..::Football IV::..

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Ibrahimovic and injured Man Utd players to attend Europa League final, says Mourinho

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Ashley Young will all travel to the Europa League final on crutches to support their Manchester United team-mates, says Jose Mourinho.

United take on Ajax next Wednesday in a season-defining contest that could see them land a second major trophy of the season and earn a place in next season's Champions League.This season's heavy fixture burden, often lamented by Mourinho, has left the club without first-team stars including Ibrahimovic, whose contract is set to expire.

But the manager insists the injured quartet will all travel to Stockholm with the rest of the squad as he hailed United's team spirit."Everybody goes," Mourinho told reporters ahead of Sunday's Premier League match against Crystal Palace.

"We have a few in crutches but everybody goes. Fantastic group of players, fantastic spirit since the beginning of the season, difficult run, lots of matches.
"We spent more time travelling, playing with hotels than at home because 60-something matches means 140 days in hotels.

"So half of the year we spent together and that is only possible when the spirit is amazing. "Crutches for Shaw, Young, Rojo and Zlatan, but we all go together."

Mourinho could not resist another mention of the fixture schedule United have faced, insisting observers are not doing enough to emphasise how difficult their calendar has been.
"Our biggest problem, of course the number of matches is unbelievable," he said.
"I know some people like to lie. I think they are paid not to lie they are paid to be honest and speak from their knowledge to the people that watch TV and read papers. But some of them lie. "The reality is that since January we have played 37 matches, and in the Premier League are 38 matches so we have played a complete Premier League minus one match in five months – which is what a team normally does for a year.

"And we had four big injuries with surgeries that reduced immediately the number of players."Then our squad was reduced to a number of players that put us under big problems.

"Imagine now we have Zlatan, Rojo, Shaw, Young, we are not speaking about playing so many kids [against Palace].

"But I think 37 matches in five months - we are the team with more [most] matches in Europe. We play every match possible minus two. "We played every match in the FA Cup except the semi-final and the final so that red card to Ander Herrera [in the FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea] was a blessing to us."

 

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Conte backs Terry to play on

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte wants John Terry to postpone retirement and play on after his final game for the club on Sunday.The former England captain will leave Stamford Bridge when his contract expires at the end of season after winning 17 trophies in 19 stellar years in the first team.

Terry has hinted he could call time on his career but a number of Premier League clubs have been linked with the 36-year-old, including Swansea City, whose top-flight survival was secured when Hull City lost 4-0 to Crystal Palace last week.

Conte has compared his captain to one-club greats in Italy, including Francesco Totti of Roma and former AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini, and has backed him to keep playing.

"John has all the possibility to continue his career," he told a news conference on Friday. "We all know that he is preferring to play regularly and, for this reason, he's decided to leave.

"He's strong. In the moment I called on him to play, he showed this. When you arrive at this point of your career, it's very important to feel your body, to feel your mind, to feel if you still have the desire and will to fight and arrive every day working very hard."If you feel this, then it's right to continue your career. I think John has all these characteristics.

"It's very difficult to find a lot of players with this kind of career. John is a legend, a legend for this club. For the appearances, for the years he's played for this club, and above all for his victories with this club.

"It's not easy to compare, but, for sure, Totti played for Roma all his career. The same as [Juventus great Alessandro] Del Piero, Maldini at Milan... I think John is a champion and he deserves the best."

Conte says it will be a "surprise" whether Terry starts against Sunderland on Sunday in what would be his final match for Chelsea and spoke highly of the performances of Gary Cahill, who has worn the armband in his stead.However, he insists it is too early to say if Cahill will become captain on a permanent basis from next season.

"For sure, Gary has good prospects of being captain, but now it's important to finish the season," Conte said. "To start to think about next season is very dangerous because we have different targets still to reach."

 

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Fellaini confident of being fit for Europa League final

Marouane Fellaini is confident he will win his race against time to be fit for Manchester United’s season-defining Europa League final clash with Ajax.
The midfielder was forced off the field in the 75th minute of Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Southampton after picking up a hamstring issue.

But the Belgian, who was returning from a domestic three-match ban following his red card away to Manchester City, was upbeat on Friday regarding his chances of being ready to face the Dutch side in Stockholm.

“I felt something during the game against Southampton. I talked with the docs and the medical staff, and I train and do my rehab to be ready,” he told reporters, before adding that a scan has revealed positive news.“I had a session with the doc. It will be fine.”

