PSG Perfect Record Ended by Monaco, Sanchez on Target in Marseille Win

Neymar's penalty earned Paris Saint-Germain a 1-1 draw with Monaco on Sunday Alain JOCARD AFP
Neymar's penalty earned Paris Saint-Germain a 1-1 draw with Monaco on Sunday Alain JOCARD AFP
TT

PSG Perfect Record Ended by Monaco, Sanchez on Target in Marseille Win

Neymar's penalty earned Paris Saint-Germain a 1-1 draw with Monaco on Sunday Alain JOCARD AFP
Neymar's penalty earned Paris Saint-Germain a 1-1 draw with Monaco on Sunday Alain JOCARD AFP

Neymar scored from the penalty spot but Paris Saint-Germain's perfect start to the French campaign was ended in a 1-1 draw with Monaco on Sunday, while Alexis Sanchez scored his first goals for Marseille in a 3-0 win at Nice.

In Paris, Neymar rolled in his eighth goal in five matches this season from a penalty awarded when the VAR alerted the on-pitch referee to a foul on the Brazilian by Monaco defender Guillermo Maripan midway through the second half, AFP said.

Monaco had taken the lead when Kevin Volland burst forward, holding off Presnel Kimpembe, before firing past Gianluigi Donnarumma 20 minutes in at the Parc des Princes.

The principality side played well, yet PSG deserved at least the draw from a game in which they hit the woodwork three times.

Nevertheless, the result does slightly puncture their momentum after a start to the season in which they had won their opening three league games, scoring 17 goals in the process.

They also beat Nantes 4-0 in the season-opening Champions Trophy but Monaco were easily the most accomplished side they had faced yet.

"We had difficulties in the first half against a European-level opponent but we deserved to win the game based on our second-half showing," PSG coach Christophe Galtier told broadcaster Amazon Prime.

PSG have 10 points from four games and are top of Ligue 1, but only on goal difference from Lens and Marseille.

Volland silenced the home crowd when he ran through to fire Monaco in front, although that was to be his last involvement as he hurt himself while shooting.

PSG were denied an equalizer right on the stroke of half-time in remarkable fashion, as Lionel Messi smashed a long-range shot off the left-hand post, before Kylian Mbappe hit the opposite upright from the rebound.

Monaco were also grateful to goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel for saving from Neymar from point-blank range after the restart, but PSG got their equalizer with 20 minutes to go, as Mbappe left the penalty duties to his Brazilian teammate.

“The order was Kylian number one and Neymar number two but I saw they had an exchange and Neymar spoke to Kylian before taking the penalty," said Galtier.

PSG then had chances to win all three points, with Achraf Hakimi's fierce shot hitting the post in the 74th minute, before Nuebel denied Mbappe late on.

- Marseille's Arsenal connection -
Sanchez netted a first-half brace as Marseille eased to victory in Nice to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.

The Chilean former Arsenal star, who signed a one-year contract after leaving Inter Milan, opened the scoring in the 10th minute, firing into the roof of the net past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.

On-loan Arsenal wing-back Nuno Tavares made it 2-0 in the 37th minute, his low strike from outside the area beating Schmeichel at the goalkeeper's near post.

It was his third goal in four games since arriving on loan from the Gunners, and Sanchez then followed in to make it 3-0 before the interval after a Tavares shot had been parried.

Ivory Coast international Nicolas Pepe failed to make an impact for Nice on his debut after also signing on loan from Arsenal.

Elsewhere, Junya Ito became just the third Japanese player ever to score a Ligue 1 goal as Reims drew 1-1 with Lyon.

Signed from Belgian club Genk last month, Ito headed Reims in front in the first half to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Daisuke Matsui and Hiroki Sakai in scoring in Ligue 1.

Reims had Dion Lopy sent off in the second half and could not hold on as Moussa Dembele equalized late on.

Meanwhile, Montpellier recorded their biggest ever top-flight away win, hammering Brest 7-0 in Brittany.

Elye Wahi and Valere Germain both scored twice, while Pierre Lees-Melou was sent off for Brest, whose coach Michel Der Zakarian was formerly in charge of Montpellier.

"I've already taken two paracetamol and I am going to take two more," said Der Zakarian.

There were also wins for Nantes, Lorient and Troyes. Lens beat Rennes 2-1 on Saturday.



FIFA Opts Not to Suspend Israel but Will Investigate Palestinian Claims of Discrimination

(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters  on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
TT

FIFA Opts Not to Suspend Israel but Will Investigate Palestinian Claims of Discrimination

(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters  on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) A sign of FIFA is seen at the football's World governing body headquarters on December 17, 2015 in Zurich. (Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

FIFA stopped short of suspending the Israeli soccer federation on Thursday, but asked for a disciplinary investigation of possible discrimination alleged by Palestinian soccer officials.
A senior FIFA panel overseeing governance will separately investigate “the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine,” soccer’s governing body said after a meeting of its ruling Council.
The Palestinian soccer federation has consistently asked FIFA for more than a decade to take action against the Israeli soccer body for incorporating teams from West Bank settlements in its leagues.
The compromise decisions came more than four months after Palestinian officials had urged FIFA to suspend Israel’s membership at a meeting in May.
The request to FIFA's congress in May also cited “international law violations" in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas conflict and directed the soccer body to its statutory commitments on human rights and against discrimination.
FIFA delayed making a decision in May until after a legal review scheduled for July, then pushed back the issue two more times until the meeting Thursday.
“The FIFA Council has implemented due diligence on this very sensitive matter and, based on a thorough assessment, we have followed the advice of the independent experts,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
The latest process follows a pattern — under Infantino and his predecessor Sepp Blatter — of Palestinian requests for FIFA to uphold its legal statutes and the question then being steered toward ad hoc panels and other committees.
FIFA gave no timetable Thursday for the investigations it has not requested.