Exploit of the French XV, OL reinvigorated, end of the Vendée Globe: sports news from the weekend

July 23, 2026 8 Min Read

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The sporting events that should not be missed, the summary of the major football championships and the image of the weekend: here is the France 24 sports recap.

The XV of France wins in Ireland but loses its captain Antoine Dupont

The French XV achieved a feat by winning against Ireland (42-27) on Saturday March 8 in Dublin, and takes the lead in the Six Nations Tournament which it can win next week against Scotland.

Despite the early exit of Antoine Dupont, Fabien Galthié’s men, thanks to an iron defense and cold realism on every occasion, disgusted the XV du Trèfle, double defending champion and who were aiming for the Grand Slam.

Also readXV of France: Antoine Dupont confirms the rupture of the cruciate ligaments in his right knee

The day after the match, Blues captain Antoine Dupont confirmed on Instagram the seriousness of his injury which will keep him away from the field for several months: “Rupture of the cruciate ligaments. It’s the start of a new challenge, I’ll see you in a few months on the field”.

Tadej Pogacar and Demi Vollering win the Strade Bianche

And three! After 2022 and 2024, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE) won the Strade Bianche, despite a fall 50 kilometers from the finish on Saturday in Siena, in central Italy.

Tadej Pogacar, who equals Swiss Fabian Cancellara’s record for victories in the Italian classic, was ahead of the Briton Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) by more than a minute at the end of a 213-kilometer race – including 82 kilometers of gravel paths (Q36.5), author of the decisive acceleration 78 kilometers from the finish.

Among the women, it was the Dutchwoman Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) who won, for the second time in her career, the Strade Bianche, of which the Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, 3rd, was one of the great leaders.

French women crowned in Biathlon

The Frenchwoman Julia Simon won the pursuit in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) on Saturday counting for the Biathlon World Cup, winning ahead of the Swede Hanna Oeberg and another tricolor, Océane Michelon.

Fourth as in the sprint on Friday, Lou Jeanmonnot took advantage of the 13th place of World Cup leader Franziska Preuss to move closer in the general classification. With five races remaining in the season, she is only 36 points behind the German, while 90 points are awarded to the winner of each event.

Among the men, the Blues, led by Émilien Claude, Oscar Lombardot, Fabien Claude and Quentin Fillon Maillet won their fifth victory in as many World Cup relays this winter, winning ahead of Norway and Ukraine.

Arthur Fils saves a match point and climbs into the eighth at Indian Wells

Frenchman Arthur Fils (21st in the world) dominated Italian Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Sunday after an intense 2h31 fight and a match point saved, in order to qualify for the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells (California, United States).

On Sunday, the 20-year-old was initially clearly dominated by Musetti before balancing the proceedings in the 2nd set. He made a brilliant play to take the Italian’s serve and lead 3-2, before his opponent called in a doctor at 4-3 to bandage his right calf.

At 6-5 for the Italian, Fils saved a match point on his serve with a powerful forehand followed by a beautiful volley, before dominating the tie-break. The Frenchman then achieved the decisive break at 5-3 in the last set.

PSG continues in Ligue 1, OL returns

Paris SG, still undefeated in Ligue 1, won in Rennes (4-1) on Saturday during the 25th day, three days before its trip to Liverpool for its round of 16 second leg of the Champions League, where it hopes to create the feat.

For its part, Olympique Lyonnais concluded a great week on Sunday by inflicting on Nice (2-0) its first defeat of the season at home, a few days after its success in the Europa League. With this new victory, Lyon is only seven points behind Marseille. The image of the meeting was the presence of the two coaches, Paulo Fonseca and Franck Haise in the press box, both suspended and banned from the sidelines.

Juventus suffer their worst home defeat since 1967

Juve, the best defense in Serie A and which remained on five victories, conceded its second defeat of the season on Sunday which relegated it to nine points (4th, 52 pts) behind Inter.

While his team was eliminated in quick succession from the Champions League and the Italian Cup, the end of the season risks being long and stormy for Thiago Motta, criticized like his players at the final whistle.