Fellaini has become a key member of United’s Europa League campaign, starting five of their knockout fixtures including both semi-final matches against Celta Vigo. It was also his goal which eventually took United past the Spaniards in the second leg at Old Trafford.

United boss Jose Mourinho earlier revealed that Fellaini will not be pushed into action on Sunday for the club’s final Premier League fixture of the season against Crystal Palace, with a number of other first-team players being rested ahead of Wednesday’s final.

However, Paul Pogba will play after returning to duty following a period of bereavement leave after the death last week of his father.

 

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Jardim coy over possible Monaco departures

After winning the Ligue 1 title, Leonardo Jardim has told his players to enjoy their match against Rennes, but the Monaco coach is already braced for a struggle to keep his prized assets.

The club from the principality have enjoyed a successful campaign under the Portuguese, breaking Paris Saint-Germain's stranglehold on the domestic crown and progressing to the semi-finals of the Champions League before bowing out at the hands of Juventus.

It remains to be seen if Monaco can keep hold of the emerging stars that powered their title success, with teenage striker Kylian Mbappe likely to attract attention from across Europe, although the coach appears willing to accept inevitable changes to the squad at his disposal. "We will take stock next week, as the leaders do every year," Jardim said of the club's plans for next season.

"There is a strong relationship with my players. I love this group."The day I train [just] one squad, I will not be working for a club. So it's not for now."The important thing is the passion and ambition in your work. Play to win and do it right."

The final game of the season, away to Rennes on Saturday, now serves as an opportunity for the players to reflect on their achievement."The result is there," Jardim said. "We won the championship! For this last game I don't set objectives."The [targets] of points, of goals, are already acquired. It's a game to enjoy."It's an exhibition game tomorrow. There is no pressure for the result."

As for the team likely to take to the field at Roazhon Park, the coach - in a justifiably jovial mood - chose to keep a least one secret from the media. "The selection? I could give it to you, but I don't yet know - we will see after training," he said with a smile.

 

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Lacazette confirms he's leaving Lyon

Alexandre Lacazette has said he is leaving Lyon, with the striker confirming he has spoken to Atletico Madrid.

The French attacker confirmed he will leave the Ligue 1 side at the end of the season, having played for Lyon since making his senior debut in 2010.Lacazette indicated that he feels that the time is right to move and prove himself at a higher level.

"I think that's the right time. I want to discover something else, and to play at a different level," Lacazette told L'Equipe . "I know very well that on a European scale I am not yet well recognised. I want to see if I can answer the questions that people are asking, and to make further progress."

Lacazette also revealed that he has spoken to Atletico Madrid, praising their players and facilities, but admitted that he has not agreed to sign for them just yet. He also discussed the possibility of linking up with France team-mate Antoine Griezmann.

"Atletico is a club that is in the last rounds of the Champions League for several years," the 25-year-old said. "It is a great team, in a new stadium, and it is also a club that helps their players progress."And there is Antoine Griezmann. If Atletico is the club I chose, I have not told you, maybe I'll give you another answer in a few months!

"It would be a beautiful story if we [Griezmann and Lacazette] could go on together It started in the French Under-18 team. He arrived timidly.

"There are always small groups, and he was a little alone, but we got closer, because we played together in attack and we got along well in life. Then, both of us, we carried almost all the rest of the group."Initially, Antoine was as shy as I was. Afterwards, he climbed the ladder, he became an international star, and he took more confidence, he opened up."

Having spent the last 14 years at Lyon, rising up through the youth teams before playing for their senior side, the former Ligue 1 Player of the Year is proud of what he as achieved at the club, and says that he is leaving on good terms.

"The president told me what he told you at a press conference," Lacazette continued. "It is I who chooses my future destination. It is a personal choice for my carefully considered career, which I have done for a long time.

"No one wanted to harm anyone. The common goal was to be able to leave on good terms. It is important that the club that trusted me and who came to pick me up at the age of 10 can recover money after all that we have been able to do together."

 

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Lacazette godak durata Atletico Madrid join wei​

 

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Mourinho: I won't make mistakes in second Man Utd season

Jose Mourinho insists he will not make mistakes in his second season at Manchester United now that he knows the club better from the inside.

United could still end Mourinho's first campaign at Old Trafford with two major trophies if they can defeat Ajax in the Europa League final next Wednesday, having already won the EFL Cup.

