European football: Lens punishes Marseille in Ligue 1, the French shine in Spain

In Ligue 1, the Lensois have confirmed their solidity and take second place in the standings behind PSG. In Spain, nobody worries Real but it is the French who made the show. In Germany, Bayern returns to the Berlin surprise. In Italy, Napoli still dominate Calcio, and in England, the Gunners are showing signs of running out of steam. Like every Monday, France 24 offers you a tour of European stadiums. Lens runner-up to PSG, Olympique de Marseille left behindAt the end of the 12th day, RC Lens took second place in Ligue 1 in Lorient, thanks to their 1-0 victory on Saturday in Marseille, which lost for the third time in a row in the league. Despite a festival of strikes and chances, Igor Tudor’s team lost to the tough and realistic Sang et Or who scored the only goal of the match, signed David Pereira da Costa in the 78th minute. Friday , PSG had easily won in Ajaccio. Goal from Mbappé on a pass from Messi (24th), goal from Messi on a heel from Mbappé (79th) and, finally, double for Mbappé on a pass from Messi (82nd): without shining, the Parisians easily won. Sunday, Laurent Blanc obtained his first success at the head of Olympique Lyonnais by snatching victory (2-1) in Montpellier. Captain Alexandre Lacazette was the great architect of Lyon’s success. Passer on the goal of Houssem Aouar (33rd), the former Arsenal striker offered victory to his team at the last minute of the match. At the end of the weekend, the Lille of Losc chained a third success against Monaco after a spectacular encounter (4-3), thus returning to the top spot in Ligue 1. La Liga © FMM graphic studio Ousmane Dembélé and Antoine Griezmann at the topSaturday, Real Madrid consolidated their leadership in La Liga by winning against Sevilla FC 3-1 (goals from Luka Modric in the 6th, Vinicius in the 79th and Valverde in the 81st), after the presentation at the Santiago-Bernabéu stadium, by Karim Benzema, forfeit on injury, his Ballon d’Or. On Sunday, it was on the lawn of the Barcelona rival that another Frenchman distinguished himself. Masterful, Ousmane Dembélé carried FC Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao on the 11th day of La Liga. With a headed goal in the 12th and three assists for Sergi Roberto (18th), Robert Lewandowski (22nd) and Ferran Torres (73rd) the “mosquito” folded the game. On the side of Atlético Madrid, Antoine Griezmann confirmed his return to great shape. In Seville, the French striker scored from a direct corner in the 54th minute, then doubled the lead a quarter of an hour later (70th), before Nabil Fekir, back from injury, reduced the gap on a superb direct free kick in the 84th. “I am very happy (…) to find the Griezmann who had left”, rejoiced his coach, the Argentinian Diego Simeone, in a post-match press conference. Union Berlin still in the lead, Bayern on their heelsLoosing Sunday against bottom side Bochum (2-1), Union Berlin is only one point ahead of its runner-up Munich. Still the surprise leader at the end of the 11th day of the Bundesliga, the Berlin club is now closely followed by Bayern Munich, who won on the lawn of Hoffenheim on Saturday (2-0). ended his series of three unsuccessful matches with a big victory against Stuttgart (5-0) which allowed him to return to fifth place in the championship. The fourth, Eintracht Frankfurt, which will host Marseille on Wednesday in the Champions League group stage, won in Mönchengladbach (3-1). Naples still the leader, the tears of RibéryLe Napoli, winner of their last eleven matches in all competitions, are three points ahead of AC Milan, the new runner-up, and five over Lazio and Atalanta. Full of confidence, Naples won Sunday on the field of AS Roma (1-0) thanks to Victor Osimhen, during the 11th day. “I feel a bit of injustice, it was a balanced match, under control, but the first team to score won,” commented the irascible José Mourinho, in charge of Roma since May 2021. Terribly effective, Milan AC crushed promoted Monza 4-1 in the Milan derby. A gala Brahim Diaz showed the way to the Rossoneri with his first double (16th, 41st). In the second half, ex-Liverpool striker Divock Origi scored his first (nice) goal in Italy (65th) then Rafael Leao concluded the festival on a service from Théo Hernandez (84th). Franck Ribéry, with his number 7 behind his back and with tears in his eyes, said goodbye to Salernitana supporters the day after the formalization of the end of his playing career, at 39. Forced to hang up due to recurring knee pain, the new retiree took a lap of honor before his team’s victory against La Spezia (1-0), applauded by standing tifosi.>> To read also: “Franck Ribéry , a formidable and sulphurous artist, bows out “The former star of the France team and Bayern Munich will now join the technical staff alongside coach Davide Nicola. “In the future I would like to be a coach. I like being on the pitch and being close to the team,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. Arsenal remain leader ahead of City, new disappointment for Liverpool The Gunners let two points slip away at Southampton (1-1) on Sunday, during the 13th day of the Premier League, and see Manchester City return to their wheel, while Newcastle, winner at Tottenham (2-1), joins the race for the C1. With this first draw of the season, the Gunners remain leaders but are only two units ahead of the defending champion. The day before, the clash between Chelsea and Manchester United ended in a draw (1 -1). The Londoners, who had opened the scoring in the 87th on a penalty (Jorginho), thought they would leave with the three points but Manchester woke up and equalized in added time with the first goal from summer rookie Casemiro. Also note the tearful exit of Raphaël Varane, who was injured during this meeting. Among the leaders, Manchester City beat Brighton (3-1) with a brace from Erling Haaland while Liverpool fell to Nottingham Forest ( 0-1). The Reds remain seventh with 16 points. “I have no idea how we could have lost this match”, testified an annoyed Klopp at the microphone of the BBC, after the meeting. Still on Saturday, the dismissal of Steven Gerrard on Thursday had spectacular effects: Aston Villa indeed crushed Brentford (4-0). With AFP