brink

Returning to the now, manager Patrick Videira has the club second in Ligue 2 with just one game remaining – and on course for back-to-back promotions.

Consolidation in the second tier was the objective following promotion from the National, an amateur division, the previous summer.

“If, as an objective, you set an obligation to go up, it is the best way to not go quickly and to not reach that objective,” says Gomez.

But Oliveira is clear on the club’s direction of travel: “I would say that our goal in seven years is to consolidate [a place in] Ligue 1, to be one of the top 10 academies in France and to have a brand that is recognisable in global football.”

To grow the “branding and sponsorship” Oliveira has been influenced by Italian side Como, who he considers the benchmark in this domain.

Inspiration, however, will not be drawn from clubs such as Chelsea.

Le Mans have now entered into a multi-club (MCO) model with Coritiba. And while, currently, OutField has no plans to acquire further clubs, such organisations are perceived with scepticism in France.

The anti-BlueCo protests at Strasbourg are a case in point, while, to a lesser degree, there has been opposition to Black Knight Football Club’s (BKFC) full takeover at Lorient earlier this season – Bill Foley’s consortium also owns Bournemouth.

“We don’t like to see ourselves at OutField as the traditional MCO structure. [At BlueCo] you can clearly see that there’s a pyramid and everyone involved is working towards the club on top,” says Oliveira.

“It is the same with City [Group] and with Red Bull. We don’t want to be that and that’s why we’re establishing this horizontal model.”

Gomez speaks about “preserving the club’s identity”, adding: “The investor’s first objective is to understand the club that he invests in, to understand its identity, to remain close to local actors, be it business, supporters, the wider public.”

Growing that fanbase is also on the lengthy list of objectives. In the wider region, there are Rennes, Nantes, Angers, Lorient and Brest to compete with.

Such competition provides sporting challenges – notably regarding youth talent acquisition – and also potentially limits the scope for growing the support.

But the aim is to make Le Mans known for something beyond its 24-hour race, all while harnessing that rich motorsport heritage.

Massa and Magnussen, it is hoped, will help “build a narrative” around the club, whose ground sits in the middle of the famous circuit; it is a sellable one, but to be successful, it must be substantive, too.

In a town famous for its endurance race, Le Mans’ new owners are looking to build a project that will last.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has not come close to winning the Premier League or Champions League since joining the club in 2020.

He did lift a couple of domestic cups under Erik ten Hag – and if United finish third this season, it will be a position they have only bettered once during Fernandes’ time at Old Trafford.

But it represents a meagre return for a player many argue is United’s best signing since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and someone, they argue, who deserves a place among the club’s best in the Premier League era.

On Friday, he was named the Football Writers’ Association’s footballer of the year. But Fernandes is not one for coveting individual awards.

When he spoke to the media in October, he said: “I don’t see it that one player is better than another because he wins more trophies. Not every time the best player in the world is the one that wins the Ballon d’Or.

“I want to win trophies. I want to be recognised by the many good things I did for the club, for bringing something back to the club, not just my individual numbers.”

United will not win a trophy this season, but there are still a couple of significant milestones ahead of Fernandes.

He needs just one more assist to equal the individual Premier League record of 20 in a single campaign – jointly held by Arsenal great Thierry Henry and former Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne.

Fernandes is eight clear of Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki in the Premier League’s assists chart this season, with West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen third with 10 assists.

Beating the record clearly means a lot to Fernandes, who will be a key part of Portugal’s World Cup squad this summer. So much so, one of his United team-mates told him he felt Fernandes would previously have taken a shot against Brentford recently, rather than set up striker Benjamin Sesko. Fernandes rejected that notion.

Fernandes is also favourite to win the prestigious PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, which Henry and De Bruyne both took twice.

Despite the lack of major trophies, would the assist record and another player of the year award confirm his status as one of the most creative forces of the Premier League era?

Barcelona move 11 points clear of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race with five games to play.

Fermin Lopez and Marcus Rashford’s goals took Barcelona to the brink of the La Liga title with a 2-0 win at Getafe.

The defending champions moved 11 points clear of second-place Real Madrid, who drew at Real Betis on Friday to dent their hopes of finishing the season with a trophy.

Hansi Flick’s side can win their second consecutive Spanish title if they overcome Osasuna next weekend and Real Madrid fail to beat Espanyol.

“It’s not done, we have five more games, and we’re only focused on the next one,” Flick told reporters.

“We will celebrate when it’s time, but not now.”

Barcelona were without vital injured wingers Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, but still did enough to see off Jose Bordalas’s tricky side, sixth, in the Madrid suburbs.

“We were aware of what was going to happen here, we were going to have few chances, and I think we played well, competing well defensively and putting away the chances we had,” Lopez told Movistar.

“We know we’ve got a big advantage [in the title race], but even so, we can’t relax, I know it’s a cliche, but it’s the truth.”

