Paris St Germain drew for a third successive Ligue 1 game as the leaders were held 2-2 by Reims at the Parc des Princes.
Having seen Marshall Munetsi’s seventh-minute finish give the visitors a surprise lead, a much-changed PSG equalised 10 minutes later through a Yunis Abdelhamid own goal before Goncalo Ramos put them in front another two minutes on from that.
But Will Still’s Reims were back on level terms late in the first half thanks to Oumar Diakite, and with Kylian Mbappe’s attempts to produce a winner after coming off the bench proving unsuccessful, a point was the outcome for Luis Enrique’s side once again, having drawn 1-1 with Rennes and 0-0 at Monaco in their previous two league outings.
It sees PSG go 10 points clear at the top of the table with 11 games remaining, with second-placed Brest having been beaten 1-0 at Lens on Saturday.
Mbappe – scorer of a brace in Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League win at Real Sociedad – dropping to the bench, along with the likes Ousmane Dembele and Gianluigi Donnarumma, was among six changes Enrique opted to make to his starting line-up from that game.
After Danilo headed into Reims’ side-netting, there was an early jolt for the champions as Achraf Hakimi was punished for a mistake, being dispossessed in his own area by Diakite, who teed up a simple finish for Munetsi.
PSG responded with Ramos bringing a save out of Yehvann Diouf and Hakimi and the Portugal forward seeing efforts deflect wide, before drawing level when Reims captain Abdelhamid, under pressure from Ramos, diverted a corner into his own net.
Ramos then swiftly put them ahead with a deflected shot after the ball fell to him in the box when Valentin Atangana attempted to intercept a cross.
Reims did not look disheartened by the quick turnaround and after Munetsi and Teddy Teuma struck off-target for the visitors, either side of Diouf saving a Hakimi shot, they were level again on 45 minutes when Diakite latched on to Emmanuel Agbadou’s through-ball and sent a sidefooted effort past Keylor Navas and in off the post.
Further chances for the away side after the break saw Agbadou head over from close range and a Mohamed Daramy shot saved by Navas, before Diouf parried Lee Kang-in’s effort at the other end.
With 17 minutes of normal time remaining, Enrique brought on Mbappe and Dembele, and the former saw a low shot from outside the box comfortably saved by Diouf soon after.
Mbappe subsequently put a curler just wide of the top corner, and had another strike dealt with by Diouf in the closing stages as PSG’s sequence of draws extended.
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
Rangnick turns down Bayern to stay in Austria job
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he will remain in charge of Austria's national team beyond Euro 2024, having turned down Bayern Munich's interest.
Rangnick confirmed last week that Bayern had been in touch regarding the possibility of him taking over ahead of next season.
Bayern are aiming to fill an impending void, with current coach Thomas Tuchel set to leave the club at the end of the campaign.
But Rangnick has now confirmed he will be staying put, though he insisted he did not "reject" Bayern.
"I am national team coach of Austria with all my heart," he said in a statement released by the Austrian Football Association (OFB).
"This task brings me a lot of joy and I am determined to continue down the road we have started.
"I want to clearly stress that this is not a rejection of Bayern Munich but rather a decision for my team and our common goals."
"We are fully focused on the Euro. We will do everything we can to go far."
There have been calls from some Bayern fans for Tuchel to stay in charge, with some going as far as to sign a petition.
Bayern wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso as Tuchel's successor, but the former midfielder has elected to stay with Bayer Leverkusen.
While Leverkusen stormed to the Bundesliga title to end Bayern's 11-year dominance of the competition, Tuchel's team can still salvage silverware in the form of the Champions League.
Bayern head into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Real Madrid on the back of a 2-2 draw in Munich in Tuesday's first leg.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
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