Sports World: Poch has first PSG loss as Lille take top spot

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Poch has first PSG loss as Lille take top spot

PARIS • Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first defeat under new coach Mauricio Pochettino, as lowly Lorient fought back to claim a dramatic 3-2 victory on Sunday, allowing Lille to go top of Ligue 1.

Neymar, who has said he is in talks to extend his deal, which expires in June 2022, scored two penalties but the visitors conceded in added time to Terem Moffi.

PSG drop to third, one point behind second-placed Lyon (46), with Lille a further two points ahead.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Prince says player abuse ‘must stop now’

LONDON • Prince William has branded racist abuse directed at black footballers as “despicable”, saying it “must stop now” after Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford became the latest player to be targeted.

Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, who is the president of the Football Association, spoke out on Sunday after the Professional Footballers’ Association accused social media companies of lacking the willingness to clamp down on racist posts.

Last week, several players were also abused and the British royal said “those who choose to spread hate and division are held accountable for their actions”.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Gasly is sixth F1 driver to catch virus

PARIS • French driver Pierre Gasly on Sunday became the sixth Formula One driver to test positive for Covid-19 but the AlphaTauri driver insisted he was “feeling OK” and was self-isolating at home.

The 24-year-old tweeted his plan was to “continue to follow my training plan from home while I remain in isolation”.

He claimed a career first win at the Italian Grand Prix last season and finished 10th in the standings. The new season is set to start on March 28 in Bahrain.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Heptathlete pushes on despite injury

LONDON • Heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be out of action until next month after injuring an Achilles tendon in training at the end of last year but says the issue has not affected her plans for the Tokyo Olympics.

The 28-year-old emerged as one of Britain’s top gold medal prospects for Tokyo after winning the world title in Doha in 2019 ahead of Rio Games champion Nafi Thiam of Belgium.

Johnson-Thompson said she was recovering back home in Liverpool and once her protective boot comes off this week, her plan was to head to her training base in Montpellier, France.

REUTERS

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