Wissam Ben Yedder and Kevin Volland net as Monaco thrash Ligue 1 leaders PSG 3-0; Mauricio Pochettino's side have now lost two of last three following humiliating Champions League exit to Real Madrid; Tammy Abraham's double helps Roma earn derby spoils against Lazio
Monday 21 March 2022 07:42, UK
Paris Saint-Germain looked sluggish and apathetic as the Ligue 1 leaders slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Monaco, with Wissam Ben Yedder scoring twice.
Following PSG's exit from the Champions League in the last 16 at the hands of Real Madrid, the poor display at the Stade Louis II will not ease the wrath of ultras who have been calling for sporting director Leonardo and president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to leave.
With nine matches left to play, PSG still enjoy a 15-point lead at the top of the table and remain well on track to equal Saint-Etienne's record of 10 French league titles. Monaco moved to seventh place with victory.
PSG enjoyed most of the early possession but were largely toothless in attack and the hosts deservedly took the lead in the 25th minute after Youssouf Fofana opened up space down the right flank and crossed for Ben Yedder, who tucked it home with a subtle flick with the outside of his foot.
Monaco could have gone into the break with a bigger lead but missed a couple of other chances before the interval.
PSG's first real opportunity came in the 51st minute when Kylian Mbappe made the most of Neymar's through ball to break into the area - only to fluff his shot.
Substitute Kevin Volland came on as a replacement for Gelson Martins and immediately made an impact to beat PSG 'keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from close range at the conclusion of a well-executed collective move in the 68th minute.
Ben Yedder made it 3-0 with six minutes left from the penalty spot following Presnel Kimpembe's reckless tackle from behind on Volland. Donnarumma managed to parry the striker's kick, but the ball bounced into the net.
PSG were without Lionel Messi, who was ruled out with flu-like symptoms. In addition to the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, PSG were also without Sergio Ramos, Angel Di María, Juan Bernat, Layvin Kurzawa and Ander Herrera.
PSG head coach Mauricio Pochettino urged his team to show more cohesion and stop looking for excuses after the defeat, which he described as a "sporting shame."
"It's unacceptable to start the match like that," Pochettino said at the post-match press conference. "There is sporting shame. It can't be repeated. We can still lose matches, but what happened shouldn't.
"You have to be individually responsible and think about the collective. We have moved away from that. Behaviour should be more collective than individual
"It is unacceptable. We didn't have a fighting spirit. The way we played is not acceptable."
Second-placed Marseille beat Nice 2-1 but were grateful that Cedric Bakambu struck in the 89th minute to add to Arkadiusz Milik's penalty in first-half stoppage time as Mario Lemina would pull a goal back in a frantic finish.
Rennes remain third after they responded to their Europa Conference League exit with a 6-1 rout of Metz, with Martin Terrier getting the first two before Serhou Guirassy added a hat-trick.
Montpellier won 2-0 away to Bordeaux despite playing the second half with nine men, getting goals from Sepe Elye Wahi and Florent Mollet before Nicolas Cozza and Mihalio Ristic both saw red in an ill-tempered end to the first half, with Alberth Elis missing the penalty Cozzo conceded.
Fifth-placed Strasbourg were held goalless away to Lorient, while the match between Reims and Lyon also finished 0-0. Sofiane Boufal's penalty helped Angers move clear of the bottom three with a 1-0 win over Brest.
A double from English striker Tammy Abraham helped AS Roma earn the derby spoils with an emphatic 3-0 win over Lazio in Serie A on Sunday.
It took Abraham less than a minute to get on the scoresheet from close range from a corner in the Stadio Olimpico, with the marking from Lazio leaving much to be desired.
The former Chelsea forward then bravely got on the end of a Rick Karsdorp cross to double Roma's lead in the 22nd minute, taking his Serie A tally to 15 for the season.
Abraham has now scored 23 goals in all competitions this term - the most for a debut campaign for Roma, two ahead of Argentine great Gabriel Batistuta's first year in the capital.
Goal of the match, however, went to Lorenzo Pellegrini, who curled a stunning free-kick into the net five minutes before the break to effectively end the derby as a contest.
Lazio could not rouse a response in the second half, as Roma climbed above their city rivals into fifth in the Serie A standings on 51 points, eight points behind Juventus in fourth.