But they have struggled in the Premier League and will finish sixth regardless of their result in Sunday's home match against Crystal Palace – meaning the Europa League represents their last chance to reach next season's Champions League.Mourinho stressed that the first season at any new club is always difficult, but is more optimistic about 2017-18 after what he has learned this term.

"I try to analyse the realities before I arrived in the club, but you only know the reality when you are inside," Mourinho told Omnisport."The first season is hard. I enjoy the second because in the second I know I'm not making mistakes.

"You think you know the players, but you don't. You only know them when you have them in good moments and bad moments. The one I really enjoy to do is the transition from the first to the second season."

Mourinho feels fully supported by the board as he looks to make further additions to United's squad in the transfer window.

He continued: "I always had the question mark, what happened that stopped Man United being successful in the last three, four, five years? "One answer: the reality of the Premier League, the economic power in many clubs. The stability that clubs manage to give.

"There is work to be done on the Manchester squad. The good thing is the club knows, the board knows and we are together on this process."

 

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We trust you Mourinho!​

 

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LA Liga Fixtures 2017.05.20

LA Liga Fixtures 2017.05.20

Sporting Gijon Vs Real Betis

Deportivo Vs Las Palmas

Leganes Vs Alaves

Sevilla Vs Osasuna​

 

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Serie A Fixtures 2017.05.20

Serie A Fixtures 2017.05.20

Chievo Vs Roma

Napoli Vs Fiorentina​

 

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Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.05.20

Bundesliga Fixtures 2017.05.20

Bayern Vs Freiburg

Dortmund Vs Werder Bremen

Cologne Vs Maniz

Frankfurt Vs Leipzig

Ingolstadt Vs Schalke

Hamburg Vs Wolfsburg

Hertha Berlin Vs Leverkusen

Hoffenheim Vs Augsburg

Monchengladbach Vs Darmstadt​

 

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Spain beat England on penalties to win UEFA U17 Championship

Spain have won the UEFA Under-17 Championship for the third time after beating England on penalties in Varazdin.

The teams could not be separated in normal time, with Spain twice coming from behind to level matters before eventually triumphing 4-1 in the shoot-out.

England took the lead thanks to an individual effort from Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi, but Spain levelled just before half-time through Barcelona's Mateu Morey.The Three Lions reclaimed the lead when Manchester City's Phil Foden found the net with a powerful long-range effort.

However, they were cruelly denied victory when Villarreal youth Nacho Diaz scored for Spain in the sixth minute of injury time to force the game to penalties.Liverpool's Rhian Brewster and Man City's Joel Latibeaudiere missed their spot-kicks as Spain finished each of theirs to ensure a third U-17 title.

 

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Congratulations Spain U17!​

 

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Xavi: Rabiot could play for Barcelona

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot could play for Barcelona, according to Xavi, a legend of the Catalan club.

Rabiot has impressed in France this season but reports in the local media suggest that he is uneasy with the tactics of head coach Unai Emery. However, he is seen as a pillar of PSG’s project for the future and will not be allowed to depart.

Even if there is little chance of the 22-year-old playing at Camp Nou immediately, the World Cup winner believes the Frenchman could follow in his footsteps.“He could play for Barcelona no problem and he would adapt without a problem,” Xavi explained to Le Parisien.

“He knows how to organise the play, defend, dribble attack. He’s a complete player, just as much when he has the ball as when he does not.”Rabiot has spent seven years with PSG, and during that time has often flirted with the potential of departing the club, with Arsenal among the Premier League sides linked with him in the past.

 

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Simeone to hold talks on Atletico Madrid future next week

Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone says he will hold talks on Monday to clarify his future with the club.

The 47-year-old has expressed a desire to coach Inter in future and has been heavily linked with a move to San Siro; rumours which have intensified since Stefano Pioli was sacked on May 9.

The former Argentina international suggested at a recent media event for the 2017 Audi Cup that he would be in charge of Atletico when that pre-season competition begins in August.

However, Simeone says he will speak with CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin and technical director Andrea Berta before announcing any decision."We're finishing the season and I'm sure that, on Monday, Miguel, Andrea and I will meet to look at what we can expect in the future and of course to look for what the best would be for the club and for everyone," he told a news conference.

"The bases here are solid. We've had six years of competing in an incredible way, with a change of stadium that will force us to take action to bring even more success."