Getafe set out to disrupt Barcelona’s rhythm with small fouls, and Barca struggled to create many clear opportunities.

Flick opted for Swedish winger Roony Bardghji in place of Yamal and chose Lopez on the left over Rashford.

Dani Olmo made the first with a neat dribble, speeding into Getafe territory, but pulled his shot wide of the far post.

Eventually, the hosts made the breakthrough just before half-time when Pedri played in Lopez.

Wearing a protective mask after hurting his face in a collision with Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso during Barcelona’s Champions League quarterfinal elimination last week, Lopez stayed calm to slot home.

The midfielder imitated Yamal’s usual “304” celebration in tribute to the injured teenage star.

“The truth is he’s really important for us, it’s a shame that he can’t play any more, but the important thing is that he recovers well and is ready for the World Cup,” added Lopez.

With Getafe needing to come out of their shell to find an equaliser, Barca had more opportunities after the break.

David Soria saved from Olmo after he met Jules Kounde’s cross, and then the French defender headed a Joao Cancelo ball narrowly off-target.

Martin Satriano threatened for the hosts before Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, secured Barcelona’s triumph.

Robert Lewandowski sent the England international charging through on goal, and he slipped a low effort past Soria to help Barca put one hand on the trophy.

“Marcus, in the second half, he came on and used the space they gave us,” said Flick.

“I’m happy that we scored this goal for the team and also for him.”

Getafe goalkeeper Soria acknowledged Barca were clinical enough to clinch victory.

“They were very efficient, you give away two chances, and they score them both,” he said.

“It’s a shame to have gone in behind at half-time because it puts you in a difficult spot.”

Kings coach D.J. Smith gave his team the day off Friday, but he sent his players home with a message: if they don’t show up for work Sunday, they’ll have the rest of the spring and summer off, too.

Players don’t like to call any game a “must-win” because of the pressure it brings, but there’s no other way to look at Sunday’s game for the Kings. After losing the first three games of their best-of-seven playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche, the Kings are one loss away from being eliminating in the first round for a fifth consecutive season.

“Must-win game,” agreed defenseman Drew Doughty, who hasn’t played on a winning team in a playoff series since the Kings last won the Stanley Cup in 2014. “Everyone’s going to give everything and we’ve got to win that one. And then hopefully go back to Denver.”

The most recent loss came Thursday when the Avs scored two fluky goals on pucks that bounced in off the skates of Kings players and put another one into an empty net in a 4-2 victory that pushed the Kings to the brink of elimination once again.

“You don’t like the result,” Smith said. “And it’s tough to swallow.”

For Colorado, the best team in the NHL during the regular season, it hasn’t been the most stylish of postseasons. But after a pair of hard-fought 2-1 wins at home, the Avs have a chance to sweep a playoff series for the first time since 2022, when they won their last Stanley Cup.

“All the games have been tight. We’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “Each guy, including myself, we just have to give a little bit more.

“We’re doing the right things, we just have to dig in a little bit more.”

It’s hard to say how. The Kings’ power play has been good, scoring a goal in each of the three games, and their penalty kill even better, shutting out the top-scoring team in the NHL on nine tries with a man advantage.

The Kings have been physical and fast and goaltender Anton Forsberg has been brilliant in his first career playoff series, making 90 saves in the three games. Yet none of that has paid off with a win.

“Sometimes you play real well for stretches and you don’t get the results. And then you’ll win a game you don’t deserve to win,” Smith said. “Maybe we didn’t stay with it long enough.”

“Those games are over with,” a frustrated Byfield added. “You can’t look back at those games. It’s just on to the next one, that’s our focus.”

Doughty said the Kings need to wear down the Avalanche, something they clearly couldn’t do in the two games played in Denver’s mile-high altitude. They might have a better chance Sunday at sea level.

“I don’t think we’re creating enough Grade A chances,” he said. “They’re statistically one of the best teams in the neutral zone. So for us to beat them, we’ve got to wear them down in the D zone, make them tired and score goals that way. We haven’t done that enough.”

Every team has its kryptonite and the for the Kings that appears to be the first round of the playoffs. Over the past dozen seasons, the team has gone 9-27 in the postseason, taking a series to a seventh game just once in six tries. Along the way they’ve changed general mangers twice, changed head coaches five times and even changed their opponents, facing the Avs this year after losing four straight series to the Edmonton Oilers.

None of that has changed the results.

Smith, in fact, is an interim coach, having taken over for Jim Hiller with 23 games left in the regular season. He figures to be coaching for his future Sunday since a playoff sweep won’t look good at his resume.

“There’s no quit in there,” Smith said of the Kings’ locker room. “We’ll get reset with practice [Saturday] and I think you’re going to see our best effort.

“Now we’ve got to make a few changes and see if we can spark something.”

If that works, the Kings will be heading back to Denver. If it doesn’t, they’ll be heading home for another long summer.