Dusan Vlahovic set up one goal and scored another as Juventus eased to a 2-0 win over bottom club Salernitana to move within a point of defending champions Inter Milan.
Juventus were anxious to move on from their Champions League exit against Villarreal during the week, and maintained their 16-match unbeaten run in the league.
Paulo Dybala marked his return to the starting line-up following injury by scoring the opener as fourth-placed Juventus closed in on the top three, although Massimiliano Allegri's side are still seven points behind Serie A leaders AC Milan.
Juventus play third-placed Inter, the club that ended their run of nine straight Serie A titles, after the international break. Salernitana remain nine points from safety.
Two first-half mistakes gifted Francesco Caputo two goals as Venezia lost 2-0 in a relegation fight against Sampdoria.
The first came in the 24th minute when Venezia goalkeeper Niki Menp took too many touches in his own penalty area and Abdelhamid Sabiri stole the ball off him, allowing Caputo to deposit into an empty net.
It was the fault of Venezia midfielder Luca Fiordilino 14 minutes later as he lost the ball easily to Sabiri. Menp could only parry Stefano Sensi's strike and Caputo tapped in the rebound.
Venezia remain three points from safety while Sampdoria climbed seven points above the bottom three.
Hellas Verona drew 1-1 at Empoli after striker Giovanni Simeone failed twice with the same penalty. His first attempt was saved by Empoli goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario but had to be retaken following an encroachment. Simeone smashed his second effort off the post.
In the late game, teenager Moustapha Ciss scored on his Serie A debut to help Atalanta to a 1-0 win at Bologna, less than a month after playing in the eighth tier of Italian football.
Ciss, 18, was discovered while playing for ASD Rinascita Refugees - a team made up entirely of foreign players who are seeking asylum in Italy.
Ciss, a refugee from Guinea, came on in the 65th minute in Bologna and scored the only goal of the game eight minutes from time.
Second-placed Sevilla stumbled once again as they drew 0-0 at home against Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday, a remarkable seventh draw in their last nine league matches.
After being knocked out of the Europa League with an extra-time defeat to West Ham on Thursday, Sevilla's domestic title ambitions suffered another blow in a game that Real Sociedad dominated from the start and from which they deserved much more than a point.
Sociedad's Alexander Sorloth had the best opportunity of the first half but his effort deflected off team-mate Cristian Porto, who was on the floor in the six-yard box and made an involuntary goal-line stop.
In the second half, Real Sociedad were even more aggressive. Sevilla 'keeper Marko Dmitrovic, a late replacement for first-choice Bono who was injured during the warm-up, made a close-range reflex save from a deflection and Portu hit the post with a header.
Minutes after that, David Silva hit the bar with another header. Thomas Delaney deflected a goalbound Adnan Januzaj shot from the edge of the box.
In the end, it was another disappointing draw for Sevilla and a frustrating stalemate for Real Sociedad.
Meanwhile, in El Clasico, Barcelona took their resurgence under Xavi to another level by thrashing rivals and runaway La Liga leaders Real Madrid 4-0 at the Bernabeu.
Espanyol were 1-0 winners at home to Real Mallorca while Cadiz beat Villarreal by the same scoreline. Celta Vigo also drew 0-0 with Real Betis.
Borussia Dortmund had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Cologne after taking the lead as they lost ground in the title race, dropping six points behind leaders Bayern Munich with seven games left in the campaign.
Marius Wolf, who had scored the winner against Arminia Bielefeld last week, put the visitors in front after eight minutes but apart from an Erling Haaland shot that sailed narrowly wide, Dortmund showed little else in the first half.
Cologne got a deserved equaliser through Sebastian Andersson in the 36th minute after Jannes Horn's free-kick was headed towards goal by Anthony Modeste.
Haaland, the subject of intense transfer speculation, missed a one-on-one 10 minutes after the restart with keeper Marvin Schwaebe denying the Norwegian with a fine block as Dortmund reclaimed the initiative.
The visitors thought they had finally done enough to score when Gio Reyna burst clear to charge down the right and Haaland moved down the middle into the box. But the American's cutback was cleared at the last moment before reaching the forward.
Dortmund remain in second place on 57 points, with Bayern top on 63.
Third-placed Bayer Leverkusen moved up to 48 points after their 2-0 win at Wolfsburg earlier on Sunday while RB Leipzig are in fourth place, three points behind, following a goalless draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.
