Oui, LOSC was crowned French Ligue 1 champion on Sunday evening – the fourth title in its history – by winning in Angers (1-2), ahead of PSG winner in Brest (0-2).
Yes, Stade Toulouse beat Stade Rochelais in the final of the European Rugby Cup on Saturday in Twickenham (22-17), the fifth coronation in its history, a record.
Yes, Atlético de Madrid clinched the Spanish league title for the first time since 2014, winning 2-1 at Valladolid on Saturday night thanks to a goal from Luis Suarez.
But something else happened this weekend that you might have missed.
The three weekend lessons
- Bad luck at home, you will collect
Charles Leclerc is cursed in his kingdom. The Monegasque, in pole position this weekend at the Monaco Grand Prix but victim of a road accident during qualifying, was unable to start the race due to a broken transmission. Bad luck for the 23-year-old Ferrari driver who, in five races contested (two in F2, three in F1) in the streets of the Principality, has never seen the checkered flag.
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) did not need to be asked. The Dutchman perfectly mastered his opponents to win the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, ahead of Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Lando Norris (McLaren). Verstappen took advantage of the poor performance of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), only seventh in the race, to take the lead in the general classification, four points ahead of the Briton.
- Of downtime on the Giro, you will never have
The 15e Giro stage promised a little rest for the peloton on Sunday between two terrible days in the mountains. It didn’t, and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) paid a heavy price. The sixth in the standings was caught in a massive crash a few kilometers after the start and was forced to retire, as were Ruben Guerreiro (EF Education-Nippo), Natnael Berhane (Cofidis) and Jos Van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) . The race, neutralized for several minutes to allow the arrival of help, was won by the Belgian Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka-Assos).
In the general classification, the good deal of the weekend is to the credit of Egan Bernal. The Colombian climber (Ineos-Grenadiers) reinforced his leader’s pink jersey by attacking on Saturday at the top of Monte Zoncolan. With now more than a minute and thirty seconds ahead of his runner-up Simon Yates (Team BikeExchange), Bernal can see coming this Monday during the 16e stage on the slopes of the Dolomites.
- Before Roland-Garros, the spirits you will mark
Stefanos Tsitsipas is sharp. Less than a week before Roland-Garros (from May 30 to June 13), the Greek won the tournament in Lyon (ATP 250) on Sunday, easily disposing in the final of the Briton Cameron Norrie (6-3, 6 -3). A victory which confirms the excellent form of Tsitsipas on clay, winner of the Monte-Carlo tournament in April and finalist in Barcelona against Rafael Nadal a week later.
In Lyon, the Greek left no chance to his opponents, leaving only one set during the tournament, in the semi-finals, against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti. This success allows Stefanos Tsitsipas to consolidate his first place in the Race – the classification since the 1er January – and to assert himself as the main rival of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic during the Parisian Grand Slam.
The weekend image
A first, and what a first! For handball players in Brest. The BBH players won the first French championship in their history on Sunday, with Metz in the final return (29-22). An easy victory on paper, but necessary after the victory of Messines, again with seven goals, in the first leg (31-24). The away goals rule offers the Breton title.
? family of @BBH_Officiel, French champion 2020-21 ? © @iconsport_fr #LigueButagazEnergie https://t.co/cbeCXmfP7b
This success is a real achievement for a club which only returned to the first division in 2016. It puts an end to the reign of Metz, which had notably won the last four championships in France. The Brestoises even achieve the double, after their success in the Coupe de France against Nantes on April 15.
The weekend figure
41
Like the number of goals scored this season in the Bundesliga by Robert Lewandowski. The Polish striker from Bayern Munich thus breaks a forty-nine year old record in the German championship, held by the legendary Gerd Müller. Nicknamed “Der Bomber”, Müller had found the net 40 times in 34 games during the 1971-1972 season, also in the Munich jersey.
Robert Lewandowski even needed “only” 29 games to surpass the 1970 Golden Ball. However, he had to wait for the 90e minute, Saturday, during the broad Bavarian victory against Augsburg (5-2) to register his name on the shelves.
The declaration of the weekend
“I will discuss with the club the next few days, quietly. But not now. We will see these next days ”
Will stay, will not stay? Zinédine Zidane, coach of Real Madrid, was elusive on Saturday after the victory of his players snatched at the end of the match against Villarreal (2-1). Announced on the departure by the Spanish press, “Zizou” indicated that he would exchange soon with the leaders of Madrid, while the Merengues gave up their crown of champion of Spain to Atlético de Madrid.
“It’s a day to be proud of the players. The important thing is not me, it’s what the players have been doing since the start of the season. We must congratulate them ”, insisted the former number 10 of the Blues, who does not shirk his responsibilities: “This season, we haven’t won anything, it’s my part. We will assess all of this. “
The weekend sportswoman
Marie Wattel shines at the European Championships. The French swimmer took second place in the 100m freestyle on Saturday in Budapest (Hungary) with a time of 53.32, a personal best match. Wattel was only beaten by the Dutchwoman Femke Heemskerk (53s 05), and ended in style a magnificent week punctuated by two other medals (gold in the 100m butterfly and bronze in the 4 × 100m relay feminine).
We will work on this first 50 and come back stronger ?? https://t.co/K7DxuvN28D
At 23, the swimmer from Montpellier, who did not seem to be satisfied with the money, asserts herself as a real chance for the podiums for the French team at the Olympic Games in Tokyo (July 23 to August 8). Marie Wattel has so far never managed to land a charm in a world competition.
Florent Manaudou did not do better on Sunday than a 5e place on the 50m freestyle. Disturbing two months before the Olympics for the 2012 Olympic champion and 2016 Olympic vice-champion of the distance.