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Another Ligue 1 match has been impacted by crowd troublen with Marseille's clash against Angers the latest game to be marred by fan behaviour.

Towards the end of Marseille's 0-0 draw with Angers at the latter's home stadium, the Stade Jean-Bouis, away fans invaded the pitch during a brawl with home supporters.

The incident is the latest featuring crowd trouble in France's top-flight as supporter behaviour has become a big problem throughout Ligue 1.

Prior incidents

Wednesday's incident comes after two separate fan-related situations.The first and most prominent incident of the season came in August and once again involved Marseille.

On that day, Marseille's clash with Nice was abandoned with the visiting club refusing to emerge from the dressing room after Nice fans invaded their pitch.

The pitch invasion sparked a brawl, with Marseille players being hit with objects in the lead-up to the chaotic fight, prompting Dimitri Payet's response after being struck near the corner flag. Fans then stormed the field, forcing the match to be abandoned due to the chaos.

Nice were punished with a point deduction, while several Marseille players and staff, including Payet, were also sanctioned.

Prior to Wednesday, the most recent incident came in the derby between Lens and Lille last weekend. The two rivals went into half-time drawn at 0-0 after a tense opening 45 minutes, but were then forced to wait in order to restart the match as crowd trouble caused a temporary delay.

Further reading

Paul Onuachu found the back of the net twice as Genk suffered a 4-2 loss against Royal Antwerp in Wednesday’s Belgian First Division A encounter.

The goals came as a gift to the Luminus Arena outfit after they extended the Nigeria international's contract until 2024, following reports that linked him with a move away before the close of the European transfer window.

Onuachu got the visitors off to a flying start at the Bosuilstadion with his opening goal in the 13th minute, off an assist from Junya Ita. The Japanese winger also assisted Onuachu's last two efforts before Wednesday's outing in Antwerp.

The opener was not enough for Genk as goals from Ritchie De Laet, Birger Verstraete and Koji Miyoshi turned the encounter around for the hosts who cruised into half-time with a 3-1 lead.

After the restart, the hosts extended their lead after Tanzania striker Mbwana Samatta helped Michael Frey to make it 4-1 in the 69th minute.

However, Onuachu turned up again and halved the deficit for John van den Brom's side with his strike from the penalty spot in the 80th minute.

The 27-year-old played the entire duration while his compatriot Ike Ugbo was not named in the matchday squad, but Ghana's Joseph Paintsil who inspired their comeback win over Sint-Truiden on Sunday, started on the bench and he was thrown into the fray in the 57th minute.

After he returned 33 goals in 38 league games last season, Onuachu continues to maintain his composure in front of goal and he has scored eight goals so far across all competitions for the Smurfs.

The former FC Ebedei prodigy moved to the Luminus Arena from Danish Superliga club Midtjylland in 2019 and he has established himself as a key player in John van den Brom's team.

He has scored 53 goals for the Smurfs across all competitions, including his only goal in the Uefa Europa League that earned them a 1-0 triumph over Rapid Vienna a week ago.

The defeat moved Genk down to fifth in the First Division A table with 14 points after eight matches and their next challenge is a home league match against RFC Seraing on Sunday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was left frustrated by yet another slow start from Manchester United, and the manager said the team's recent struggles need addressing after the Red Devils were knocked out of the Carabao Cup.

Man Utd were undone by a ninth-minute goal from Manuel Lanzini, which proved just enough for West Ham to take down their hosts in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford despite Solskjaer's men firing off a whopping 27 shots.

The loss is Man Utd's second in three games, having already lost to Young Boys to start the Champions League, and Solskjaer says there's a lot that needs fixing in the weeks to come.

What was said?

"Lacking a goal. A slow start again and that needs addressing," he told Sky Sports. "They got a goal and after that we played well for long periods, gave it a go and stats don't mean anything. When you have 27 shots the boys have given it a go.

"We built pressure, Mason Greenwood came on and had a good one but sometimes the pressure does not come to anything. He made a positive impact, he was fresh and sharp but it was too little too late. The last six or seven minutes we were going gung-ho and they could have scored a couple."

He added: "You want to go through but it is a long season, we gave it a good go. I can't fault them for attitude and we have big games coming up. It is a long journey all season, we have loads of games and keep on doing what we are doing, trying to get results. We are out of this cup which is not great but we will focus for Saturday."

At his press conference later, Solskjaer went on to add: "The first 10 mins we were slow both in and out of poss and that is something we have to address. I wasn't pleased with the start, no, but we can't find ourselves in these situations and expect to get wins, we need to start games better."

What's next?

