Olympique Lyonnais is very far from it after its defeat at home against Clermont (1-0), on a penalty at the end of the match from the Austrian Muhammed Cham (86th).

A real setback.

The revolution of the new coach, Laurent Blanc, is not advancing.

After their great victory in Brest (4-2), the Rhodaniens (8th) take another step back and are nine points behind OM, closely followed by their winner of the day, two lengths behind.

Arsenal distances Manchester City, United chains a fifth victory

Arsenal took advantage of another misstep from Manchester City on Saturday to widen the gap at the top of the Premier League, now seven points clear of the defending champion.

The Gunners beat Brighton (2-4) while the Citizens stumbled over Everton (1-1) at home on the 18th day.

Galvanized by the poor result from their main rival which had come to them half an hour earlier, Mikel Arteta's players did not let Brighton put them in doubt, scoring four goals and showing cold realism at key moments. Match.

The Gunners will now begin a crucial month of January in their quest for the title: reception of Newcastle (January 3), trip to Tottenham (January 15) and reception of Manchester United (January 22).

The pass 🪄


The cold finish 🥶


The celebration 🔥



Everything about this move 🤩 pic.twitter.com/VSPQQoPiyT

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 1, 2023

Already borrowed from Leeds on Wednesday, despite a clear victory (3-1), the Citizens failed to win against Everton (1-1).

These two points lost against the 16th in the standings recall the poor performance in the previous league match at the Etihad Stadium against Brentford (1-2, November 12).

Also of note, Erling Haaland scored his 27th club goal of the season – in all competitions.

Finally, Manchester United won Wolverhampton their fifth victory in a row (0-1), in all competitions, which allows them to be part of the Top 4 for the first time this season, two points ahead of Tottenham and two units from Newcastle. who failed to take the best of Leeds (0-0).

Without being really superior to their opponent (18th), Erik ten Hag's players were mainly able to count on the precision of Marcus Rashford, scorer in the 76th minute, after being left on the bench in the first period for disciplinary reasons.

FC Barcelona draws, Benzema wins Real Madrid

FC Barcelona was hooked on Saturday at Camp Nou during the derby against Espanyol Barcelona (1-1) for the 15th day of La Liga, but ended the year 2022 at the top of the ranking, tied with Real Madrid (38 points), winner Friday in Valladolid (0-2).

During this match, the performance of referee Mateu Lahoz – already in the spotlight after his controversial refereeing in the quarter-final Argentina - Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup – ignited the Spanish media.

In the last half hour of play, the Valencian referee drew seven yellow cards in six minutes, and even sent off two players for protests (Jordi Alba and Vinicius Souza), leaving the two teams ten against ten.

📸 Great win!

👊 pic.twitter.com/ACE38XOC30

— Real Madrid CF 🇫🇷 (@realmadridfra) December 30, 2022

Back after the injury that deprived him of the 2022 World Cup, Karim Benzema gave Real Madrid victory on Friday by scoring twice (0-2).

For their big return to competition, the Merengues only found the fault in the 83rd on a penalty converted by "KB9".

Helped by the red card addressed to Sergio Leon for his invective against the fourth referee (83rd), Benzema then doubled the bet (89th), on a ball perfectly served by his compatriot Eduardo Camavinga at the penalty point.

Real Sociedad, for its part, consolidated its 3rd place in the standings after its success against its neighbor Osasuna (2-0).

Thanks to this success, Real Sociedad are nine points behind Real and Barça and are five points ahead of Villarreal, 7th at the gates of Europe after their 2-1 success against Valencia CF on Saturday.

With AFP

The summary of the

France 24 week invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you!

Download the France 24 app