Paris St Germain head coach Luis Enrique believes his side’s Ligue 1 meeting against Lyon this weekend will have no bearing on next month’s Coupe de France final.

PSG host Lyon at the Parc de Princes in the league on Sunday and the two sides will clash again in the cup final on May 25 in Lille.

Enrique’s believes this meeting will be a good test for his side, fresh from their Champions League quarter-final success in midweek, but does not see it as a dress rehearsal for next month.

He told a press conference: “Tomorrow’s game will be completely different to the final in the Coupe de France based on the importance.

“But as a game that comes above others, given the context, it is a really good test for us to see how we are doing against the best team in Lyon.

“They have put in the best results and they have got to the final, so that shows they are working very hard and it will be a real test for us, but I don’t know if there will be any similarities between tomorrow’s game and the final. Finals are different.”

PSG go into Sunday’s clash 10 points clear of Brest at the top of the Ligue 1 table while Lyon sit in seventh and are aiming to clinch a European spot.

Only six league matches remain for the Parisians, who are on track for a 12th league title, but Enrique is in no rush to wrap up first place so they can focus on the Champions League and the cup.

He said: “There is no urgency of any sort. The aim is the same as always, which is to win the league sooner or later.

“But what matters is being competitive in any match and representing this club in the best way and we want to be competitive whether we win it sooner or later because with the competitions that we are in we need to be competitive in every game, whether we win Ligue 1 in two or three weeks.”

Having already clinched the French Super Cup in January, PSG remain on course for four trophies after their midweek European success.

They completed a 6-4 aggregate success against Barcelona on Tuesday to reach the last four of the Champions League and Enrique praised the impact of all of his players.

“In order to be able to compete for every trophy as I have said, you need a really big squad of at least 23 players,” he added.

“That is what we need here and as the season has progressed we have seen the importance of those players. As for who is important in the last month and a half we have seen the players need to be ready and work hard when we need them.

“I think the team is continuing to progress and I am happy to see the players’ attitude in training.”

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Arsenal set to welcome back £34.5m signing for title run-in
Mikel Arteta optimistic that Timber's recovery is in final stages
Dutch international suffered serious knee injury on Premier League debut
The 22-year-old offers versatility all across the backline

By Joshua Browne
Apr 20, 2024
Timber has missed almost the entire Premier League season
Timber has missed almost the entire Premier League season / ANP/GettyImages
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Jurrien Timber is now overcoming the "last big step" in his recovery from a serious knee injury, hinting the Dutchman will be available to play before the end of the season.

Timber joined Arsenal from Ajax in a deal worth an initial £34.5m, potentially rising by another £4m should certain performance related add-ons be met.

But any hopes Arsenal had of their new signing hitting the ground running were abruptly halted by a serious injury on the first day of the season. Timber innocuously jarred his knee towards the end of the first half against Nottingham Forest and it was quickly apparent after the break that he could not continue.

Scans determined that Timber had torn his anterior cruciate ligament - an injury that required immediate surgery and put the remainder of his season in doubt - and the Dutchman has been sidelined ever since.

After crashing out of the Champions League to Bayern Munich, Arteta and Arsenal have needed some positive news - something the Spaniard hinted at in his latest press conference in regards to a possible Timber return.

"It's too soon (for Timber to face Wolves on Saturday)," Arteta told reporters. "He’s going to play a game with the 23s and after that we will see better how he feels.

Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta watched his side crash out of the Champions League on Wednesday / James Gill - Danehouse/GettyImages
"He looks really good in training, but it’s that last big step, we need to see if he’s ready and how it’s going to go."

The 22-year-old's return would be greatly welcomed by an Arsenal side who have started showing signs of fatigue in recent weeks. The Gunners were surprisingly beaten by Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium last Sunday - denting their Premier League title aspirations - and lost out to Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.

Timber would provide cover all across the backline having played as a right-back, centre-back and left-back during his time at Ajax.