United are set to face Aston Villa at Old Trafford this weekend, with Solskjaer's side currently sitting level with Chelsea and Liverpool atop the Premier League with 13 points from five games.

They willll then look to kickstart their Champions League campaign on Wednesday as they host to Villarreal 

Further reading

Manchester City have drawn West Ham as their fourth-round opponent in the Carabao Cup, with rivals Arsenal and Chelsea also being given Premier League foes in Leeds and Southampton respectively.

Tottenham will meet Burnley and Leicester will go up against Brighton in additional clashes of top-flight sides, while Liverpool are set to play against Preston.

Manchester United were the notable absentees, having been eliminated by the Hammers in the third round.

Carabao Cup fourth round draw results

Beyond the match-ups involving Premier League sides, Sunderland will be one to watch as the lone remaining League One outfit in the tournament.

The Black Cats have avoided a top-flight opponent in the fourth round by drawing QPR.

How have Premier League teams fared in the competition?

Most of the big clubs have survived their first tests, with the exception being Man Utd. However, there were scares for several favoured squads, as Man City fell behind against Wycombe early before winnning 6-1, while Chelsea and Tottenham required penalties to advance.

West Ham try to end City streak

The Hammers will look to put an end to Pep Guardiola's run of four straight Carabao Cup title when they square up with City on the week of October 25.

Further reading

Achraf Hakimi scored a brace that steered Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-1 win over Metz in a Ligue 1 outing on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old stood out for the visitors at the Stade Saint-Symphorien with his attacking and defensive contributions.

In the absence of Lionel Messi who was not included in the matchday squad, Hakimi opened the scoring for PSG in the fifth minute but it was cancelled out by Mali's Boubakar Kouyate in the 39th minute.

Late in the game, Hakimi ensured the Parisians' winning streak in the French top-flight was intact by stretching it to seven matches with his match-winning goal in the stoppage time, courtesy of an assist from Neymar.

Since his permanent signing from Inter Milan in July, Hakimi has contributed three goals and two assists in seven league appearances for Mauricio Pochettino’s team.

The former Real Madrid star played from start to finish for PSG while Senegal duo Idrissa Gueye and Abdou Diallo watched as unused substitutes.

Metz, however, had a host of African stars on parade including Algeria goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja, four Senegal players Pape Matar Sarr, Papa Ndiaga Yade, Ibrahima Niane and Mamadou Gueye.

They were dealt a blow in the 91st minute after Tunisia defender Dylan Bronn was given marching orders for a second yellow card.

PSG remain at the top of the Ligue 1 table with 21 points from seven games while Metz dropped to the bottom with just three points after the same number of matches.

At the end of the match, Hakimi

“I'm very happy to have been able to help the team with the goals,” Hakimi told Canal +.

“I'm proud of them and we're going to celebrate. Nervousness? These things happen. Everyone defends his colours, we succeeded in getting the 3 points, we fought and we won.

“Why was it difficult? They played defensively. We had control of the game, we were quiet, we just didn't manage to score the chances we had. but as I said, we fought until the end. Mental? Yes, we have a competitive spirit. We have to take advantage of this victory.”

Ademola Lookman opened his goal account for Leicester City and Kelechi Iheanacho sealed their 2-0 victory over Millwall in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Three days after seeing his goal disallowed in a Premier League defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, the RB Leipzig loanee finally got his breakthrough at the Den.

Lookman and Iheanacho led the Foxes' attack against the Championship club on Wednesday and they repaid Brendan Rodgers' faith in them with a goal each.

After struggling to break Millwall's defence before half-time, Lookman broke the deadlock for Leicester City five minutes into the second 45 minutes.

A few minutes later, the Nigerian descent was replaced by Zambia's Patson Daka who was unlucky with his two shots as they were not on target.

Towards the end of the encounter, Iheanacho capped his man-of-the-match performance with the goal that sealed the visitors’ passage to the next round of the cup competition in the 88th minute.

The Super Eagles striker had the most shots on target for the Foxes (2) in the game and the late effort was his second goal of the season after he powered them to a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield, earlier this season.

Iheanacho played the entire duration alongside his compatriot Wilfred Ndidi and Ghana's Dan Amartey while DR Congo striker Benik Afobe was introduced as a 72nd-minute substitute for Millwall.

The defeat compounded Millwall's woes as it stretched their winless streak to four matches as their last victory dates back to August 28 (2-1 vs. Blackpool).

Leicester City, on the other hand, bounced back to winning ways after failing to win their last three matches and their last taste of a win was also on August 28, in a Premier League match against Norwich City.

While they await their next opponent in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, Brendan Rodgers’ men will shift attention to Saturday’s Premier League fixture when they host Burnley at the King Power Stadium.

