Real Madrid lifts the Champions League, La Rochelle the Champions Cup, Pérez wins in Monaco … What to remember from the sports weekend

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Sports fans were served on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May. This very busy weekend saw Real Madrid lift a fourteenth Champions League at the Stade de France. On the Tricolore side, it was rugby that animated the hearts of the supporters with the victories of Lyon in the Challenge Cup and La Rochelle in the Champions Cup. The engines also roared on two legendary circuits, Mugello for MotoGP and Monaco for Formula 1. Without forgetting implicitly throughout the weekend Roland-Garros, where the favorites Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz held their rank.

Champions League: Real Madrid offers its “DecimoCourtois”

This club seems unsinkable. After being virtually eliminated in the round of 16, quarters and semi-finals, Real Madrid offered their fourteenth Champions League on Saturday against Liverpool (1-0). Dominated, the Merengues held on against the Reds who stumbled on Thibaut Courtois, author of nine saves and logically elected man of the match.

In the other surface, the attackers of Carlo Ancelotti knew how to show a remarkable efficiency. On a missed strike from Federico Valverde, Vinicius Jr. pushed the ball into the back of the net midway through the second half. An opportunistic goal but which allows the White House to increase its victory record in C1. With 14 titles, the people of Madrid have twice as many trophies as AC Milan, the second most successful club in the competition.

A final unfortunately marked by extra-sporting incidents linked to the organization around the Stade de France, which delayed the kick-off by more than half an hour. UEFA and the Minister of the Interior have denounced English supporters holding counterfeit tickets while some British journalists and spectators present on the spot question the maintenance of order by the French police.

Champions Cup: first crown for La Rochelle

A victory after 80 minutes. The Rochelais believed in it until the end, Saturday against Leinster at the Vélodrome stadium in Marseille to win 24-21. A coronation obtained thanks to a try scored in the 79th minute by Arthur Retière, who delivered the Yellow and Black supporters. Beaten in the final last year by Toulouse, the Maritimes have long believed that the greatest of European cups was once again going to escape them.

Ronan O’Gara’s players therefore go down in history with a first Champions Cup trophy brought back to Charente-Maritime. European cups that have smiled on the French this year, with Lyon’s victory the day before in the Challenge Cup in a Franco-French final against Toulon (24-21), already at the Vélodrome stadium. A first continental title for the LOU.

Monaco Grand Prix: Pérez winner, Leclerc big loser

Monaco is sometimes ruthless towards pilots and their minds. This was the case this year, with a Grand Prix first postponed by more than an hour due to showers in the principality. Once launched behind the safety car (no start on the grid), the twenty single-seaters fought a difficult battle on a circuit not conducive to overtaking.

The difference was therefore made in the pits, on the stops and the strategies. In this little game, Red Bull outclassed Ferrari. Charles Leclerc, who started in pole position and was the race leader before the pit stop, found himself at the foot of the podium, behind Max Verstappen. The lead was left to Sergio Pérez ahead of Carlos Sainz and the standings remained unchanged despite Mick Schumacher’s violent accident, which caused a red flag. In the world championship, defending champion Max Verstappen now has a nine-point lead over the stage local. Pérez is back in the dance six points behind Leclerc.

Earlier in the day, another legendary motorsport circuit was the scene of an afternoon of racing. On Mugello, in MotoGP, Francesco Bagnaia, at home, won ahead of Frenchman Fabio Quartararo and Spaniard Aleix Espargaro. A result that allows the Habs to widen the gap in the world championship standings. He now has an eight point lead over the third of the day and 28 over Enea Bastianini who did not finish the Grand Prix.

Giro: first big lap for Hindley, Starts in cyclamen

A perfect weekend for Jai Hindley. The Australian won the Giro d’Italia after a demonstration on the last mountain stage on Saturday before securing the final time trial on Sunday. The Bora-Hansgrohe rider thus wins his first grand tour after failing in the final stage in 2020, already on the Giro.

A surprise victory as Richard Carapaz was expected in pink in Verona. But the Ecuadorian, leader for six stages, cracked on Saturday in the final climb to Marmolada. He finally finished 1’18 from Jai Hindley. In the tricolor clan, the three victories of Arnaud Démare and his cyclamen jersey in the points classification contrast with the heartbreaking abandonment of Romain Bardet, announced as one of the favorites before the start.

Ligue 1 play-offs: the Greens relegated to chaos, Auxerre finds the elite

210 minutes were not enough to decide between Saint-Étienne and Auxerre in the promotion-relegation play-offs in Ligue 1. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the two teams were neutralized by the same score on Sunday. The Burgundians thought they had done the hardest part after Hamza Sakhi’s opener after returning from the locker room. It was without counting on the equalizer of Mahdi Camara after a header from Enzo Crivelli.

The decision was therefore made on penalties. And it was Birama Touré who delivered his own after a superb save from Donovan Léon at the start of the session. Auxerre therefore returns to Ligue 1 ten years after its relegation. The end of the match was marked by the invasion of the pitch by embittered Saint-Etienne supporters, who fired pyrotechnic devices in the direction of the presidential stand and the players’ tunnel. Saint-Étienne will be in Ligue 2 next year and should start the season without their fans.


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