• Marquinhos grabs late equaliser for Ligue 1 champions

• Bayern crush Stuttgart 5-1; Milan sink Venezia 2-0

Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos scored deep into stoppage ⁠time to snatch a scarcely deserved 2-2 draw at Lille on Friday as the Ligue 1 champions ⁠continued their unconvincing start to the season.

After a poor 2-2 draw ‌against Rennes on the opening weekend, things went from bad to worse for PSG when Lille took the lead in the 21st minute as Icelandic playmaker Hákon Haraldsson latched on to a brilliant reverse pass from Olivier Giroud and curled an unstoppable shot past ‌Matvey Safonov.

PSG flexed their muscles, bringing Ferran Torres off the bench to save the day, but only because Rennes made them

By Get French Football News

On the scale of expressions of prowess and power, Paris Saint-Germain bringing almost €150m worth of attacking talent off the bench – including the man who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final last month – ranks only a couple of rungs below the level of the extravagant aggression of a military parade. Imposing, dominating, reasserting, this wasn’t about expression but necessity as the reigning European champions initially floundered against a Rennes team that lived up to their billing as the best of the rest in Ligue 1.

PSG were forced into rolling out their new attacking arsenal early. For 45 minutes, Rennes’ incessant pressing and fluidity in transition had Luis Enrique’s side under duress. Sebastien Szymanski opened the scoring with a sliced effort from outside the box that clipped in off the inside of a post.

• Atlético’s Alvarez booed by own fans in home draw

• Salah scores first goals in Trabzonspor victory

Ferran Torres came off the bench to score a late double ⁠on his debut as Paris Saint-Germain rallied from two goals down to draw ⁠2-2 with ⁠hosts Rennes in their Ligue 1 season opener on Sunday. Sebastian Szymanski and Esteban Lepaul gave ⁠the home side a 2-0 lead at half-time but PSG piled on the pressure in ⁠the second period and were rewarded with a point.

Rennes led ​inside nine minutes as ‌Szymanski’s shot went ‌in off the post to provide the perfect start ‌to the season for the hosts. Désiré Doué thought he had levelled for PSG, but his effort was ruled out for offside, and the home side made it 2-0 seven minutes before the break. Przemyslaw Frankowski found space ‌on the right wing and his low cross into the box was turned into the ​net by Lepaul.

• De Bruyne scores as Napoli strike late to beat Genoa

• Michael Olise leads Bayern Munich to 2-1 victory

Inter kicked off their ⁠Serie A title defence with a 4-1 home win against ⁠Monza, ​after the promoted side recovered from conceding an early ⁠goal to go in level at the break before the ⁠champions turned on the style.

Hakan Calhanoglu ​put Inter ahead ‌in the ‌sixth minute, but the hosts were ‌far too complacent after taking the lead and Gustavo Varela equalised for the visitors just before the half-hour. Inter began the second half as ‌they had the first, with Piotr Zielinski scoring three minutes ​after the break, before Pio Esposito and Yann Bisseck wrapped up the win for Cristian Chivu’s side.

Success for most French clubs is staying afloat financially and developing players for buyers in the Premier League

By Get French Football News

On the eve of a new Ligue 1 season, many clubs seem a little distracted. Even those accustomed to competing at the top have concerns that transcend the pitch. In a league that contains the greatest team on the continent, the focus of the majority of clubs has shifted to surviving and providing, rather than competing.

Any fighting spirit has long since been kicked out of Paris Saint-Germain’s competitors; back-to-back Champions League titles will do that. It feels like a long time ago since Kylian Mbappé moved to Real Madrid on a free transfer, leaving behind a scent of opportunity that filled the nostrils of Marseille, Monaco and Lille. Roberto De Zerbi was bullish when he joined Marseille. “I’m not here to finish second,” said the manager, who has since moved to Tottenham. Finishing second has now become an aspiration, especially for a club such as Marseille, given their predicament.

• Sunday’s match against Rennes switched at short notice

• Parc des Princes surface poses risk to ‘safety of players’

Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 opener against Rennes has been relocated at short notice, because of damage to their pitch by the extreme heat. Sunday’s match will now take place at Rennes’ Roazhon Park, the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionel) competitions committee announced on Wednesday.