They currently sit 12th in the league table with six points after five matches.

AmaZulu FC head coach Benni McCarthy says there is no point in moaning following their draw against Lamontville Golden Arrows on Wednesday afternoon.

Usuthu came back to hold Abafana Bes'thende in the KwaZulu-Natal Derby clash which ended in a 2-2 draw with Xola Mlambo and Bongi Ntuli scoring for McCarthy's side at Sugar Ray Stadium.

The 43-year-old tactician was pleased with how the KwaZulu-Natal giants started the match with Mlambo having handed the visitors the lead six minutes before the half-hour mark. 

"It was a very entertaining game. But I think it was an opportunity missed for us," McCarthy told the club's media department. 

"We played extremely well. We started the game really well with a high tempo. Good chances were created. ​We hit the target and we also looked like a team that was always looking like it was going to score."

Sifiso Mlungwana shone between the sticks for Arrows as the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper made several saves to keep Usuthu at bay. 

"Unfortunately, it was one of those days where every shot or long ball landed perfectly where the goalkeeper was positioned," Mccarthy continued. 

"He was able to make a save with his legs or fingers to prevent us from extending our lead. I really liked what I saw from the team - the mentality, the work ethic."

"Some times when we had our backs against the wall, we never gave up. We continued to dig in there and we turned the game around."

McCarthy stated that they need to accept the result and he believes there are positives which they can take into Saturday's clash with Baroka FC as they look to secure their first win of the season. 

"Overall, we cannot moan or complain too much about getting a point against a team that started the league really well. Getting a point is better than getting a loss and we got two goals," he said.

"So, that is exciting, that is a positive sign. We are moving in the right direction and the team is slowly getting there, getting to our level best.

"We can build from this game coming into this game against Baroka, if we can get a win there it will set us up."

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer explained why he didn't include Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad for Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash with West Ham.

Ronaldo was not in the 18 at Old Trafford, with Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho selected to lead the attack.

Before the match, Solskjaer explained Ronaldo's absence was part of several changes with the hopes of keeping players fresh.

What was said?

Solskjaer told Sky Sports: "We decided more or less before Sunday [to make changes]. We need more players to get match fit. Alex Telles is back and has been training for a week. It will be a long season.

"Cristiano Ronaldo has come in and made a difference already, he wants to play as much as possible but I don't think it is possible.

"If you are going to be successful at the end, you need the whole squad and minutes to be shared out. A risk making so many changes but we have played some games behind closed doors and hopefully we find the rhythm."

Ronaldo's season so far

The Portuguese star has scored four goals in just three games since making the move back to Old Trafford this summer. Three of those goals have come in just two Premier League appearances, with the other being a Champions League goal against Young Boys.

Up next for Man Utd is a clash with Aston Villa this weekend before they take on Villarreal in the Champions League.

Further reading

Ghana winger Kamaldeen Sulemana registered a double for Stade Rennes to ensure an emphatic 6-0 home victory over Clermont Foot in the French Ligue 1 on Wednesday.

The attacker put up what deserves to be a Man of the Match performance at Roazhon Park to help seal three points in the matchday seven fixture.

It has taken his goal tally to three in seven games for the club following his summer move from Danish outfit Nordsjaelland.

The win has sent Rennes to 11th on the league table, just one point and one spot below their matchday opponents.

Jonas Martin broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 32nd minute, heading home from Benjamin Bourigeaud’s cross after a corner routine.

The latter was again at the thick of affairs for their second goal four minutes later, playing through Martin Terrier, whose low first-time shot went through the legs of goalkeeper Arthur Desmas.

In the second half, Kamaldeen netted his first goal of the day from close range, before making it 4-0 with another close-range effort, having pounced on a loose ball inside the box.

Gaetan Laborde then headed into the net to increase the hosts’ lead before Birger Meling set up Flavien Tait to make it 6-0 on 77 minutes.

Up next for Kamaldeen and Rennes in Ligue 1 are Bordeaux on matchday eight.

The Ghanaian joined The Red and Blacks in a five-year deal in July, shunning interest from Ajax, Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.

His big move came on the back of a fine season for Nordsjaelland in the Danish elite division where he netted 10 times in 29 matches.

He made his Rennes debut on the opening day of the new term, announcing his presence in style with a sublime finish in a 1-1 draw with Lens.

A full Ghana international, the 21-year-old is expected to be named in the Black Stars squad for their 2022 World Cup qualifying double-header against Zimbabwe next month.

