PARIS - Zlatan Ibrahimovic chested home the winning goal to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 win at Saint-Etienne on Tuesday to reach the League Cup semifinals in a feisty contest that was interrupted for 15 minutes after home fans threw objects onto the field.The pressure was firmly on Blanc following Saturdays 4-2 defeat at Bastia — PSGs third straight league game without a win — and the relief was evident at the final whistle as several players congratulated understudy goalkeeper Nicolas Douchez.Despite all the talk after the defeat to Bastia, we played some good football, Blanc said. We analyzed our abysmal second half performance in Bastia and the players took stock. I saw a lot of positive things tonight.Earlier, Bastia rallied from a goal down to beat nine-man Rennes 3-1.PSG keeper Douchez — playing in the absence of regular No. 1 Salvatore Sirigu — made an outstanding reflex save in the 86th minute, flinging himself to his right to beat away striker Ricky van Wolfswinkels header with the palm of his hand.Douchezs decisive save even earned him a rare high-five from Ibrahimovic, who is far more accustomed to taking the glory.Its always hard to win against Saint-Etienne. They are one of the best teams in the league and they proved that again tonight, Douchez said. Our team spirit was very good. We gave everything we had.PSGs sloppy performance against Bastia last weekend saw the two-defending French champion lead 2-0 inside 20 minutes before falling apart to slip down to fourth place in the league.Blanc publicly criticized his players lack of mental strength and challenged them to bounce back.Although Tuesdays win was far from convincing, PSG at least showed more team spirit.In an even first half, Ibrahimovic had two efforts saved by Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier, while Saint-Etienne midfielder Moustapha Salls firm downward header was cleared off the line by PSG midfielder Marco Verratti.Ruffier saved winger Lucas effort midway through the second half, Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead in the 72nd minute when he chested in Lucas cross from the right, although Ruffier was adamant he had scooped the ball away before it crossed the line.After the goal was awarded, some fans threw objects at the match officials, prompting referee Said Ennjimi to take the players off the field as a precautionary measure.Shortly after the match resumed, PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi went through in the 80th but his shot was saved by Ruffier.Saint-Etienne had PSG firmly on the back foot for the last 10 minutes.PSG centre half Thiago Silvas botched clearance in the 85th was picked up by forward Kevin Monnet-Paquet, but he shot straight at Douchez.In Corsica, defender Sylvain Armand put Rennes ahead in the 12th minute and centre-half Sebastien Squillaci equalized in the 46th.After Norwegian midfielder Anders Konradsen was sent off in the 65th, Rennes defence capitulated in the 71st when goalkeeper Benoit Costil failed to claim a corner and defender Romain Danze headed an own goal.Five minutes later, Swiss midfielder Ermir Lenjani was red-carded, and substitute Djibril Cisse added the third in the 90th.In Wednesdays quarterfinals, Monaco hosts Guingamp and Lille faces Nantes. 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In his first game with Boston University, the 17-year-old Eichel picked up five assists as his Boston University Terriers thumped St. Balenciaga Sneakers Buy Uk . -- The Minnesota Vikings have signed Jerome Simpson, the former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver recently convicted on a felony drug charge.LJUBLJANA, Slovenia -- Lithuania advanced to the second round of the European basketball championship despite losing 78-72 to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday, while Germany knocked out Israel. Needing to win by 10 to squeeze out Lithuania, Bosnia led 72-58 after Mirza Teletovic knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:22 left in the game. Teletovic finished with 31 points but Lithuania cut the deficit and moved on. Linas Kleiza had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Lithuania. Croatia advanced by beating the Czech Republic 70-53. Ante Tomic had 12 points for Croatia, while Pavel Pumpria had 19 for the Czechs. Jan Vesely added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Germany, already eliminated, prevented Israel from advancing by winning 80-76. That outcome sent Belgium through. Ukraine and Latvia had already advanced to the second round by that time. The Ukrainians beat Britain 87-68, getting 11 points each from Ihor Zaytsev and Kyryl Natyazhko. Latvia, which got 15 points from Kristaps Janicenoks, defeated Macedonia 76-66 and eliminated a team that was in the semifinals two years ago. On the last day of group play, defending champion Spain won its fourth in five games by beating Georgia 83-59 to reach the second round. Ricky Rubio led Spain with 16 points. Finland beat Greece 86-77 in a match between two already-qualified teams, with Petteri Koponen scoring 29 for Finland. Italy beat Sweden 82-79 to finish on top of Group D, with Finland second and Greece third. Italy is the only unbeaten team, with five victories. Sweden led 63-56 late in the third quarter when Italy went on a 14-0 run to turn around the game. Italy overcame 26 points from Swedens forward Jeffery Taylor. With star guuard Marco Belinelli sitting out, Alessandro Gentile had 19 points for Italy, while Pietro Aradori scored 16.dddddddddddd. Ukraine dominated from the start to register its fourth win in five games and eliminate Britain. "They had a chance to advance depending on what happened but we also wanted to advance, and it was important to our players to advance by winning," Ukraine coach Mike Fratello said. Spain trailed by one with just over three minutes left in the second quarter when Rudy Fernandez made a three-point play to put his team ahead by two. Spain then went on a 15-2 run to put away the game. "We were aggressive on defence and found easy shots on offence. I think we did a good job on defence and that gave us consistency in the game," Rubio said. "We always try to impose our pace, but of course thats not possible at all times. We know that we have had a good first round, with one lost game against Slovenia, so we know that we have to correct some things and we are ready for whatever is about to come." Latvia outscored Macedonia 27-16 in the first quarter after starting the game with a 12-0 run. "The plan was to be real aggressive, play aggressive defence. Because of that we got so many fast breaks," Latvia point guard Dairis Bertans said. "We havent been (to the second round) for so many years and we had a really tough group this year." Tibor Pleiss had 14 points and 14 rebounds for Germany, which also got 15 points apiece from Per Guenther and Lucca Steiger. Omri Casspi had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Israel, while Lior Eliyahu also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. ' ' '
