Dimitri Payet, France's Stunner Rescues
Dimitri Payet, France's Stunner Rescues
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PARIS - West Ham player became French rescuers hero from draw results in opening game Euro 2016 at Stade de France. He has won it after taking a touch to the left and blasting across goal from 20 yards into the top corner.
Left foot curled in from 25 yards after 89 minutes. He’s been scoring them like that all season, although not many quite of this importance, but it was no more than he deserved.
Taken off in injury time, he was crying, overcome with emotion and it was entirely understandable. So long on the periphery in his own country he was the best player on the field here by a mile. As for the scorer of France’s first goal, Olivier Giroud, well, he had to get one eventually. Unfortunately, fit was the barrow load he missed that will be most discussed, having come so close to costing France two points.
This result also became mission accomplished by France, who blended slickness and jitters throughout but were uplifted at the last by Payet, their best player on the night and the scorer of a superb winning goal. That’s a nice start for the hosts to build on, even if plenty of improvement will be needed for them to win here against on July 10.
He was the man of the match even before he received a clever short pass from Kanté at the edge of the area - and jinked to his left and curled a sumptuous shot into the top corner! This time last year it didn’t even look like he’d be picked for the tournament, now it looks like he’s won the opening match with a sumptuous goal!
Olivier Giroud scored first goal of Euro 2016 for France with a thumping header. Bogdan Stancu equalises from the spot after Olivier Giroud opened scoring
Had Giroud taken his chances, the 65th minute penalty awarded to Romania would have been an irrelevance. France would have been long out of sight. Instead, until Payet’s magnificent intervention, this was shaping to be a stutter, a stumble. No catastrophe – not here, of all places but hardly the start the nation expected. Romania are tough cookies, but France no doubt thought they would have too much to them but that would not have been the case without Payet’s beautiful boot.
The Stade de France must have lost count of the times Payet in particular – he was the game’s outstanding provider, too – put it on a plate for the Arsenal man, On his head, to his feet, Payet’s accuracy showed why he is, without doubt, among the greatest creative midfielders in the world right now.
Giroud showed why he is one of the most infuriating forwards. Grand opportunities went over, went wide, went tamely to goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu. When he did eventually score, it was more a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut – and he had a lot of help from the man in Romania’s goal.
It was a decent cross from Payet, again – he is rarely anything less than decent – but Tatarusanu made an absolute hash of claiming it, coming off his line and allowing Giroud to get across him to glance the ball into the net. Tatarusanu bitterly complained about an elbow, but there was none. A little physical contact, perhaps, but nothing that is not considered part of any aerial tussle. The Fiorentina man was weak, simple as that, and any Premier League striker worth his salt will take advantage in those circumstances.
Discomfort followed just six minutes later, however, after a moment of uncharacteristic sloppiness from Patrice Evra. There was no need for him to dangle the leg that felled Nicolae Stanciu and when it clipped him at full pelt the consequential events were obvious. Stanciu fell, dramatically, referee Viktor Kassai of Hungary pointed to the spot, all France despaired. Bogdan Stancu stepped up, took it smartly and sweetly to Hugo Lloris’s left, and Romania looked to be holding on for the point they wanted. Then came Payet. And now, everybody understands.
France starting XI: Lloris, Sagna, Koscielny, Rami, Evra, Kante, Matuidi, Pogba (Martial), Griezmann (Coman), Payet (Sissoko), Giroud
Romania starting XI: Tatarusanu, Sapunaru, Grigore, Chiriches, Rat, Hoban, Pintilii, Stanciu (Chipciu), Popa (Torje), Stancu, Andone (Alibec)
Left foot curled in from 25 yards after 89 minutes. He’s been scoring them like that all season, although not many quite of this importance, but it was no more than he deserved.
Taken off in injury time, he was crying, overcome with emotion and it was entirely understandable. So long on the periphery in his own country he was the best player on the field here by a mile. As for the scorer of France’s first goal, Olivier Giroud, well, he had to get one eventually. Unfortunately, fit was the barrow load he missed that will be most discussed, having come so close to costing France two points.
This result also became mission accomplished by France, who blended slickness and jitters throughout but were uplifted at the last by Payet, their best player on the night and the scorer of a superb winning goal. That’s a nice start for the hosts to build on, even if plenty of improvement will be needed for them to win here against on July 10.
He was the man of the match even before he received a clever short pass from Kanté at the edge of the area - and jinked to his left and curled a sumptuous shot into the top corner! This time last year it didn’t even look like he’d be picked for the tournament, now it looks like he’s won the opening match with a sumptuous goal!
Olivier Giroud scored first goal of Euro 2016 for France with a thumping header. Bogdan Stancu equalises from the spot after Olivier Giroud opened scoring
Had Giroud taken his chances, the 65th minute penalty awarded to Romania would have been an irrelevance. France would have been long out of sight. Instead, until Payet’s magnificent intervention, this was shaping to be a stutter, a stumble. No catastrophe – not here, of all places but hardly the start the nation expected. Romania are tough cookies, but France no doubt thought they would have too much to them but that would not have been the case without Payet’s beautiful boot.
The Stade de France must have lost count of the times Payet in particular – he was the game’s outstanding provider, too – put it on a plate for the Arsenal man, On his head, to his feet, Payet’s accuracy showed why he is, without doubt, among the greatest creative midfielders in the world right now.
Giroud showed why he is one of the most infuriating forwards. Grand opportunities went over, went wide, went tamely to goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu. When he did eventually score, it was more a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut – and he had a lot of help from the man in Romania’s goal.
It was a decent cross from Payet, again – he is rarely anything less than decent – but Tatarusanu made an absolute hash of claiming it, coming off his line and allowing Giroud to get across him to glance the ball into the net. Tatarusanu bitterly complained about an elbow, but there was none. A little physical contact, perhaps, but nothing that is not considered part of any aerial tussle. The Fiorentina man was weak, simple as that, and any Premier League striker worth his salt will take advantage in those circumstances.
Discomfort followed just six minutes later, however, after a moment of uncharacteristic sloppiness from Patrice Evra. There was no need for him to dangle the leg that felled Nicolae Stanciu and when it clipped him at full pelt the consequential events were obvious. Stanciu fell, dramatically, referee Viktor Kassai of Hungary pointed to the spot, all France despaired. Bogdan Stancu stepped up, took it smartly and sweetly to Hugo Lloris’s left, and Romania looked to be holding on for the point they wanted. Then came Payet. And now, everybody understands.
France starting XI: Lloris, Sagna, Koscielny, Rami, Evra, Kante, Matuidi, Pogba (Martial), Griezmann (Coman), Payet (Sissoko), Giroud
Romania starting XI: Tatarusanu, Sapunaru, Grigore, Chiriches, Rat, Hoban, Pintilii, Stanciu (Chipciu), Popa (Torje), Stancu, Andone (Alibec)
(rnz)
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