Sloppy Marseille loses at Reims and opens the door for PSG to clinch Ligue 1 title
Associated Press
Sloppy Marseille lost at struggling Reims 3-1 and opened the door for Paris Saint-Germain to possibly clinch a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title on Saturday.
A victory at Saint-Etienne would guarantee PSG the title only also if Monaco and Nice draw in Saturday's late game.
Second-placed Marseille dominated before falling behind in the 29th minute. Japan forward Keito Nakamura wrong-footed defender Leonardo Balerdi inside the penalty area and curled the ball in for his ninth league goal.
Careless play led to the second goal as Reims broke from midfield and Nakamura shrugged off Valentin Rongier before setting up Mamadou Diakhon for a left-foot finish.
Valentin Atangana added the third and Rongier pulled one back for inconsistent Marseille, which slipped to its fourth defeat in five games.
Marseille midfielder Adrien Rabiot was scathing about the attitude of some of his teammates.
'It's just not good enough. I get the impression of watching guys who don't want to play in the Champions League next season,' Rabiot told broadcaster beIN SPORTS. "If some players don't want to, then they should say so before the game and just not play.'
It was Reims' first league win since November. Ultras protest government crackdown
Several thousand Saint-Etienne fans took to the streets before their game in a protest march against French interior minister Bruno Retailleau's plan to dissolve the club's two main ultras groups, the Magic Fans and the Green Angels.
Those at the front carried a giant green banner in the club's colors, which read "Le Chaudron Ne Se Dissout Pas' (The Cauldron Does Not Dissolve). The Cauldron is the nickname given to Saint-Etienne's Stade Geoffroy-Guichard because of its intense atmosphere.
Club president Ivan Gazidis joined the fans and made a speech.
'I am very happy to see our city united" he said. "It's a wonderful response to this unfair process that will resolve nothing.'
Other groups of ultras are also under threat of being disbanded. The French interior ministry said there has been soccer-related violence at 64 matches this season, leading to 627 arrests.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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