A second half goal from Brazilian winger Lucas Moura gave 10-man Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win, their first in a Ligue 1 opener since their new Qatari owners took over in 2011, at Lille on Friday.
The three-time Ligue 1 champions were a player down after half an hour after midfielder Adrien Rabiot was given his marching orders for two yellow cards in the space of five minutes.
Rabiot picked up the first on 22 minutes for a dangerous tackle on Lille midfielder Florent Balmont, and minutes later was sent off by referee Fredy Fautrel for a foul on defender Sebastian Corchia.
Rabiot, 20, who had a spat with Zlatan Ibrahimovic during a friendly against Chelsea in July, had been favoured by Laurent Blanc over Thiago Motta despite several run-ins with the coach at the end of last season.
“It’s a fact of the game,” said Blanc of Rabiot’s expulsion.
“The first card was perhaps a little severe, the second foul was an error of youth: when you have a yellow card you don’t get a second.
“The second was very prejudicial for the team. But perhaps it was that which galvanised us. But I prefer playing eleven.”
LIGUE 1 SEASON PREVIEW: PSG's Qatari money helps propel French football back into the big time
The Parisians had been struggling to contain Lille, who finished eighth last season and were playing their first competitive match under new coach Herve Renard.
Argentine playmaker Javier Pastore filled in for injured Swede Ibrahimovic while awaiting the availability of new Argentinian recruit Angel Di Maria.
PSG goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, who arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, was in goal at the expense of Italian Salvatore Sirigu.
But the misfortune of Rabiot, who has been no stranger to controversy, spurred Blanc’s side into action.
After Rabiot’s expulsion, Lille’s Eric Bauthéac stepped up but failed to convert the resulting free kick which David Luiz and Trapp managed to contain.
Lucas, who scored seven Ligue 1 goals last season, finally got the breakthrough after 57 minutes to give PSG their first away win in a season opener in 19 years.
At the heart of the action, Lucas passed to Edinson Cavani who pushed on to Blaise Matuidi, returning the ball to Lucas for a brilliant solo run through the Lille defence and past goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama into an empty net.
“I’m very happy with my goal, it was good for the club and for my confidence,” Lucas said. “We’re going to be even better with Di Maria who is an exceptional player.”
Despite their numerical inferiority, the Parisians were never really worried by Lille.
“I feel a great sense of frustration,” Renard said.
“We can have a lot of regrets. Everything wasn’t perfect but with a bit more determination, even if there was already quite a lot, and a bit of daring, we could have got a draw.
“You can’t cause your rivals problems when you’re afraid.
“It wasn’t PSG it was a PSG at 10. Of course they have quality players, they are the French champions, but if they found themselves at 10 it was because of our good pressing. We had a great opportunity.”
For Lille it was their first loss of a season-opener since 2009.
The capital club are bidding for their fourth straight Ligue 1 title this season having won every domestic trophy available last season.
They have already won silverware at the start of this campaign, beating Lyon 2-0 in last weekend’s Champions Trophy in Montreal.
“Starting the championship in these circumstances with three points at Lille, it’s very good,” said Blanc, whose side last won a season-opener in 2010.
“It bodes well for what’s to come. For some time now, as a group, we’ve been getting better and better. And if you add that we had no injuries this evening it’s really a very good night.”
The remainder of the Ligue 1 matches will be played on Saturday and Sunday with last season’s runners-up Lyon opening their campaign against Lorient at the Stade de Gerland.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Pros%20and%20cons%20of%20BNPL
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Company%20profile
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Eyasses squad
Charlie Preston (captain) – goal shooter/ goalkeeper (Dubai College)
Arushi Holt (vice-captain) – wing defence / centre (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Olivia Petricola (vice-captain) – centre / wing attack (Dubai English Speaking College)
Isabel Affley – goalkeeper / goal defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Jemma Eley – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Alana Farrell-Morton – centre / wing / defence / wing attack (Nord Anglia International School)
Molly Fuller – goal attack / wing attack (Dubai College)
Caitlin Gowdy – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai English Speaking College)
Noorulain Hussain – goal defence / wing defence (Dubai College)
Zahra Hussain-Gillani – goal defence / goalkeeper (British School Al Khubairat)
Claire Janssen – goal shooter / goal attack (Jumeriah English Speaking School)
Eliza Petricola – wing attack / centre (Dubai English Speaking College)
THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
Walls
Louis Tomlinson
3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
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The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
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if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
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T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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