Sunday's final LaLiga match of the season against Athletic Bilbao will be the last played at Vicente Calderon, with Atletico moving into their new 70,000-seater Wanda Metropolitano stadium for next term.

Simeone, who spent two spells with Atleti as a player before returning as coach in 2011, hopes the fans provide a fitting end to life at the old ground.

"My memories as a player are amazing," he said. "I came here and I found an acceptance among the fans long before I started to give things to the club and to the team."Both as a footballer and a coach, the Calderon has been a place that will stay in the history of my life.

"The stadium will be amazing [on Sunday]. The fans will be able to experience the last LaLiga game, although for me the last important game at the Calderon has already happened, which was the Champions League semi-final where we were knocked out but beat Real Madrid."

 

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Herrera not ready for Manchester United captaincy

Ander Herrera feels he has not achieved enough yet to become the next Manchester United captain.The 27-year-old has developed into a key figure at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho and was recently crowned the club's player of the season.

Some have suggested Herrera could be a future United captain, with current skipper Wayne Rooney's future at the club in doubt, but the versatile midfielder believes others are more deserving of the armband."I am very thankful when I hear that from the fans but, we say in Spain, they are massive words," Herrera told ESPN.

"The captains of this club are legends. The current one is Wayne Rooney but also Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs, Nemanja Vidic. It is a list of amazing players and legends of the club.

"I prefer to keep calm and to keep my mind calm because I feel that I still have to do more for the club. I still have to win things for the club to deserve that. So I will keep calm.

"We also have some experienced players on the team who have been here longer like Chris Smalling, David De Gea, also Juan [Mata] came before me."So I am thankful to the fans for thinking that about me but I do not want to think about it yet."

 

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Borussia Dortmund 4 Werder Bremen 3: Aubameyang winner clinches third spot

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League group stages with the winning goal in a dramatic 4-3 victory over Werder Bremen at Signal-Iduna Park.

The Gabonese striker netted his second goal of the game and his 31st of the season - making him the Bundesliga's top scorer on the final day of 2016-17 - from the penalty spot in the 89th minute of a game that swung from one end to the other throughout a scintillating afternoon of football in Dortmund.

After narrowly surviving relegation from the top flight last season, Bremen have enjoyed an excellent campaign under coach Alexander Nouri and Zlatko Junuzovic put them ahead after seven minutes when goal-line technology was used to establish that his close-range shot had crossed the line.

Shinji Kagawa inspired Dortmund's fightback and he provided the assist for Marco Reus to equalise before starting the move that saw Aubameyang score with a brilliant volley on the turn. Fin Bartels made it 2-2 inside the first minute of the second half and Max Kruse then put Bremen ahead, but Reus and Aubameyang both converted penalties in the final 15 minutes of the game to secure the win for Dortmund.

The defeat ended Bremen's hopes of qualifying for the Europa League, but they can take great satisfaction in having finished in the top half of the table – a feat that seemed beyond them at the start of the campaign.Meanwhile, Dortmund can celebrate after avoiding the lottery of a Champions League qualifying play-off.

Bremen took the lead after just seven minutes when Florian Grillitsch played a low cross into the penalty area and Junuzovic slid in to poke it over the line. Roman Burki appeared to have saved the shot with his foot, but the referee was informed that the ball had crossed the line and awarded the goal.

Aubameyang had a claim for a penalty turned down after he went down under a challenge from Niklas Moisander after 22 minutes, and Matthias Ginter headed narrowly over the crossbar five minutes later as Dortmund probed for an equaliser with urgency in front of an increasingly worried home crowd.

The leveller came after 32 minutes, courtesy of the ever-industrious Kagawa's superb threaded pass through the middle of the Bremen defence to Reus, who steered a low shot just inside the post and beyond the reach of goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald.

Three minutes before half-time, Aubameyang gave Dortmund the lead with a picture-book goal, sending a sweetly struck volley on the turn into the roof of the net after Ousmane Dembele picked him out with a chipped pass.

Bremen refused to accept defeat without a fight in their final match of a very good season and they drew level within seconds of the second half.Kruse sprinted almost the full length of Dortmund's half before turning Nuri Sahin on the by-line and crossing the ball to Bartels, who slammed it into the net with aplomb from inside the penalty area.

