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Big-spending Lyon falls PSG, Marseille open season with victories
Posted: Saturday July 31, 1999 05:17 PM
PARIS (AP) -- French giants Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Marseille got winning starts to their championship campaigns on Saturday, but big-spending Lyon crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat at home to Montpellier. Looking to shake off a year of crises, PSG struggled to a 1-0 win against a mediocre Troyes team that was reduced to ten men for nearly half of the match. In front of nearly 46,000 fans, PSG carried on from where it left off last season with a display full of misplaced passes and desperate attacks in front of a stadium full of howling spectators. But it got a lucky break after an hour when Laurent Robert, a 45 million franc (US$7.5 million) summer signing from Montpellier, hit a long-range free kick that was deflected off Troyes' defensive wall into the net. PSG always lacked fluency against its newly promoted rival but still hit the woodwork three times. In the 27th minute, Bruno Rodriguez rounded the goalkeeper but failed to finish, early in the second half Robert hit the crossbar direct from a corner, and in the 72nd minute Mickael Madar struck the bar with only the goalkeeper to beat. Troyes' Frederic Arpinon was sent off for an innocuous challenge on PSG's Nicolas Laspalles in the 52nd minute. Marseille, last season's runnerup, had no trouble downing another newly promoted team, Sedan, at the Stade Velodrome. Ibrahima Bakayoko scored his first goal since signing from Everton with a 26th minute strike. Christophe Dugarry made it 2-0 just before the break, and Jamel Belmadi completed the easy win in second-half injury time. The shock of the night came at Lyon, where Montpellier scored a 2-1 win. Patrice Loko, bought from Lorient during the close season, opened the scoring for the visitors in the 24th minute and Cedric Barbosa scored a second for Montpellier in the 73rd minute. Tony Vairelles scored a late consolation for the home team. Lyon spent more than 220 million francs (US$36 million) on Sonny Anderson, Vairelles and Pierre Laigle during the summer break. French cup winner Nantes also started on the right track with a 1-0 win at home to Le Havre. In other matches: Auxerre 2, Nancy 1; Metz 0, Rennes 0; Strasbourg 1, Lens 0. In Friday's matches, defending champion Bordeaux scored two late goals to beat Bastia 3-2, and newly promoted Saint-Etienne held Monaco, much-fancied to win the title, to a 2-2 draw in Monte Carlo.
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