Substitutes Fofana and Mikautadze score to help Lyon rally past Le Havre in French league
PARIS (AP) — Substitutes Malick Fofana and Georges Mikautadze played key roles in helping Lyon to rally past Le Havre 4-2 in the French league on Sunday.
Mikautadze, who joined Lyon from Metz last year, scored and provided two assists after coming on in the 77th minute.
Fofana replaced Ernest Nuamah with 19 minutes remaining with Lyon trailing 2-1 and Mikautadze came on for Rayan Cherki six minutes later.
Fofana leveled the scoring in the 78th minute from Mikautadze's assist with a left-footed angled shot, and the Georgia international then turned finisher after Le Havre defenders failed to clear a corner soon after.
Thiago Almada added more luster to Lyon's win with another goal in added time after another assist from Mikautadze.
Lyon captain Alexandre Lacazette had put Lyon in front from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute. Another penalty from Abdoulaye Toure put Le Havre level before Josue Casimir scored on the stroke of halftime for the visitors.
Lyon moved to fifth place in the standings, just two points behind the last direct Champions League spot. Le Havre remained 16th in the relegation playoff spot.
Later Sunday, unbeaten PSG could move closer to another title with a home win against bitter rival Marseille.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
34 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Euro 2025: Norway's female soccer leaders blaze a trail for equality and progress
GENEVA (AP) — In the male-dominated world of soccer leadership, many of the trailblazing women have come from Norway. The Norway team at the Women's European Championship is captained by the first Women's Ballon d'Or winner, Ada Hegerberg, and led by a female federation president, Lise Klaveness, who is one of just three such leaders among the 55 UEFA member countries. Klaveness, who played for Norway's team that was runner-up at Euro 2005, sees a decades-long tradition of the federation being progressive, promoting women and speaking out at international meetings. Before her, there was Karen Espelund, the first woman to join UEFA's executive committee, and Ellen Wille, whose speech at a FIFA congress helped create the Women's World Cup. They all worked with Per Omdal, a long-time federation president who in 2022 was awarded one of Norway's highest civic honors to recognize his support for women's soccer. 'We are not perfect at all,' Klaveness told The Associated Press in a recent interview. 'Of course everything can be better, but I feel like I inherited something proud and value-based.' Captain Ada The captain of Norway's team at Euro 2025 in Switzerland — her squad will play in a group with the host, Finland and Iceland — fits perfectly into the national tradition. Hegerberg is a talented pioneer, winner of the first Ballon d'Or for women in 2018, and unafraid to have principles. The Lyon forward won the award in the second season of a five-year, self-imposed absence from the national team to protest a lack of equality for women from the federation. Even the award ceremony gave an unwanted opportunity for Hegerberg to show strong character and earn more admiration. Collecting the trophy on stage in Paris, she quickly shut down a French DJ's provocative comment about the sexualized dance twerking. In 2022, within weeks of Klaveness being elected, Hegerberg ended her exile. 'Ada already now sees she's part of something bigger … the connection in history,' Klaveness told the AP, describing the captain as 'a very beloved player.' World Cup origin story Hegerberg's exile meant missing the 2019 World Cup in France, the eighth edition of a tournament FIFA's all-male leadership finally launched in 1991. Wille's words at FIFA's annual meeting in 1986 were key to that progress. A member of the Norwegian federation's executive committee, her speech urging FIFA to do more for women's tournaments was a rare female contribution to any debate at its congress. Norway lost that first World Cup final to the United States but won the next title in 1995. UEFA pioneer At age 15 in 1976, Espelund was in the first wave of players when the Norwegian federation formally recognized women's soccer. She later played for the national team. In 2002, at a volatile FIFA congress, Espelund was a rare women in a leadership role as the federation's general secretary alongside president Omdal. Espelund took the platform to challenge FIFA's embattled then-president Sepp Blatter about its fragile finances ahead of him winning re-election. In 2011, with FIFA again in turmoil amid another controversial Blatter election and promises of governance reform, Espelund was appointed the first woman on the UEFA executive committee which she served for five years. Klaveness became the fourth in April. Inspiring role model Klaveness, a labor lawyer and judge, made an international impact in her first month as Norwegian federation president. At FIFA's congress in Qatar on the eve of the 2022 World Cup tournament draw Klaveness was alone in drawing attention to the host nation's treatment of migrant workers and criminalization of homosexual acts, and soccer's responsibility to acknowledge the issues. She later pushed the case at the Council of Europe for migrant workers' families to be compensated. Klaveness describes Omdal, a former UEFA vice president, as 'still my mentor' whom she sees each week. 'He really fought for a women's league in Norway and (to) have 50% (representation) on boards.' Now Klaveness is herself a role model for women in European soccer, including Norway's coach at Euro 2025, Gemma Grainger. 'I feel like Lise is a great example for me and for any female, to really stand by what she says,' Grainger told the AP. 'For her to stand up and talk so openly and fight for more than football is a true inspiration.'
