Yes, Paris Saint-Germain took the lead in Ligue 1 and Olympique Lyonnais let pass a victory that seemed promised to them, while the Nice-Marseille match was interrupted after consecutive brawls at the entrance to the Nice supporters’ ground.
Yes, Toyota won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the fourth time in a row thanks to its No. 7 car which has won after three failures in recent years.
Yes, 19-year-old prodigy Sasha Zhoya shattered his own junior world record in the 110 meters hurdles in the final of the U20 world championships in Nairobi (Kenya).
But something else happened this weekend that you might have missed.
The three weekend lessons
- To your peers, you will help
While the Taliban have returned to power in Afghanistan, international aid is being put in place to evacuate from the country populations likely to suffer reprisals. Sport is no exception, with sportsmen and women among the possible targets of the new Taliban regime. On Saturday, the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the international players’ union, Fifpro, announced that they wanted to help Afghan footballers.
Over the past few days, FIFPRO has been liaising with governments to establish an evacuation plan for athletes at r… https://t.co/erK7UU3Kgz
FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura announced “Work with Fifpro” to assess “The number of players concerned” before considering an escape plan. “We have already done it in the past, we must be able to do it again”, she assured. Friday, the tragic death of young footballer Zaki Anwari at Kabul airport had moved the football world.
- Your walk forward, you will resume
On the roads of the Vuelta, Fabio Jakobsen is racing his first grand tour since his terrible fall on the Tour of Poland in August 2020. That day, the first stage ended with a downhill sprint and the Dutchman had floundered in the barriers at full speed because of the change of trajectory of his compatriot Dylan Groenewegen. Skull fractures, brain contusion, punctured lung, ragged jaw: the 24-year-old sprinter’s injuries were impressive.
After returning to competition in April on the Tour of Turkey, the Deceuninck-Quick Step rider proves on the Tour of Spain that he must be counted on again. Victorious at Molina de Aragon during the 4e stage, Fabio Jakobsen signed a second success, Saturday, on the 8e stage that ends at La Manga del Mar Menor. A resounding comeback.
On the contrary, Arnaud Démare has been struggling since leaving Burgos. Apart from his second place on the 4e stage, the Picard does not manage to fight with the best despite a team which is devoted to him.
Your exit from the rings, you will miss
” I do not know. First let me rest and relax. ” Manny Pacquiao cast doubt on the rest of his career on Saturday night after what could be his last fight. In front of the 17,438 spectators of the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Filipino boxer lost in points and unanimously by the three judges against Cuban Yordenis Ugas. The latter retained his WBA welterweight title withdrawn in September 2020 at Pacquiao due to his inactivity. A decision he had not digested. This fight therefore had an air of revenge but the 42-year-old boxer conceded the eighth defeat of his career (for 62 wins and two draws). Maybe the last.
“In the future, you might not see Manny Pacquiao fighting in a ring again.”, he continued. This is because he has political ambitions that would not give him time to box. Already a senator from his country, the native of Kibawe, crowned in six different weight categories during his twenty-six-year career, said he would announce his “Decision next month” regarding a possible candidacy for the presidential election in May 2022. “The world of politics is more difficult than the world of boxing”, concluded Pacquiao.
The weekend video
? When Daniil Medvedev loses his temper after hitting a camera in mid-trade in Cincinnati! https://t.co/iC6mIirhld
This is nothing new, Daniil Medvedev is hot-blooded. On the night of Saturday to Sunday, the Russian saw red in his semi-final against his compatriot Andrey Rublev at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. While leading a set to zero, Medvedev collided in the second set, a camera positioned at the baseline. Enough to drive the world number 2 crazy, who kicked the equipment and attacked the referee.
“I almost broke my hand, take it off. You do not care ? “, first launched Medvedev, before continuing: “You don’t give a damn about the players. I said after the first game that this camera should not be there. We’re in the semi-finals, and my hand hurts. “ This episode did not prevent Medvedev from continuing the game but obviously pulled him out of his match: the Russian was overthrown by Rublev (2-6, 6-3, 6-3). Another reason for him to fulminate.
The declaration of the weekend
“It’s like going back ten or fifteen years. (…) We must protect the players. “
His Liverpool team may well have won their match against Burnley on Saturday (2-0), it was a rather annoyed Jürgen Klopp who appeared before the British media at the end of the meeting. In question ? The tackles from Burnley players, deemed too violent by the Reds coach. “If you like this stuff, watch some wrestling”, Klopp said.
The German coach mainly attacked the Premier League referees. The latter were instructed, before the start of the season, to let more play. “It’s like going back ten or fifteen years. The rules are like that, but it’s impossible to defend them in these kinds of situations. (…) I like it when decisions favor attacking teams. But we must also protect the players, we must not forget that “, protested Klopp. Finally, the Burnley players did well, since the referee did not take out any card during the meeting.
The weekend sportswoman
? The queen of the 100m has pulled out all the stops ?? Elaine Thompson sets the second best time in history in 10’54… https://t.co/Sh0sbuAjdQ
Elaine Thompson-Herah is in the shape of her life. On the very fast and famous track of the meeting of Eugene (Oregon), in the United States, the Jamaican signed the second world performance of the history on the 100 meters, in 10 seconds 54. She is still getting closer to the old one ( 1988) and sulphurous world record for the American Florence Griffith-Joyner (10 seconds 49) that she had already dispossessed of the Olympic record, in Tokyo, on July 31 (10 seconds 61 against 10 seconds 62).
“I think the record is within my reach, because I ran in 10 seconds 5 and I still have a lot in my stomach”, assured the five-time Olympic champion after the race. The dazzling straight line of Thompson-Herah has relegated to the background the return to competition of Sha’Carri Richardson, deprived of OJ after a positive test for cannabis. The American finished last in 11 14 seconds, far from the 100% Jamaican podium, as at the Games: Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson.
The weekend figure
7
This is the number of seconds that Tobias Johannessen kept over Carlos Rodriguez in the general classification at the end of the 9e and last stage of the Tour de l’Avenir. The Norwegian, however, thought he lost everything on Sunday at the top of the Petit-Saint-Bernard pass where the finish was judged. The Spaniard, runner-up with 2’18 ” behind in the overall standings on the morning of the last stage, isolated himself at the top of the Col de l’Iseran less than 70 kilometers from the finish to maintain his lead until line. He won the stage with two minutes and eleven seconds ahead. He therefore only missed seven seconds to dethrone Tobias Johannessen. The 21-year-old rider, also winner of two stages, succeeds his compatriot Tobias Foss (in 2019), Tadej Pogacar (2018) or Egan Bernal (2017), the last two winners of the Tour de France.