The historic Blues, Djokovic and Verstappen unchallenged… The sports recap of the weekend

Notable performances and records. The sporting weekend was full of emotions and highlights, from the football pitches to the tennis courts. In demonstration, the Blues of Didier Deschamps wrote their name in history with 14 goals and a success never seen before. Novak Djokovic also consolidated his place in the pantheon of the little yellow ball by winning a record 7th ATP Masters, while Max Verstappen continued his harvest of trophies under the glitter of Las Vegas.

Football: an evening in history for the Blues against Gibraltar

The French team scored the biggest victory in its history on Saturday November 18 by beating Gibraltar 14-0 at the Allianz Riviera in Nice. Facing a weak team, 198th in the Fifa rankings, the Blues did not take it easy and shone thanks to the achievements of Marcus Thuram (4th), Warren Zaire-Emery (16th), Kylian Mbappé (30th, 74th, 82nd) , Jonathan Clauss (34th), Kingsley Coman (36th, 65th), Youssouf Fofana (37th), Adrien Rabiot (63rd), Ousmane Dembélé (73rd), and Olivier Giroud (89th, 90+1st). Without forgetting the first goal of the match scored against his side by Ethan Santos (3rd).

Kylian Mbappé thus reached the mark of 300 career goals before turning 25, showing himself to be earlier in reaching this milestone than Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar. A victory which allows the French team to finish among the top five in these qualifiers with 21 points and to ensure being seeded in the Euro 2024 draw on December 2. With seven victories in seven matches, France could finish flawlessly. To do this, he will need to win on Tuesday in Greece, in the Blues’ last match in these qualifiers.

Tennis: Master Djokovic offers victory and record at the ATP Masters

Leave no crumbs. At the end of a checkered week in Turin, Novak Djokovic defeated Jannik Sinner in the final of the ATP Masters on Sunday. In two sets (6-3, 6-3), the Serb took his revenge on the Italian, who had inflicted his sixth defeat of the season on him earlier in the tournament. Powerful in service, imperial in defense, the world number 1 only slowed down at the end of the game, without Jannik Sinner being able to take advantage of this to gain the upper hand.

With this new victory, Novak Djokovic brings his number of ATP Masters titles to seven, a record which allows him to overtake Roger Federer. Seven is also the number of new trophies that have been added to its cup cabinets this season. For the eighth time in his career, the Serbian is guaranteed to end the year at the top of the world rankings.

F1: Max Verstappen on top of the world again and again

Even already sacred, it continues to be undivided. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix (Nevada) on Sunday, November 19, securing his 18th victory this season, his sixth in a row. Despite his world champion title already acquired at the beginning of October, the Dutchman is further establishing his hegemony. He won ahead of Monegasque Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and his teammate, Mexican Sergio Pérez for this first on the Strip marked Friday by the loosening of a manhole cover during the first free practice session.

The great sensation of the race goes to the Monegasque driver of the Scuderia, who battled until the last meters to grab second place at the expense of the Mexican. “I wanted this victory so badly, but what a race!” he exclaimed again aboard his Ferrari. As for the Tricolores, the results are mixed for Alpine, with a good fourth place for Esteban Ocon, but a disappointing 11th place for Pierre Gasly, long in the top 5 before weakening two laps from the finish.

Transat Jacques Vabre: Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière achieve the double

Four days after the arrival of the first Ultim (Armel Le Cléac’h and Sébastien Josse on the Maxi Banque Populaire XI), and two days after the victory of Thibaut Vauchel-Camus and Quentin Vlamynck (Solidaires en peloton) in the Ocean Fifty, the IMOCAs arrived in turn, Sunday November 19, in Fort-de-France (Martinique). Thomas Ruyant and Morgan Lagravière retained their crown, aboard their latest generation Imoca (For People).

Left Le Havre on November 7, after more than a week of delay due to storms Ciaran and Domingos, the tandem crossed the line at 2:02 a.m. local time (7:02 a.m. in Paris), after 11 days 21 hours and 32 minutes of racing. Together, they achieved a double on this transatlantic, after their victory in 2021. In addition to retaining his title in the Transat Jacques Vabre with Morgan Lagravière, Thomas Ruyant also ticks the box of an unprecedented triple in ocean racing with his solo victory on the Route du Rhum in 2022.