Brazilian striker Sonny Anderson’s 20th goal of the season kept Lyon’s almost

Monaco should still wrap it up with a home match againsts truggling Nancy, who lost 3-2 to Strasbourg yesterday and had two-goal hero Tony Cascarino sent off, next Saturday.

Anderson, who won the title with Monaco in 1997 before moving to Barcelona, scored with a crisp right-footed shot to give his big-spending side the lead over Le Havre and put him joint-top of the scoring charts on 2 0 with Monaco’s David Trezeguet.

Laurent Robert, whose hot temper has led to him being sent-off twice this season, put PSG ahead against St Etienne in the 26th minute, though their hosts fought back to end the half on level terms when Masudi scored and leave PSG winless away from home since December 12.

Two fallen former champions Auxerre, who finished with 10 men, and Nantes fought out a 1-1 draw although Auxerre will be happy to have stopped a run of five successive defeats.

Stephane Guivarc’h, a member of France’s World Cup winning team, gave Auxerre the lead from the penalty spot against relegation candidates Nantes.However, the 1996 double winners were reduced to 10-men, a minute later when Laurent Ciechelski was red carded for a second bookable offence as he clattered into Frederic Da Rocha from behind.

Nantes, champions in 1995, grabbed an equaliser two minutes after the break when journeyman striker Antoine Sibierski slotted home from just inside the box.

Bottom side Montpellier all but confirmed that they will be playing second division football next season when they allowed a two goal lead to slip and missed a penalty against another relegation candidate Troyes with the match finishing 2-2.

BRASILIA:Brazil’s 1950 World Cup goalkeeper Moacyr Barbosa died late on Friday night at the age of 79 after suffering from respiratory complications at Playa Grande in Sao Paulo state, it was announced.

Barbosa was the man in goal when Brazil lost 2-1 to Uruguay in what was the decisive match of the 1950 tournament, in front of a crowd at Rio De Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium of 199,584 – still a world record for a stadium-based sporting event.

Barbosa was scapegoated by many for the World Cup defeat and had only spoken recently about the match for the first time, saying: "Until the day I die people will blame me for that defeat."

LEEDS: Leeds United have urged European soccer officials to ban Galatasaray fans from the April 20 UEFA Cup match at Leeds with Galatasaray saying they will request a neutral site if its fans are barred from Leeds’ Elland Road Stadium.

UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, was widely criticised for playing Thursday’s first-leg semifinal in Istanbul less than 24 hours after two Leeds fans were stabbed to death in street fighting with Turkish youths.

Galatasaray won the match 2-0.

UEFA yesterday said Elland Road was still the venue with an announcement expected early in the week. A UEFA spokesman said a petition to change the site had not been received from Galatasaray. Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale said he was "actively discouraging" Galatasaray fans from attending the April 20 game. Officials from both teams said Turkish fans had already purchased about 1,800 tickets for the match.