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Joe Hart the hero for Celtic after thrilling cup semi-final win

Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart set himself up for a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final farewell – despite missing a penalty in a shoot-out in a Hampden classic against Aberdeen.

Hart hit the post with Celtic’s fifth penalty following a thrilling 3-3 draw with the Dons but the victory was only delayed. The 36-year-old saved from Killian Phillips to ensure a 6-5 shoot-out win and a final date on May 25 against Rangers or Hearts ahead of his impending retirement.

It was a semi-final that had just about everything. Celtic recovered from Bojan Miovski’s early goal to led through goals from Nicolas Kuhn and substitute James Forrest, but substitute Ester Sokler headed home at the back post in the 90th minute.

Matt O’Riley fired Celtic ahead in extra-time but stand-in Dons captain Angus MacDonald atoned for the massive blunder that led to Celtic’s equaliser when he headed home in the 119th minute.

The shoot-out somehow surpassed the drama of the actual game as Hart took centre stage.

Brendan Rodgers has enjoyed far more straightforward afternoons at Hampden but still earned a perfect 10th victory at the national stadium in his first game here since the League Cup final in December 2018.

The Dons stunned the favourites two minutes in. Leighton Clarkson played a perfect pass inside Cameron Carter-Vickers to get Miovski in behind and the North Macedonia striker beat Hart to claim his 24th goal of the campaign.

Celtic created two half-chances to equalise but Yang Hyun-jun headed over and Kelle Roos stood up to parry Kyogo Furuhashi’s effort.

Aberdeen were otherwise keeping Celtic at bay until MacDonald took a poor second touch on the ball midway inside his half in the 21st minute. Furuhashi to raced away before his effort was blocked by Stefan Gartenmann, but the ball fell kindly for Kuhn, who rolled it past a stranded Roos.

Aberdeen had the best opportunity to take an interval lead but Hart saved from Gartenmann and Celtic had a let-off in the closing stages of the half when Scales handled just outside the box, according to a VAR check.

Rodgers made his first changes in the 62nd minute, Callum McGregor replaced by Tomoki Iwata and Yang making way for Forrest. The 32-year-old had a shot blocked even before netting 90 seconds after coming on.

The winger dropped the shoulder to cut inside his man before curling a perfect shot just inside the far post from 23 yards. It was his ninth goal in the latter stages of cup competitions.

Forrest forced Roos into a diving save but the game changed with the introduction of a second Aberdeen striker, Sokler, in the 79th minute.

Aerial balls led to two excellent chances for another substitute, Junior Hoilett, but a poor first touch saw him miss the first and Carter-Vickers blocked on the line from the second opportunity.

Scales headed over from six yards and Celtic paid the price for a poor pass forward from substitute Luis Palma. The ball was worked to Hoilett, who crossed to the back post for Sokler to head home.

Sokler stabbed wide in the opening moments of extra-time, although he would possibly have been called offside if it had gone to VAR, and Celtic got back on top before taking the lead in stoppage-time of the first period.

Forrest threaded a pass that allowed Alistair Johnston to run in behind and cut back for O’Riley, who found the top corner from eight yards.

The drama continued. Adam Idah had a headed goal disallowed for offside before failing to turn O’Riley’s square ball home.

Celtic survived another VAR penalty check after Carter-Vickers caught Hoilett, the video officials backing referee Don Robertson’s view that the Aberdeen winger had committed a foul on Johnston seconds beforehand.

Sokler missed from close range before MacDonald headed home in a near carbon copy of Sokler’s equaliser to spark wild celebrations on the trackside between players and fans.

Even the shoot-out had some outrageous twists. The first seven penalties were scored before Roos went down with apparent cramp and needed treatment. Ryan Duncan hit the post after the long delay.

The Celtic fans got a shock when Hart stepped up to take the penalty that would have sent Celtic into the final. The goalkeeper also hit the post.

Hoilett netted to send the tie into sudden death but Hart had the final say.