Bremen substitute Serge Gnabry put Kruse through on goal again five minutes later, but Marc Bartra's last-ditch challenge cleared the danger. Kruse would not be denied after 68 minutes, however, when he latched onto Junuzovic's pass and hit a shot that looped up off the shoulder of Burki and into the net to make it 3-2.

Dortmund's porous defence looked likely to be their undoing but they were handed a lifeline when Gnabry brought Reus down in the penalty area and the Germany international lashed the ensuing penalty into the net, beating Wiedwald to his left.
The final twist in a dazzling match came when substitute Philipp Bargfrede was judged to have brought down Christian Pulisic and Aubameyang stepped up to slot the penalty calmly to Wiedwald's right, sparking wild celebrations around the packed stadium.

 

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Bayern Munich 4 Freiburg 1: Robben stars as champions bid farewell to Lahm and Alonso

Bayern Munich bade farewell to Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso in fitting fashion with a 4-1 win over Freiburg on the final day of the Bundesliga season.

Arjen Robben, Arturo Vidal, Franck Ribery and Joshua Kimmich sealed a 25th win of the season for the champions and ensured they went a whole league campaign without defeat at the Allianz Arena for the first time since 2008.
The match was largely a tribute act to club captain Lahm and Alonso, however, who played their final matches before retiring from respective glittering careers.

Past greats of the club were presented to the crowd prior to kick-off before Lahm, ahead of his 517th appearance for Bayern, was granted a special tribute involving flowers, a golf bag and a mosaic in the stands with the message 'from a child of our own to a legend of our club'.

It was Alonso who produced the first telling contribution of the two, however, setting up Robben to cut in from the right and rifle home.Freiburg still had a top-five finish up for grabs and missed good chances through Mike Frantz, Janik Haberer and Nils Petersen before Vidal struck 17 minutes from time.

Former Bayern man Petersen struck his 19th Bundesliga goal as a substitute to set a new record, but Carlo Ancelotti's side were not to be denied as Alonso and Lahm were replaced in the closing stages to a rapturous reception before Ribery bundled home a stoppage-time third and Kimmich - tipped to be either retiring great's heir in the team - nodded in to round off the party.

Bayern, sporting their new home kit, started like a team eager to mark the occasion with a result to match and they took the lead with only four minutes on the clock.

Robben was allowed time to move into the penalty area from the right and his left-foot shot looked to take a slight deflection as it flew beyond Alexander Schwolow and into the far corner.Thomas Muller forced Schwolow into another good low save before Robert Lewandowski found the net, only to be flagged offside.

Freiburg had scarcely threatened in the first 25 minutes but Bayern keeper Tom Starke – whose retirement has slipped under the radar amid the tributes to Lahm and Alonso – produced a superb one-handed save to keep out a deflected effort from Frantz.

Haberer then sliced a glorious chance wide of the left-hand post from six yards before Vincenzo Grifo tested Starke from close range, and Lewandowski was promptly denied by Schwolow on the break as the match suddenly opened up.

There was a lengthy delay to the start of the second period, with officials bizarrely struggling to dismantle the temporary stage that had been set up for Anastacia's half-time performance, but Bayern looked as slick as ever as Lewandowski forced Schwolow into a brilliant reaction stop within a minute of the whistle.

Starke clawed away a bouncing half-volley from Florian Niederlechner in one of Freiburg's better spells and Bayern thought they had snatched a second through Muller on the break only for Lahm to have strayed offside before setting him up.

Robben smacked the crossbar from 20 yards but Starke was again called upon to preserve Bayern's lead, saving twice from former team-mate Petersen as Freiburg chased the equaliser that would have lifted them back into the Europa League spots - they will now be supporting Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal in order to qualify.

And their attacking efforts ultimately cost them as Vidal made it 2-0 with a stylish finish, sweeping a disguised finish into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the area after Robben teed him up.

Starke was denied a clean sheet on his final outing as Petersen halved the deficit three minutes later to surpass Alexander Zickler as the Bundesliga's most deadly substitute.

But Bayern made the win secure in injury time, Robben bursting into the Freiburg half on the break before squaring for Ribery to bundle the ball in via post and goalkeeper, before Kimmich added a fourth with the last touch of the match.

 

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Chievo 3 Roma 5: Spalletti's men hit five to bolster grip on second

Stephan El Shaarawy and Mohamed Salah scored two goals each as Roma beat Chievo 5-3 to ensure they delayed Juventus being crowned champions and will go into the final Serie A game of the season in second place.