PSG said the pitch at Parc des Princes has deteriorated so much “that the current conditions did not allow the match to be held under satisfactory circumstances, particularly with regard to the safety and physical wellbeing of the players”.

• PSG sign Spain’s Ferran Torres from Barcelona

• Djed Spence completes move to Inter from Spurs

Aston Villa are preparing for the potential exit of goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez by accelerating a move for Parma’s Zion Suzuki. Juventus have revived their interest in Martínez, who is open to leaving after six seasons at Villa and is increasingly likely to depart during this transfer window. Villa are advancing a deal to sign Suzuki as the Argentina No 1’s replacement.

Villa dismissed an offer from Juve for Martínez earlier this summer, but Juve have now revisited a move for the 33-year-old, who is under contract until 2029. Juve are also thought to be monitoring Ederson, now of Fenerbahce, and Tottenham’s Guglielmo Vicario. Suzuki was poised to join Paris Saint-Germain this week, but the Champions League winners, who defeated Villa in the Super Cup in Salzburg on Wednesday, pulled out of a deal worth about €35m (£30m).

• 23-year-old open to Premier League move

• PSG value Barcola in the region of £145m

Liverpool are preparing an opening offer for Bradley Barcola after talks with the Paris Saint-Germain forward’s representatives.

Barcola is a leading target for Liverpool as they look to add a proven winger to Andoni Iraola’s squad before the new season. Yan Diomande had been wanted but is likely to join Real Madrid after PSG pulled out of a deal for the RB Leipzig winger.

• Sage joins after winning Coupe de France with Lens

• ‘We come here with a lot of ambition,’ Sage says

Crystal Palace are determined to hold on to their best players this summer after confirming the appointment of Pierre Sage as their manager, with the Frenchman to be backed in the transfer market to prepare for their Europa League campaign.

Sage has signed a three-year contract to replace Oliver Glasner, having led Lens to second place in Ligue 1 last season and won the French Cup. He emerged as Palace’s preferred candidate after they missed out on Andoni Iraola and it is understood that the 47-year-old’s preference to play a 3-4-2-1 system was a key factor in his appointment.

It was a season to remember for Vitinha, Pierre Sage and Florian Thauvin but one to forget for Paul Pogba and Nice

By Get French Football News

“I like feeling the match go through me,” said Vitinha at the end of December. It’s an apt way for the 26-year-old to interpret his role at PSG, given that everything the team produces on the pitch involves him in some way or another.

• Sevilla safe despite defeat against Real Madrid

• Tiny Elversberg seal first promotion to Bundesliga

Roma took a huge step towards returning to the Champions League by beating Lazio 2-0 in a feisty derby which finished with both teams down to 10 men, while Napoli won 3-0 at Pisa to secure a top-four spot.

Gianluca Mancini smashed home two headers from corners, one in each half, at the Stadio Olimpico to move Roma up to fourth thanks also to Juventus’s shock 2-0 home defeat by Fiorentina.

Pierre Sage has done a great job at Lens and the Coupe de France final next Friday offers them another shot at glory

By Get French Football News

By the time Paris Saint-Germain finally travelled to Lens on Wednesday evening, they had all but wrapped up their fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title. Their six-point advantage, bolstered by a clear lead in goal difference, was already insurmountable with two matches remaining.

The match at the Stade Bollaert was billed as a top-of-the-table clash but the decision to push it back until the midweek before the final day of the campaign had devalued the occasion. Had the match been played when it was initially scheduled, at the start of April, a win for the hosts could have closed the gap to just one point with five matches remaining.

• Georgian opens the scoring as PSG beat rivals 2-0

• Inter victorious over Lazio in Coppa Italia final

Paris Saint-Germain secured a fifth successive Ligue 1 title by beating their nearest challengers, Lens, 2-0 in their penultimate match of the league season on Wednesday.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored after 29 minutes and the substitute Ibrahim Mbaye grabbed a stoppage-time goal to put PSG on 76 points, out of the reach of Lens, who are assured of second place on 67 points.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s rampage hurts Marseille, Strasbourg struggle and Bastia hit a new low

By Get French Football News

It was a dramatic weekend of football in France. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emanuel Emegha played starring roles; so too did the Bastia fans, as the club exited the stage kicking and screaming.

