Paris Saint-Germain, which regained the top spot in the French Football League, seeks to continue its progress when it visits Le Havre, on Friday, in the ninth stage, in a match schedule that was affected by the planned demonstrations in France.
Rennes, which is in second place, is 16 points behind, just one point behind the Parisians, and on the same day will visit Nice in an attempt to continue pursuing the team of Spanish coach Luis Enrique, while also seeking to expand the gap over Lille and Monaco, which are in third and fourth places with 15 points each.
It is true that Saint-Germain did not start the season in the best way, but the momentum it achieved during October is impressive. After its victories over England's Manchester City and Spain's Barcelona in the Champions League, the continent's champion has been imposing its dominance over the French league competitions for several weeks, achieving 5 consecutive victories.
Despite the absence of Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who will be away for several months due to a torn ligament in his right knee that he suffered during the match against the Catalan team, in addition to Ousmane Dembélé, Brazilian Marquinhos, and Portuguese Nuno Mendes also due to injury, Saint-Germain has a substitute bench capable of compensation.
Belgian Mika Godets, who scored his first goal for the Parisian club after coming on as a substitute against Lyon, provided an indication that the absence of the Georgian player may not have much impact, at least locally.
Against Le Havre, the confrontation seems completely unequal, as the Normandy team is at the bottom of the standings after 4 consecutive defeats, which raises concerns about its future unless it causes a sudden uprising, which seems very unlikely.
Lance, seventh with 13 points, has regained much of his luster recently. After a faltering start in the French League and suffering in the Champions League, its victory over Paris FC, the third in a row in the league, confirmed its return to the right track.
Jannik Kozak's players are playing the match in conditions that suggest a heated confrontation, as is always the case in the Northern derby. On the other hand, Lille settled for two consecutive draws in the league, the last of which was against Monaco, which were relatively disappointing results.
Lille's performance in the Champions League was not better, after suffering 3 defeats in 3 matches, which makes the team urgently need a reference match to relaunch its season.
Just a few weeks ago, it seemed that Marseille was headed for a very difficult season in the league. If his European campaign confirmed his problems after 3 defeats in 3 matches in the European League (Europa League), he succeeded in rising locally.
But its victory over Le Havre was not convincing, as it conceded 3 goals within a quarter of an hour after leading 4-0, ending the match with a 4-3 victory, which left a negative impression on coach Bruno Genesio, who expressed his dissatisfaction with the performance of some players.
Against Toulouse, which is in 11th place with 10 points, and which is still searching for its identity this season, Marseille has a good opportunity to approach the advanced positions, a scenario that its supporters could not have imagined just one month ago.
Paris FC, sixth with 14 points, is one of the most notable surprises in the league this season. It is true that English coach Liam Rosner's team lost to Lens 2-1, and missed the opportunity to temporarily take the lead, but it is no longer the team that everyone knew last season.
The capital team has become respected and arouses caution among its competitors.
Monaco, which is two points behind Paris Saint-Germain, will have to take this match seriously, which will be held at Stade Jean Point, as Paris FC has only lost twice in the last 10 matches it has played there.
As for Lyon, which is in fifth place, 3 points behind Paris Saint-Germain, it will face Angers on Sunday, without a wide margin for error if it wants to continue competing with the top teams.
Cadillac driver Sergio Perez said on Thursday that his recently announced contract extension will be his last in the Formula 1 World Championship, as the Mexican driver prepares to celebrate his 300th Grand Prix participation in front of his local fans on Sunday.
Perez (36 years old), who returned to the sport this season after being absent for one year following his departure from Red Bull at the end of 2024, confirmed that his children are the main reason behind his decision to limit himself to three more years in Formula 1.
Perez added to reporters: “I love this work and it is my passion, and I can easily stay for another ten years because I really enjoy what I do.”
He continued: “But I am also approaching an age when my children, who represent the most important thing in my life, will reach important stages in their lives, and I want to spend more time with them. “I am certain that these last three years will be my last decade.”
Rather than seeking a driver's seat that might provide instant success, Perez emphasized that the opportunity to help build a team from scratch was the most exciting challenge of his final years in the sport.
He said: “There is nothing that motivates me more at this moment than creating something new with an important brand like Cadillac.”
The American team suffered in its first season, as it occupies last place in the constructors’ championship standings without any point after 18 rounds.
Perez confirmed that he is excited to help transform the team's course in the coming months, but he is less optimistic about its chances of winning the first point in its race on home soil and among its fans, noting that they "need a miracle."
Despite Cadillac's difficulties, the Mexican driver remains immensely popular in his country. Nearly 100,000 fans gathered on Wednesday for a parade on Mexico City's main street, Paseo de la Reforma, while thousands more are expected to fill the Autodromo Ermans Rodriguez with noise and color during the race on Sunday.
“It is amazing to reach 300 races, and even more amazing for this to happen in Mexico,” Perez said. “When you look at the results, we are the last team, but the enthusiasm here is similar to what it was when I was competing for victory.”
Dejan Kulusevski, the English football player for Tottenham Hotspur, revealed the decisive factor that paved the way for his return to the field after an absence of 526 days due to a knee injury.
Kulusevski ended a 17-month absence by participating as a substitute in the match that ended with his team’s 3-1 victory over Coventry City on October 19 in the English Premier League championship, then he followed it with another participation as a substitute in the match that ended in a victory over Chelsea last Saturday.
This remarkable return comes after Kulusevski suffered a patella injury in his right knee during Tottenham's 0-2 loss to Crystal Palace at the end of the 2024-2025 season. He had fears that his football career would end, especially after a series of setbacks that kept him out of the field throughout the entire last season.
In statements to the “Spurs Play” platform before facing Crystal Palace again in the English Premier League, on Saturday, Kulusevski said: “A year and a few months passed, and I was still unable to climb the stairs normally like everyone else.”
The Swedish player added in his statements, which were reported by the British news agency (PA Media): “I had to return to playing football, so I decided in my heart not to give up, even though I sometimes thought: What will I do if things do not work out?”
Kulusevski explained: “I went to a physiotherapist in Sweden, and he was able to make a change in my nervous system, which made things seem completely different. When I started doing the exercises, I wondered: I didn't feel any pain yesterday, it was painful, so why don't I feel pain today?
He continued: “I continued performing the following exercises and did not feel any pain either, so I entered the room where my wife was and said to her: (It is over, we will succeed in this) and from that moment, things began to improve.”
“There was still some pain, but it was different,” Kulusevski noted. I was now able to control my legs, and the hard work of that summer began. “I started playing football, and my condition was improving day after day.”
He added: “Although I was suffering from limp and other things, the situation has become completely different from what it was before.”
In a comprehensive interview, Kulusevski hinted that watching Tottenham players celebrate winning the Europa League title on an open-air bus “was probably the most difficult moment of this trip,” because he was not even able to walk to go to the bathroom at the time.
The former Italian Juventus winger also revealed that he began the qualification phase based on the recommendation of his former colleague in the Swedish national team, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and praised the “exceptional coach” Roberto De Zerbe.
“Yes, it's an amazing story,” Kulusevski said. I began to understand how to live with this situation, how to deal with it, and how to allocate an hour every evening before bed to do stretching exercises. “I started to realize how I could help improve my condition.”
He added: “I know that I am capable of competing, and I know this because I made a great effort. "I'm not afraid. I've worked hard all year, so I know I'll be ready to play, and my knee is strong."
Kulusevski concluded his speech by saying: “I have known Roberto for some time. He is a very exceptional coach, so his arrival here adds a special character to things. "I'm very happy to have him and his crew. They have a different style, and I like working with different people."
