French Clubs

PARIS — Paris St Germain forward Neymar's latest injury can be blamed on a hectic match schedule and the COVID-19 crisis, coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday.

Neymar has been ruled out for four weeks with a groin injury, meaning he will miss the first leg of PSG’s Champions League last-16 tie at his former club Barcelona on Tuesday.

"When you look at the way injuries have increased it is because of the huge workload and the number of competitive games," Pochettino told a news conference on the eve of PSG’s Ligue 1 game at home to Nice.

It’s been 10 years since Lille OSC captured its last Ligue 1 title, but one look at the table sees the club from northern France setting the pace ahead of last season’s Champions League semifinalist Lyon and, of course, three-time defending champion Paris Saint-Germain. 

If it’s a position that Lille didn’t anticipate being in with just 14 matches remaining, 20-year-old American forward Timothy Weah isn’t letting on to any sense of disbelief. 

After a 3-2 defeat to relegation-threatened Lorient on Jan. 31 acted as the first true bit of unpleasantness in Mauricio Pochettino’s short Paris Saint-Germain reign, the club has since rebounded nicely with back-to-back victories over Nîmes and Marseille in Le Classique. 

Key to the uptick has been the play of Kylian Mbappé, who reached and surpassed the career landmark of 150 goals with two world-class goals in those wins. 

Against Nîmes, the 22-year-old showcased the lethal finishing power of his right foot.  

Lille maintained its two-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings with a 3-0 win away to mid-table Girondins de Bordeaux thanks to second-half goals by Yusuf Yazici, Timothy Weah and Jonathan David on Wednesday. Weah, 20, and David, 21, were both born in New York City, with the former representing the USMNT and the latter representing Canada internationally.

Nicolas Anelka has added a new adventure to his soccer career. The former Real Madrid and PSG player was presented on Wednesday as the new sporting director of the modest Hyères Football Club, a team that is currently in National 2, equivalent to the fourth division in France.

Bienvenue à notre nouveau directeur sportif Nicolas Anelka

Welcome to our new sports director Nicolas Anelka

Bienvenido a nuestro nuevo director deportivo Nicolas Anelka

निदेशक निकोलस अनेल्का

Portuguese coach André Villas-Boas announced that he has resigned as coach of Olympique de Marseille because he disagrees with the club's sporting policy, although he said he will remain in charge of the team "until the management board lets him go."

"I have submitted my resignation to the management board, I have not yet received an answer," the coach said at a press conference ahead of a league game against Lens.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar said he wants to remain at the Ligue 1 champions and hopes Kylian Mbappé will also pledge his future to the club.

Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of $269.26 million but Spanish media have frequently linked the 28-year-old with a switch back to the Catalan side.

Mbappé has 18 months remaining on his contract in Paris and new manager Mauricio Pochettino has played down reports the French forward could be on the move to Real Madrid.

French police in Marseille were holding 18 people in custody on Sunday after hundreds of fans stormed the training ground of soccer club Olympique de Marseille a day earlier, the local prosecutor said.

The hardcore Ultras were demonstrating against the club's leadership and a poor run of results. The supporters forced their way into the Commanderie training ground, hurling flares and firecrackers.