Two penalties by Lucas Moura and a clever chip by Ezequiel Lavezzi helped champions Paris Saint Germain beat Bordeaux 3-0 in Ligue 1 on Saturday and put pressure on leaders Marseille.
Resurgent Marseille have 25 points ahead of their game on Sunday at Lyon, where they can clinch a club record 10th straight league win. PSG are second with 21 having played a game more.
In later matches, eight-times former champions Nantes, back in the top flight since last year, climbed to third on 19 points after their 1-1 home draw with Reims.
And last season’s runners-up Monaco beat Bastia 3-1 away to climb to sixth on 17 points despite a long injury list.
Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol had promised to take the game to the champions and his outfit went into the game level on points with the Parisians.
But with Brazilian international centre-back pair Thiago Silva and David Luiz holding firm, Paris always looked superior in that part of the pitch.
With Edinson Cavani suspended and Zlatan Ibrahimovic injured, PSG coach Laurent Blanc started with a makeshift front three of Javier Pastore, Lucas and speedy youngster Jean-Christophe Bahebeck.
Bordeaux had reason for early cheer on 27 minutes when Gregory van Der Wiel delivered a wild studs-up kick to Wahbi Khazri’s heel with the ball gone and the referee right behind him.
He was sent off, but the numerical advantage would last a mere ten minutes.
Andre Poko’s complete miss as he swung at a stray ball would have been comical if the Bordeaux midfielder hadn’t ended up connecting with Marco Verratti’s knee, and while he was unfortunate, he had to walk too.
Sagnol was furious with the red card decision against Poko.
“If that was a red card then maybe (instead of playing football) we should dance or do figure skating. The referee had the red card out before Veratti even hit the deck,” he complained.
Blanc agreed with Sagnol suggesting neither foul had been worth a straight red.
“The sending off motivated the team, but I’d have liked to see 11 against 11. There is such a thing as a yellow card, and both players who were fouled were able to play on. This is a contact sport,” he explained.
With Bordeaux deflated PSG went on the offensive.
From the ensuing free-kick Luiz was already turning to celebrate a goal but saw his thunderous shot come back off the post with the wall and ‘keeper well beaten.
PSG then spurned a series of chances before Verratti was brought down in the area as the pressure mounted.
With Ibrahimovic and Cavani absent penalty duty fell to Lucas, who stepped up in his pink boots and sent Stephane Carrasso the wrong way, his spot-kick ripping into the opposite corner.
Five minutes into the second-half Lucas himself was brought down as he beat the offside trap and PSG were awarded another penalty.
The Brazilian coolly planted his second spot-kick in the other corner, Carrasso diving the right way but unable to deal with the venom of the shot.
Lavezzi, who was returning after being out injured for a month, completed the scoring nine minutes from time when his close-range chip took a deflection off defender Maxime Poundje on its way into the net.
Elsewhere Caen notched up their first home points after four straight defeats in their own stadium with a 2-1 win over Lorient, and Reims scored a last minute goal to beat Montpellier 1-0.
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
