PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain narrowly avoiding a second straight defeat in a scrappy 1-1 draw at mid-table Guingamp in the French league, prompting criticism of sloppy defending at set-pieces by coach Laurent Blanc on Saturday. Center half Alex headed home from a corner in the 87th minute after striker Mustapha Yatabare did the same three minutes earlier to give Guingamp the lead. PSG was outplayed by Guingamp for much of the match, three days after losing 2-1 at home to Montpellier in the French Cup. "Weve conceded two goals in three games from set-pieces," Blanc said. "At the moment our opponents know that they can hurt us on corners and free kicks. We always seem to have a player whos not really concentrating and loses their player. The same thing happened against Montpellier." Second-place Monaco can close the gap at the top to three points if it beats Marseille at home on Sunday. Blanc called the pitch "detestable" in the rainy conditions and said "it favoured one team (Guingamp) more than the other." However, Blanc praised Guingamp coach Jocelyn Gourvennec. "With the limited means he has, what Gourvennecs doing is incredible," Blanc said. With PSG star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic having a rare off day, Yatabare caught the eye and rose impressively to head Guingamp in front from Rachid Aliouis corner in the 84th. "Guingamp played with a lot of heart and caused us problems on the break," PSG goalkeeper Salvatoire Sirigu said. "We knew they were very good on set-pieces. We need to think about the mistakes we made." PSG was missing captain Thiago Silva, who sat out the match with an ankle injury and was replaced at centre half by Marquinhos, who was again out of sorts after a poor match against Montpellier. After a scrappy opening to the match, Ibrahimovic tried his luck 40 metres out with an ambitious free kick that he blasted straight into the Guingamp wall, and Alioui went on a surging run and hit a powerful low shot just past the post. PSG responded quickly and Edinson Cavani came close to his 21st goal of the season when he turned sharply and his goal-bound shot hit a defenders thigh. On halftime, Alioui went close with a swerving free kick that Sirigu saved with his legs. "It was very hard to read the trajectory of the ball," Sirigu said. The ball bounced up and hit the crossbar, and it appeared that Guingamp should have got a penalty when Marquinhos grabbed Yatabare around the neck and pulled him down as he was about to pounce on the rebound. "I dont know if it was a penalty or not, theres no point talking about it," Sirigu said. Alioui continued to cause problems after the break, and his cross was headed just wide by Yatabare. Ibrahimovic managed his first shot on target in the 53rd, but his low strike was comfortably saved by Guy Ndy Assembe. PSG midfielder Javier Pastore, who had a disappointing game, was taken off midway through the second half and replaced by winger Lucas. But Guingamp continued to look the better side, forcing two corners in quick succession. The match between Toulouse and Bastia was postponed because of the local rivers rising water levels. Toulouses stadium is on an island and the citys prefect has banned any access due to the threat from the Garonne River, the French league said in a statement. No new date has been set. Also, it was: Ajaccio 1, Sochaux 1; Montpellier 3, Nice 1; Nantes 0, Reims 0; and Valenciennes 1, Lorient 1. In Sundays other games, Bordeaux hosts Saint-Etienne and resurgent Lyon faces Evian. Third-place Lille was held to 1-1 by struggling Rennes on Friday. . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. . Its Wu-Tang and Outkast in the final. Now, we all know youve played the role of Andre 3000 in the past, does that mean Outkast is getting your vote?AJ: You know it, you know it.
https://www.cheapflames.com/. Parnell will be out much longer if it turns out he needs surgery. But first, he will try resting for two weeks before beginning a throwing program that could last up to a month, general manager Sandy Alderson said. .com) - One point guard will return, while another will sit when the Minnesota Timberwolves visit American Airlines Center to take on the Dallas Mavericks. . But luckily for the Canadian squad, one goal was all it needed. Winnipegs Sophie Schmidt scored the winner off a Diana Matheson corner kick to seal Canadas third-place spot in the Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino in Brazil on Sunday.NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville won a game but may have lost a goaltender.Colin Wilson had two goals and two assists to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.Nashville, though, lost goaltender Pekka Rinne — who still collected his NHL-leading 29th win — to a lower-body injury in the third period. He had stopped 20 of 21 shots before being replaced by Carter Hutton.Hutton turned aside all 10 shots he faced over the games final 17 minutes.Its my job just to be ready to go whenever, Hutton said. You mentally prepare to play every night. Thats part about being a pro.Craig Smith, Filip Forsberg and Mike Fisher also scored for Nashville, winners of four straight. Mike Ribeiro had two assists.Rinne was hurt when Vancouver forward Chris Higgins drove toward the Predators net and became entangled with Nashville defenceman Anton Volchenkov. The pair then collided with Rinne, and their momentum carried the Finn into the end boards.When Pekka left the game, the best player on the ice for about four or five minutes was Carter Hutton, said Nashville coach Peter Laviolette. It was nice to see him come off of the bench and get into the game.The team announced that Rinne was day-to-day and that an update would come Thursday following Wednesdays off day.Alexander Edler had the lone goal for Vancouver, which has lost its last three.The Canucks have four more games remaining on their current road trip.The last two games, we played good, we just lost, Vancouver coach Willie Desjardins said. Its a tough trip and its going to be a battle. Every game is going to be tough. Theyre not going to be any easier.Smith scored the games first goal at 4:07 of the opening period.With Vancouver short-hannded due to a penalty for too many men on the ice, Wilson found Smith in the low slot, where he beat Vancouver goaltender Eddie Lack for his 13th of the season.ddddddddddddJust 2:15 later, Wilson gave Nashville a 2-0 lead.Fisher took the puck away from Brad Richardson inside the Nashville blue line and carried it down the right side. He found Wilson inside the Vancouver blue line and skated to the faceoff dot, where he beat Lack with a wrist shot high to the far side.Fish is great, Wilson said. He works hard, he wins his battles, hes a playmaker and does everything well. Hes fun to play with and weve been doing well together.Wilson has multiple points in six of his last 11 games.Edler halved the Nashville lead at 2:47 of the second, connecting from the right circle after a prolonged scramble inside the Predators zone.Forsberg scored at 13:32 of the third when his wrist shot caught a piece of Lack and then trickled across the goal line.I feel like its deciding the whole game and obviously its at a time in the game that I have to be better, Lack said. Before that, I felt like I made the saves that I had to make, and then obviously letting one of those in is not anything I want at that point.Fisher struck at 15:31 of the third, and he was followed by Wilsons second goal of the game at 17:39.Rinne was the goaltender of record in the game, earning his 29th win.Notes: Wilson has points in four consecutive games. ... Nashville LW James Neal returned to the lineup after missing five games with a lower-body injury. He posted two assists. ... Vancouver D Christopher Tanev assisted on Edlers goal. It was his first point since Dec. 22. ... The Canucks are 7-11-1 when their opponent scores first this season. ' ' '