“It’s clearly a defeat that hurts us, that makes us sad, but at least we will no longer be talking about this race for the scudetto in which you, the press, put us,” defended the Italian-Brazilian coach.

Bayern and Leverkusen falter before their Champions League return match

Beaten on Saturday for the first time this season in the Bundesliga on home turf by Bochum (3-2), Bayern Munich did not take advantage of the misstep of the reigning champion, Bayer Leverkusen, who lost against Werder Bremen (2-0).

Winner 3-0 at home against Leverkusen in the round of 16 first leg of the Champions League, Vincent Kompany’s men will play the return match on Tuesday (9:00 p.m.) on the BayArena pitch with the quarter-finals of the competition in their sights for the 35th time in Bayern’s history (in 41 appearances).

“We can see it in two ways: there was a chance to take an 11-point lead obviously, but we were lucky that Leverkusen lost and that we kept our eight-point lead. We will quickly move on,” Harry Kane underlined after the match.

Real takes advantage of Atletico’s fall

Real Madrid did not miss the opportunity to join Barça at the top of La Liga by winning on Sunday at home (2-1) against Rayo Vallecano, unlike Atlético, beaten by the same score in Getafe.

After the postponement of the Barcelona match, scheduled for Saturday, due to the death of the club doctor, Real follows the Catalans with 57 points but remains 2nd on goal difference, largely favorable to Barça (+31 against +46).

Found on the left side by Vinicius, Mbappé eliminated French defender Florian Lejeune in the area before arming a cross shot (1-0, 30th) to score his 18th goal of the season in the league. The Brazilian also scored his goal four minutes later, catching Batalla on the wrong foot, after having fun with defender Ratiu and shooting between his legs (2-0, 34th).

This victory, combined with the defeat of Atlético (56 pts), allows Carlo Ancelotti’s club to overtake its neighbor Madrid, whom it beat at home on Tuesday (2-1) and to whom it will travel on Wednesday to try to validate its qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Arsenal let Liverpool fly to the title

The path to the title widened further for Liverpool after the draw of its runner-up Arsenal at Old Trafford against Manchester United (1-1), in a Premier League Sunday which saw Chelsea join the Top 4.

Arsenal could even have left Manchester with a defeat in their bags without a double intervention from goalkeeper David Raya in added time. Midfielder Declan Rice also saved a point, first by equalizing (74th, 1-1), then by making a high-level tackle in front of Rasmus Hojlund in his area (85th).

The English championship seems more than ever promised to Liverpool, who defeated Southampton 3-1 on Saturday. The “Reds”, who have played one more match, now have a fifteen-point lead over the “Gunners” with ten days remaining. A chasm.

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Sports cafe — Cover image: Café des sports © France 24

The Belgian Denis Van Weynbergh (D’Ieteren Group), the last skipper still at sea in the Vendée Globe, completed his world tour in Les Sables-d’Olonne on Saturday morning around 9:30 a.m. (8:30 a.m. GMT), the organizers announced, but he will not be classified because he exceeded the deadline.

He actually arrived in the Vendée port one day after the official closing of the finish line, Friday at 8 a.m. (GMT+1). The last ranked competitor, Fabrice Amédéo (Nexans-Wewise), arrived in 32nd position on Tuesday, 50 days after the winner, Charlie Dalin.

Also readVendée Globe: the incredible odyssey of Sébastien Simon, the child of Sables-d’Olonne

The only participant in this Vendée Globe with a 100% amateur team, Van Weynbergh will have spent 117 days at sea, during a journey peppered with multiple challenges. It has been almost two weeks since he could no longer completely hoist his mainsail, according to the organization.

The race organization had set the closing of the finish line for Friday morning, 8:00 a.m. (GMT+1), i.e. a race time of 116 days and 18 hours. “This time corresponds to the time of the last competitor of the previous edition, the Finn Ari Huusela,” the organizers indicated on the event’s website.