The word “fire” has been used a lot in Marseille this season, because it has been blazing or because Habib Beye has sought to extinguish it. Such talk was purely figurative – until this week. Aubameyang was not on the teamsheet when Marseille travelled to Le Havre hoping to end a run of three games without a win. Their recent slump has not only ensured they will fail to qualify for the Champions League, but it has put them in danger of missing out on European football altogether.

• Fàbregas’s team up to fourth in Serie A before later action

• Hamburg get better of Europa League finalists Freiburg

Como kept up their stunning bid for Champions League football on Sunday by beating relegated Verona 1-0 and moving to within two points of Serie A’s top four.

Tasos Douvikas rattled home the only goal of the game in the 71st minute at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi as Como moved up to fifth and piled pressure on fourth-placed Milan.

• Kane misses first Bundesliga spot-kick in 25 attempts in win

• Slavia-Sparta derby abandoned after pitch invasion

Harry Kane missed a penalty as Bayern Munich failed to hit top form but the Bundesliga champions still edged struggling Wolfsburg 1-0 to bounce back after their midweek Champions League semi-final exit to Paris Saint-Germain.

Bayern, who won with a Michael Olise goal, had suffered a 6-5 aggregate loss to PSG after their 1-1 draw in Munich on Wednesday, narrowly missing out on what would have been their first Champions League final in six years. The frustration was evident at the start as the Bavarian side, with six changes in the lineup, lacked their usual attacking spark despite having Kane, the top scorer, in the starting XI.

Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola have bought into Luis Enrique’s vision

By Get French Football News

Ousmane Dembélé grins when he says that, if he does not press, he will be benched by Luis Enrique. The Ballon d’Or winner does not do his defensive work under duress. Like the rest of his teammates, he seems to derive enjoyment from a part of the game that was once seen as unnatural. Attackers would attack and defenders would defend; simple rules for a simple game. But demands have changed.

The forward line of Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Neymar was a mouthwatering prospect but they failed to take Paris Saint‑Germain close to a Champions League title and there was a lack of joy in their work. All attack and no defend made PSG a dull watch. There was a lesson in their failure: that football had changed and matches could not be won by the sheer weight of their attacking talent.

• Barça will be champions if Real fail to win on Sunday

• Bayern draw with Heidenheim; PSG denied by Lorient

Barcelona could secure the La Liga title on Sunday after Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres struck late in a 2-1 victory at Osasuna. With four games remaining, Barça top the table on 88 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand and visit Espanyol on Sunday. Should Madrid fail to win, Barcelona will be confirmed champions for the second successive season.

Barça broke through in the 81st minute when Marcus Rashford crossed from the right and Lewandowski rose to head in. Five minutes later Fermín López slipped Torres clear and he finished low past Sergio Herrera. Raúl García pulled back a goal from close range two minutes later, but it was too little to late for Osasuna, who remain 10th on 42 points.

• Bayern stun Mainz with four second-half goals

• Rashford strikes for Barcelona in win at Getafe

Bayern Munich fought back from three goals down to clinch a 4-3 win away to Mainz 05, with substitutes Harry Kane and Michael Olise leading a second-half comeback for the Bundesliga champions. Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Sheraldo Becker scored for Mainz in the first half while Bayern, who had made eight changes to the starting lineup that beat Bayer Leverkusen in Wednesday’s German Cup semi-final, had no shots on target until the break.

The Bayern coach, Vincent Kompany, brought on Kane and Olise after the break and their renewed aggression paid off with Nicolas Jackson scoring in the 53rd minute and Olise finding the net 20 minutes later.

• Late leveller is fresh blow to Madrid’s faint title hopes

• RB Leipzig’s 3-1 win is marred by online sexism row

Héctor Bellerín struck deep into stoppage time to earn Real Betis a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid on Friday, dealing another blow to the visitors’ fading title hopes.

Álvaro Arbeloa’s side appeared on course for a narrow win after taking the lead in the 17th minute. Federico Valverde let fly from outside the box and the Betis goalkeeper, Álvaro Valles, could only parry the ball into the path of Vinícius Júnior, who reacted swiftly to guide a neat finish just inside the right post.