Earlier this month, he was in action to help the West Africans to a 1-0 home victory over Ethiopia on the opening day of the series but was missing from the rest of the squad when the Stars traveled for their matchday two clash with South Africa due to Covid-19-induced restrictions.

Mamelodi Sundowns co-head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has revealed Orlando Pirates' weaknesses which they can exploit on Saturday.

Masandawana will travel to Orlando Stadium where they are scheduled to take on the Buccaneers in a PSL encounter between two teams that are still undefeated in the league this term.

Mngqithi stated that Pirates deserve some respect with the Buccaneers having secured an impressive 3-1 over Chippa United in Gqeberha last weekend. 

“The most important thing when you come to matches like this is to always have a fair share of humility, and respect,” Mngqithi told the club’s media department.

“No room for arrogance, they have done well in their last few matches. But we are facing a very good team that is on form, that has just played a very good game against Chippa, showed their quality."

The 2009 MTN8 title-winning coach lauded Pirates as one of the strongest teams in the country on transition, but he explained that it can also be one of the Soweto giants' weaknesses. 

“So we have to give it the respect it requires, and do our work, profiling them properly, do our analysis and see which areas can we capitalise on, which areas are they strong on, and make sure that we deal with that," he continued. 

“And we know Pirates on transition has always been one of the strongest teams in the country. But be that as it may, that also becomes a very big weakness on their side."

The 50-year-old also pointed out how the Buccaneers have conceded four goals in their first five competitive matches this term.

"They also not very good with rest defence, they are open sometimes when they lose possession of the ball," he added. 

"So it’s important to have that proper balance of dealing with their transitions and good counter-pressing and also, maybe some good rest defence. 

"But also ready to counter the counter, because we might get something in that space.”

Sundowns defeated Pirates three times last season including the Nedbank Cup quarter-final clash which Masandawana won 4-1 in Pretoria. 

Ghana captain Andre Ayew scored his second goal for Al Sadd in their 4-2 win over Al Rayyan in the Qatari Stars League on Wednesday.

In his third game for The Boss, the attacker continued his good start to life for his new club with his second straight strike to help secure three points in the matchday three away fixture.

It was his third game for the defending league champions, having joined on a free transfer in July following his departure from English second-tier fold Swansea City.

The win sees Al Sadd stand joint-top of the league table with nine maximum points.

Hassan Al Heidos opened the scoring for the away side in the fourth minute, before Algeria striker Baghdad Bounedjah doubled the lead in the 21st minute.

Three minutes later, Ayew made it 3-0, shooting from inside the box after a neat exchange of passes with his man.

On the stroke of half-time, the hosts pulled a goal back through Hashim Ali to restore some hope heading into the interval.

Back from the break, Abdelaziz Hatem scored again for Al Rayyan to make it 3-2, sending a scare across the Al Sadd fraternity.

The visitors, however, restored their two-goal lead through Akram Afif in what was the last goal of the game.

All Sadd will hope to make it four wins on the spin when they host Al Shamal in their next game.

Ayew’s scoring form will be a delight to Ghana fans as the 2022 World Cup qualifiers return next month.

After a topsy-turvy start to the campaign, the Black Stars are set to take on Zimbabwe in back-to-back games with hopes of reclaiming top spot in Group G.

The 31-year-old drew a blank as the West Africans beat Ethiopia 1-0 on the opening matchday to go top of the table.

On their first away trip, the Black Stars failed to secure any points as they were handed a 1-0 defeat by South Africa, a result which drew the team from top spot to third on the log.

Diogo Dalot has explained the meaning behind his new goal celebration, which sees the Manchester United defender put his fingers to his neck as if to check his own pulse.

The Portugutese star marked his goal in a pre-season friendly win over Everton by doing the celebration, which he says stems from games of Uno with his Portugal team-mates.

Bruno Fernandes is among the players that have played the game with Dalot, who hopes to do a group celebration with his international team-mates at some point soon.

What was said?

"Ah yes ‘check the pulse’!" he told United Review, the club's official matchday programme. "It’s a funny thing. I had a couple of friends in the national team and we were playing Uno and, when we are putting down the +4 cards, everybody was like this [points to neck] because we didn’t have any more +4 cards.

“So it was a funny thing and, after that, we thought it could be a group celebration if we scored in the national team, which hasn’t happened yet, but after that, we decided that every time one of us scored, we would do it. It’s an original thing, it’s not something I’ve seen before and it’s a good one!  I will definitely do it for my next goal!"

Dalot's season so far

The 22-year-old defender has featured twice so far this season, recently coming off the bench in the Champions League loss to Young Boys after Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off with a straight red card.

Dalot looks set to start for Man Utd in their next Champions League match due to Wan-Bissaka's suspension for the home match against Villarreal.

