The sporting weekend was rich between the big heat stroke of Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 and the end of the Alpine Skiing and Biathlon World Championships.
Have you cut for the weekend? No problem, we’re here for your booster shot. Ligue 1 offered one of its craziest matches of the season, with Paris Saint-Germain coming back from very far against Lille. In the winter sports department, tricolor skiers and biathletes have experienced mixed fortunes during their respective world championships. Franceinfo: sport summarizes everything you should not miss from this weekend of sport.
Football: PSG saved by Messi and Mbappé, Neymar worried
On the verge of a nervous breakdown, Paris Saint-Germain gave themselves a little air. PSG dominated Lille in the shock of the 24th day and at the end of a stunning match (4-3). Five days after their defeat in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Christophe Galtier’s men thought they had regained their confidence by leading 2-0 after a quarter of an hour of play.
But their Sunday afternoon turned into a nightmare, with a once again disappointing performance, and yet another injury outing from Neymar, victim of a sprained ankle and awaiting further examinations. The capital club relied on the talent of Kylian Mbappé, alone to float during this meeting with a double, then a direct free kick in the last moments of Lionel Messi to snatch the victory. Paris remains at the top of the championship, five points ahead of OM, winner in Toulouse (2-3).
Biathlon: the men’s relay caps Norway and wins the world title
Rather disappointing since the start of the World Cup season, the French biathletes recovered in the best possible way by winning the title in the men’s relay on Saturday. Antonin Guigonnat, Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon Maillet were able to brave difficult weather conditions to get ahead of Norway by a Johannes Boe who was still hoping for a grand slam in Oberhof. He will content himself with five crowns and seven medals in as many races.
Boe will remain as the big man of these Worlds, a caste to which Julia Simon can also claim. The French punctuated her fortnight with a bronze medal on Sunday on the mass start, her third charm of the competition after the gold on the pursuit and the bronze in the mixed relay. France ends these Worlds in third place in the medal table.
Alpine skiing: the Courchevel-Méribel Worlds end with two medals for France
The world championships in France ended on Sunday, the end of a great popular success and two weeks of spectacle. The Blues remained with the two medals won in the first week by Alexis Pinturault, with a good dose of frustration for Clément Noël, fourth in the slalom on Sunday, just three hundredths from the podium. The title went to Henrik Kristoffersen.
These Worlds will remain marked by the double of the brilliant Swiss Marco Odermatt in the men’s downhill and giant, or even on the three medals of Mikaela Shiffrin (one in gold, two in silver). Also note the revival of Canadian skiing, which won four medals including two titles. Our special correspondents Adrien Hemard-Dohain and Quentin Ramelet take stock of the situation.
Football: Christian Atsu found dead after the earthquake in Turkey
We had believed for a time that hope would be in place for Christian Atsu, missing after a devastating earthquake that took place in Turkey and Syria. On Saturday morning, the body of the Ghanaian international was found in the rubble of his accommodation in Hatay. The Hatayspor club player had been declared alive a few days earlier, a mistake made by the Ghanaian FA and the Ghanaian embassy in Turkey.
Atsu lived in a twelve-story residence that collapsed during the earthquake, and its many aftershocks, which killed more than 40,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