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Spain star Aitana Bonmatí hospitalized with meningitis less than a week before Euro 2025
Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, the two-time Ballon d'Or holder, has been hospitalized with viral meningitis less than a week before the Women's European Championship begins. Spain coach Montse Tomé said late on Friday that her star player had felt ill and was taken to a hospital in Madrid where she tested positive for meningitis. Spain's team is set to travel to Switzerland on Sunday for the tournament. Its first game is against Portugal on Thursday in Bern. It will also face Belgium and Italy in Group B at Euro 2025. 'Aitana is a very important player for us and we will wait for her,' Tomé said after Bonmatí missed Friday's friendly against Japan in the Spanish capital when Spain beat the visitors 3-1. Tomé said that Bonmatí started feeling bad with a fever during practice early on Friday. 'She has authorized me to say that she has viral meningitis,' Tomé said. 'The word is scary, but the doctor tells me that she is under control. She will remain in the hospital and we don't know for how long.' The 27-year-old Bonmatí has won the top individual award for women's soccer for the past two years. The Barcelona player was key in Spain winning the 2023 Women's World Cup. Bonmatí's vision, dribbling skills, passing and goals have been also been vital to Barcelona reaching five consecutive Champions League finals, with the Catalan club winning three titles. Her absence would put more pressure on Alexia Putellas, herself a two-time Ballon d'Or winner, and fellow Barcelona midfielder Patricia Guijarro to led Spain. Against Japan, Tomé started 18-year-old Vicky López in place of Bonmatí. Three years ago, Putellas tore her ACL three days before starting the 2022 European Championship. Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinals without its then-top player. Spain should still be favored in its opener against Portugal, a team it beat twice in April — including a 7-1 home victory — in the Nations League. ___ AP soccer: recommended
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ex-Juventus president Andrea Agnelli seeks plea bargain deal in false accounting case
ROME (AP) — Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has requested a plea bargain deal that would give him a 20-month sentence in a false accounting trial that contributed to his downfall at the record 36-time Serie A champion. Former Juventus vice president Pavel Nedved requested a deal of 14 months and former Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici and chief legal officer Cesare Gabasio each requested 18 months. Prosecutors began investigating in 2021 whether Juventus, which is listed on the Milan stock exchange, cashed in on illegal commissions from transfer and loans of players. The case has also explored whether investors were misled with invoices being issued for non-existent transactions to demonstrate income that in turn could be deemed false accounting. A decision in the case, which was moved from Turin to Rome, is expected in September, a preliminary judge announced Friday. The case prompted Agnelli and Juventus' entire board of directors to resign in 2022. Agnelli was then given two separate bans by sports authorities, the last of which expires in October. Juventus was hit with a 10-point penalty in the 2022-23 season and then removed by UEFA from the Conference League for financial irregularities. If the plea bargains are accepted in September, it could be the final step in the false accounting legal cases at Juventus and set up Agnelli's possible return to soccer after his sports ban expires a month later. ___
