Marseille wasted a penalty yesterday before finishing the match clinging to a 0-0 Ligue 1 draw at Nantes. For both teams the stalemate yielded a first point of the young season. Marseille had a chance to score their first goal of the campaign after VAR detected a handball in the home box in the 31st minute.
But Argentine striker Dario Benedetto, Marseille’s marquee summer signing, smashed the penalty kick high over the bar. The home team took control in the second half and finished the match besieging the Marseille goal. Nantes managed a total of 19 shots, six of them on target. Marseille totalled nine, only two on target. Last weekend, Marseille opened the season with an embarrassing 2-0 home defeat to Reims while Nantes lost away to last season’s runner’s up, Lille.
Dzeko commits to Roma with three-year contract extension
Bosnian international striker Edin Dzeko has ended speculation about his future by signing a new three-year contract with Roma, the Serie A club announced. The 33-year-old had been touted for a possible move to Inter Milan but has opted instead for a new deal until June 30, 2022 with the capital side.
Dzeko has played 179 times for Roma and scored 87 goals. He was the Serie A top goalscorer during the 2016-17 season. Roma also confirmed they have signed Turkish defender Yildirim Mert Cetin on a five-year deal from Genclerbirligi for three mn euros ($3.3mn). Roma finished sixth in Serie A last season and under new coach Paulo Fonseca open their campaign at home against Genoa next weekend.
Huddersfield sack Siewert after just one win
Struggling Championship side Huddersfield Town on Friday sacked coach Jan Siewert after the German had managed to engineer just one win since taking over in January. Siewert replaced compatriot David Wagner in the club’s ultimately unsuccessful fight against relegation from the Premier League. However, hopes of bouncing back immediately were hit again Friday with a 2-1 home defeat to Fulham.
That left Huddersfield with just one point from three league games with a midweek League Cup defeat to third-tier Lincoln adding to the gloom. “Huddersfield has terminated the contract of Jan Siewert with immediate effect,” said a statement.
Marseille’s Boubacar Kamara (left) battles for the ball with Nantes’ Kalifa Coulibaly during the French Ligue 1 match yesterday. (AFP)
