Ligue 1 Wrap: Falcao seals opening-round win for Monaco

Radamel Falcao scored on his Ligue 1 debut to help big-spending Monaco record an opening-day 2-0 victory over Bordeaux.

The Colombian striker had to wait until the final three minutes to get his first strike for the club, reacting quickest to control a loose ball before squeezing his shot under Cedric Carrasso from close range.

Falcao's strike came five minutes after substitute Emmanuel Riviere had broken the deadlock with a left-footed volley shortly after replacing James Rodriguez. 

Lyon cruised to a 4-0 victory over Nice at Stade Gerland, with Alexandre Lacazette scoring twice for the seven-time French champions.

Clement Grenier and Yoann Gourcuff also got their names on the scoresheet as Remi Garde's side made short work of the team they finished one place and three points ahead of last season.

Like Monaco, fellow Ligue 1 newboys Nantes started their campaign with a victory.

Goals from Filip Dordevic and a Julian Palmieri own goal gave Michel Der Zakarian's side a 2-0 win againstBastia, with both sides having a man sent off after the break.

Toulouse had a disappointing start the season with a 3-0 defeat at Valenciennes.

Uros Spajic's sending off just after the half hour gave the hosts a penalty that Maor Melikson converted, with Jose Saez and Gregory Pujol sealing the three points in the second half.

There were also opening-day victories for Lille and Rennes over 10-man Lorient and Reims, respectively, while Evian were held to a 1-1 draw by Sochaux after Roy Contout's strike cancelled out Fabrice Ehret's opener.

Fabregas injury blow for Spain

Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino has revealed that Cesc Fabregas is unlikely to be available for Spain's friendly with Ecuador next week, after picking up an injury in his club's 3-1 win over a Malaysia XI on Saturday.

The midfielder, who has only just expressed his desire to remain at Camp Nou following reports linking him with a move to Manchester United, put on a scintillating display in Selangor, bagging the opener before playing a part in the Blaugrana's two other goals.

However, Fabregas then limped off with an ankle injury in the 83rd minute, with Martino claiming he would be unable to recover in time for international duty next week.

“He’s received a heavy knock to his ankle," the Argentine coach told reporters. "I don’t know if he’ll be able to play for Spain [in Wednesday's friendly against Ecuador]; he’s not doing great right now."
A notable exclusion from the Barcelona line-up at Shah Alam Stadium had been star striker Lionel Messi, but Martino was quick to allay fears over his compatriot's fitness.

"He was a bit sore and we didn’t want to take any risks. It’s nothing serious but we didn’t want to take the chance," he explained.

With the 26-year-old forward injured, Martino was keen to heap praise on Neymar, who responded well to the responsibility of leading the Liga champions' attack with a goal.

"We are very pleased with how Neymar is performing in the games he has played," the former Paraguay trainer enthused.

"He’s fine, but we didn’t want him to play any more than 45 minutes and, even though he felt good, we didn’t change our plans.

"I’m optimistic, I think we’re in good shape to start the league. The tour has been good from a footballing point of view. We’ve had time to train.

"We’ve got fantastic players, so I’m not going to use a lack of time as an excuse."

The Catalans will begin the defence of their Liga title with a home game against Levante.

Boxing - Pacquiao backs Beltrano to beat Burns

“I believe Beltran will make it,” said Pacquiao, who regularly trains and spars with Beltrano.

“He is a nice guy, a good boxer and good luck to him, hopefully he can make it.”

Fight promoter Bob Arum was more cagey, however, pointing out that Burns will have the advantage of a raucous home crowd cheering him on.

“Beltran is one of our fighters and always gives a great fight,” said Arum. “Burns is a consummate warrior and the fans are in for a real treat.

“I think this is a 50-50 fight. There is an advantage to Burns fighting on his home turf but he is in with a guy who believes in himself in Beltran.”

Arum added that whoever wins the bout is set for a big-money clash against the unbeaten WBO number one contender Terence Crawford in New York later in the year.

"That is what we are talking about,” said Arum. “The winner of this fight in Madison Square Garden, against Crawford, as part of a big double header.”

Tennis - 'Perfect' Djokovic sends message ahead of US Open

The world number one was imperious in a 6-1 6-2 thumping of Frenchman Richard Gasquet as he blasted winners from all over the court in an eye-catching performance that should serve as a reminder to his rivals for the Flushing Meadows title.

"In every part of my game I was at my best," Djokovic said after taking just 52 minutes to humble the world number nine.

"From the start of the match I tried to dictate the play on the court and be in control of the rallies. I did it really well.

"As close to perfection as you can be really."

Djokovic will face his long time rival Rafa Nadal in the semi-finals after the Spaniard was equally as emphatic on the scoreboard and not far off in performance in a convincing straight sets win over Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic.

Nadal beat Djokovic 9-7 in the fifth set of an epic French Open semi-final in two months ago but in this type of mood, even he may find the Serbian difficult to contain.

"Hard court is my most preferred surface. I feel that that's maybe the place where I have more chances against him (Nadal) than on clay definitely," Djokovic said.

"Of course it's going to be a huge challenge for both of us, but I'll be ready for it."

A Nadal-Djokovic match is a worthy final on any surface and the pair have plenty of history when it comes to battling for silverware.

Nadal leads their head-to-head 20-15 and before this year's French Open, their previous last 11 meetings had been in finals, four of which had been on hard courts all won by Djokovic.

"The conditions here are probably more favourable for him," Nadal acknowledged after his quarter-final.

"Yes, we are playing on hard, but especially the conditions here. It's one of the fastest courts of the hardcourt tournaments outdoors.

"Maybe that makes him a little bit more the favourite."

Ingridi rikthehet si 10 vite më parë

Ingrid Gjoni realizon klipin e saj të ri. E realizuar tashmë si bashkëshorte dhe nënë, IngridGjoni rikthehet fuqishëm këtë verë me një këngë superritmike, me muzikë të Stines, të cilës sapo i kaxhiruar edhe një videoklip nga “Max Production”. 

Sipas gazetës Panorama, klipine ri ajo e ka xhiruar në një nga vendet më të bukura të Shqipërisë, te “Syri i Kaltër” në Sarandë. Dhe për të bërë diçka shumë të bukur, ajo është futur brenda ujit të ftohtë brisk që ndodhet aty. Dhe në mënyrë që gjithçka të jetë e këndshme për syrin, rroba me të cilën ka preferuar të veshë balerinat e saj superseksi do të jenë disa tanga të vockla. Pjesë e klipit do të jetë edhe një këngëtar i huaj. Dhe së fundi qershia mbi tortë: Ajo, protagonistja e këtij projekti, që me siguri do të jetë sukses,Ingridi… Meqenëse nga klipi i fundit kanë kaluar disa muaj, bëhuni gati për surprizën… /albeu.com/

Dasma ruse, nuses i bie fustani (VIDEO)

Spears, ekstravangante edhe në kishë (FOTO-LAJM)

Britney Spears është fotografuar ditën e djeshme së bashku me të dashurin e saj David Lucado, teksa po shkonin në kishë. Përveç kapjes dorë për dore të çiftit, ajo që binte më shumë në sy ishte biondja Spears me veshjen e saj.

Në foto kengëtarja duket se ka rënë disa kile në peshë dhe ka veshur sërish një fustan të shkurtër dhe çizme të gjata. Veshje aspak e përshtatshme për të shkuar në kishë. 

Por, ashtu sikurse jemi mësuar ta shohim Britney Spears ekstravante dhe të bukur në TV, ashtu shfaqet edhe në të përditshmen e saj. /albeu.com/