Before that, Man Utd are set to face West Ham on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup before hosting Aston Villa on Saturday in the Premier League.

Further reading

UEFA have "serious concerns" over FIFA's proposal for a biennial World Cup, with the federation saying those proposing the plan have excluded stakeholders from discussions over the proposed schedule.

FIFA has proposed a dramatic change to world football that would see the World Cup held every two years, with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin already stating that Europe could boycott the World Cup if the change goes ahead.

UEFA have pointed to the impact such changes could have on club football, players and other international competitions like the Euros, Olympics and Women's World Cup, relaying what they see as "real dangers" that would arise from the potential changes.

What did UEFA say?

"UEFA is disappointed with the methodology adopted," UEFA said in a statement, "which has so far led to radical reform projects being communicated and openly promoted before having been given, together with other stakeholders, the chance to participate in any consultation meeting.

“There are real dangers associated with this plan: the dilution of the value of the No 1 world football event, whose quadrennial occurrence gives it a mystique that generations of fans have grown up with.

"The erosion of sporting opportunities for the weaker national teams by replacing regular matches with final tournaments; the risk to sustainability for players, forced to engage in summer high intensity competitions every year instead of longer recuperation breaks in alternate years.

"These are just some of the serious concerns that the FIFA proposal provokes at first glance and they cannot be dispelled simply with unsubstantiated promotional slogans on the supposed benefits of a thicker calendar for final tournaments.

"UEFA is of the opinion that the future of the international calendar should be the subject of genuine consultation and exchange between FIFA, the confederations and key stakeholders of competitions.

"Kicking off with an open discussion on perceived problems and considering a range of solutions that will be identified in the course of the debate, taking into account the interest of the game and the legitimate point of view of the different parties. 

"In this phase, the respect for a consultation process with the stakeholders - which should be unbiased - would suggest abstaining from promotional campaigns of unilaterally pre-determined concepts that nobody has been given the possibility to see in detail and which have wide-ranging, often unexpected, effects.

"On 14 September, UEFA and its 55 member associations asked FIFA to organise a special meeting with them to be able to voice their concerns on the impact of such plans. UEFA and its 55 member associations have to date not yet received a reply from FIFA on this request."

What have others said?

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has been among the critics of the proposed plan, which has been supported by Arsene Wenger and a number of ex-players in recent weeks.

Klopp said that he believes that player welfare continues to be an afterthought to the game's powerbrokers as fixture congestion continues to pile up.

Sergio Busquets has also warned against adding more competitions, saying there will come a point when players will "explode" from burnout.

England boss Gareth Southgate meanwhile says he has met with Wenger to discuss the proposal and is generally open to it while acknowledging that scheduing would need to be changed for a biennial World Cup to work.

Further reading

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has lauded “outstanding” Ademola Lookman for his display in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion, claiming his “cleverness and brightness” was good.

With the reigning English FA Cup champions trailing by a lone goal at the Falmer Stadium, the former England youth international of Nigerian descent was introduced for James Maddison before the commencement of the second half.

His presence brought life into the Foxes’ attack as they created several scoring opportunities.

Although Leicester crumbled to their third league defeat of the 2021-22 campaign, the Northern Irishman was keen to praise the contribution of the former Everton star.

"Lookman was outstanding. He gave us exactly what we needed,” Rodgers told Leicester City website.

“He was playing inside, but coming wide and combining with Ricky. Just his cleverness and brightness in the game was so good. I was pleased with that.

"It’s just the case of Ade coming in and getting used to how we play and you can see, day on day, game on game, he’s starting to make an impact. He’s certainly one we’ll consider to start during the week."

Regardless of the loss, Rodgers picked some positives – especially the improved second-half performance and the impact made by the substitutes.

"I thought we actually started the game well, in terms of control," he continued.

"We had good positions on the field, without ever really threatening the goal, but I think we arrived into good areas and pushed them back.

"That was the first 20-25 minutes, then I felt we started playing into areas where they would want us to go. We started to go central too early and they were able to break away from that. In the second half, we needed a little more penetration.

"We went back to putting an actual winger on Ade, who I thought was outstanding when he came into the game. Obviously, we gave away a free-kick, which we could defend better.

"That was early on in the second half, but from that moment on, we played with that personality that we need to see in the team and, by the end of the game, we were so unlucky to not pick up at least a point from it.

"The first goal knocked us. We didn’t quite find a rhythm so we addressed it at half-time and I felt, in the second half, we were so much better in the speed of our game, the balance of the team, and we should have got something.”

Leicester City are guests of Millwall in Wednesday’s League Cup fixture.