Roma were one point clear of third-placed Napoli and four behind leaders Juve - who can wrap up the title on Sunday - going into the game, but Chievo took the lead against the run of play after 15 minutes when Roberto Inglese's header fell to Lucas Castro inside the box and the Argentinian winger lashed the ball into the net from close range.

Roma were level after 28 minutes when El Shaarawy received the ball just outside the penalty area and turned the on-rushing Stefano Sorrentino before firing the ball into the net for his seventh league goal of the season.

Despite looking dangerous with every attack, Luciano Spalletti's men left gaps at the back and Inglese was unmarked when he headed Valter Birsa's cross into the net after 37 minutes to make it 2-1 to Chievo.

Salah missed the chance to equalise when Sorrentino saved his bullet header moments later, but the Egyptian made amends after 42 minutes when he received the ball on the right flank and cut inside his marker before sending a deflected shot into the net to leave the scores level at half-time.

The pick of the afternoon's goals put Roma in front after 58 minutes, when Kevin Strootman showed great vision to split Chievo's defence and put El Shaarawy clean through and he took a touch before firing in at the far post from an angle.

A delightful pass from Edin Dzeko put Salah through to score his second of the match after 76 minutes. And Dzeko sent a thunderbolt of a shot into the net seven minutes later to make it 5-2.

Inglese scored a late consolation for Chievo, but the attention in the final moments was on Roma substitute Francesco Totti, who played the last five minutes of what is likely to have been the penultimate game of his brilliant career.

 

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Rennes 2 Monaco 3: Brilliant Brazilians give Ligue 1 champions 30th win

Goals from Brazilian trio Fabinho, Jemerson and Jorge ensured Ligue 1 champions Monaco wrapped up their triumphant campaign with a 3-2 win at Rennes.

Leonardo Jardim's men sealed glory on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory over Saint-Etienne and took to the pitch clearly in celebratory mode – each member of the starting line-up sporting sprayed red and white hair.The head coach and his staff even got in on the act with some facepaint in the club colours and they were treated to an effervescent first-half display.

Rennes goalkeeper Benoit Costil had little respite and it was to his credit that Fabinho's opening goal did not arrive until three minutes before half-time – the other side of a horror miss from Kylian Mbappe.

Centre-back Jemerson celebrated his call-up to the Brazil squad by heading a second in the 47th minute and, although substitute Adama Diakhaby converted a penalty for the hosts and netted an injury-time consolation, Jorge marked his full Ligue 1 debut in style as Monaco played out the 30th league victory of a season that has thrillingly ended Paris Saint-Germain's domination of French football.

Fabinho was not tracked on his 13th minute run into the box and Costil did well to save as his header from Jorge's cross bounced awkwardly.The home faithful were restless when Giovanni Sio broke clear of the Monaco defence but lacked conviction in his attempt.

Adrien Hunou then volleyed Firmin Ndombe Mubele's cross wastefully into the turf in the 23rd minute before the one-way nature of the half resumed.Costil saved with his feet after Valere Germain was played in by Mbappe at the end of a driving run, while a dazzling spin and further silky footwork preceded Jorge having a shot deflected behind by Mexer.

From the resulting corner, Mbappe had a rare moment of fallibility when he trod on the ball a yard from goal and allowed Costil to shovel it off his line.The Rennes keeper was overworked as half-time approached, twice throwing himself at the feet of Germain in quick succession.

Joris Gnagnon cleared Germain's follow-up off the line on the first occasion, but Fabinho was on hand to prod into an unguarded goal in the 42nd minute.Jardim sent on teenage goalkeeper Loic Badiashile for a Ligue 1 debut at the interval, but it was the more seasoned Costil who remained in the firing line.

Rennes' captain tipped over an audacious attempt by Jorge with the outside of his foot, but could only palm into his net when Jemerson firmly met Thomas Lemar's subsequent corner.

Badiashile enjoyed his first action when he saved Sanjin Prcic's free-kick, while Costil added to his bulging body of work by brilliantly denying Jorge low to his left.Rennes found themselves back in the contest with 20 minutes to play after Abdou Diallo bundled over Mubele in the box and Diakhaby converted from 12 yards.

Djibril Sidibe replaced Lemar and his cutback allowed Jorge to complete Monaco's scoring this term, although they already appeared to have one eye on the title party as Diakhaby struck the base of the post before beating Badiashile at the second attempt in stoppage time.