Football Roundup: Lille overcome Marseille; PSG win

Winger Nicolas Pepe won two penalties, converting one himself, as Lille beat Olympique de Marseille 3-0 to move into second place in Ligue 1, eight points behind leaders Paris St Germain, who defeated Nice 3-0 on Saturday.

Lille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda conceded a penalty in the 63rd minute of Sunday's late game when he brought down Pepe, who stepped up to slam the spot kick past the hapless keeper.

Marseille quickly brought on the attacking duo of Dimitri Payet and Kostas Mitroglou. But as they fought back desperately Pepe was brought down again, this time by Luiz Gustavo, and Jonathan Bamba scored from the spot in the 86th minute.

Bamba put the game out of reach three minutes later, stabbing full back Fode Ballo-Toure's pass home from close range.

PSG maintained their grip on first position with a 3-0 win over Nice, with Neymar scoring twice for the visitors and the home side reduced to 10 men after Wylan Cyprien was sent off in the 59th minute.

It was PSG's eighth win in eight league games this season, and the champions have now scored 27 goals while conceding only six.

Earlier on Sunday, Montpellier's third goal in the 79th minute of their 3-0 victory against Nimes sparked crowd trouble that delayed the game for half an hour, with referee Ruddy Buquet removing the players from the field before returning to finish the game.

The result moved Montpellier into third place in the standings ahead of St Etienne, who beat Monaco 2-0 at home on Friday, on goal difference.

Rennes looked set to take all three points against 10-man Toulouse thanks to a Mbaye Niang penalty in the 70th minute. However, Jean-Clair Todibo struck three minutes from time in Sunday's early game to give the visitors a hard-earned point.

Bottom side Guingamp got their first win of the season on Saturday, Nicolas Benezet firing the only goal of the game as they won 1-0 away to Angers, while fellow strugglers Nantes battled to a 1-1 draw away to Olympique Lyonnais.

After losing 3-2 late on to Marseille on Wednesday, Strasbourg bounced back to climb into eighth place with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Dijon.

Gerrard condemns missile-throwing incident after linesman hurt

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has said there is no place in football for the kind of incident that saw an assistant referee struck by a missile thrown from the crowd during Sunday's match at Livingston.

The Scottish Premiership game was held up for several minutes in the second half to allow treatment to be given to Calum Spence.

Television pictures showed Spence bleeding from a cut to the back of the head after being felled by an object thrown from a section housing Rangers supporters.

Local media said Rangers would work with Livingston and Police Scotland to identify the culprit.

"I don't think that belongs in football, does it?" Gerrard told reporters after the game, which Rangers lost 1-0.

"I think we all know that’s not right. He’s trying to do a job so that's not right."

A professional trade union for senior football referees in Scotland condemned the incident and called on the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to launch an investigation.

"We strongly condemn the unacceptable incident at today's game. This cannot be tolerated," Prospect Scotland Football Referees Branch said on its Twitter page.

"We call on the @ScottishFA to carry out an urgent full investigation. Referees & officials are entitled to a safe workplace, free from intimidation and violence."

Livingston's shock win saw them move above both Rangers and champions Celtic into third place in the table.

Sao Paulo draw at Botafogo, miss chance to go top in Brazil

Sao Paulo missed a chance to return to the top of Brazil's Serie A on Sunday when they could only draw 2-2 at Botafogo.

Jean put the home side ahead from a corner kick after just four minutes but Sao Paulo levelled three minutes later when Diego Souza pounced on a loose ball to fire home his 14th goal of the season from nine metres out.

Kieza restored Botafogo's lead after 24 minutes when he volleyed home from close range after a nice one-two with Erik.

But substitute Gonzalo Carneiro saved Sao Paulo's blushes when he stabbed home another equaliser around the hour mark after goalkeeper Saulo could only parry a free kick from the right.

The result means that Sao Paulo end the weekend one point behind joint leaders Palmeiras and Internacional.

Palmeiras went top on goal difference thanks to a 3-1 win at home to Cruzeiro on Sunday. Internacional drew level on points with a 2-1 win over Vitoria.

Australia's Jedinak announces international retirement

Australian midfielder Mile Jedinak announced his retirement from international football, bringing the curtain down on a 79-cap career which included leading the Socceroos at two World Cups.

The Aston Villa player led his country at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and this year's tournament in Russia, having also captained the side to an Asian Cup triumph on home soil in 2015.

The 34-year-old announced his decision in a lengthy Instagram post, three months before Australia launch their continental title defence in the United Arab Emirates.

"I can confirm that after much deliberation I have made the decision to retire from playing international football," Jedinak wrote.

"As a young boy growing up, it was my dream to play for Australia and to pull on the famous green and gold shirt to represent my country.

"To have been given the opportunity to not only fulfil that dream, but to have done it 79 times, and many of which as captain, makes me incredibly proud and thankful."

Jedinak, who also played at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, scored 20 goals for his country, a majority of them from the penalty spot, including both of Australia's tallies in their group stage exit in Russia.

Fiorentina, Atalanta coaches clash over disputed penalty

Fiorentina coach Stefano Pioli and his Atalanta counterpart Gian Piero Gasperini clashed after the final whistle over a hotly-disputed penalty which set up a 2-0 win for the Florence side in their Serie A match on Sunday.

Gasperini was livid after Fiorentina, who climbed to third in the table, took the lead from the softest of penalties for an alleged foul on Federico Chiesa in the 63rd minute.

Chiesa burst into the Atalanta area, slowed down and dribbled across the path of defender Rafael Toloi who did everything possible to avoid any contact, yet the Fiorentina player still went flying.

Surprisingly, the referee awarded a penalty without consulting the VAR system and Jordan Veretout converted. Cristiano Biraghi scored the second in the last minute.

As the final whistle went, Gasperini began ranting angrily and wagging his finger at Pioli and there appeared to be a push between the pair before they were separated.

"What happened today is inconceivable in the modern era," Gasperini said. "It was a penalty from the past......it is difficult to accept this situation with technology. It is a clear and obvious episode."

Pioli stood by 20-year-old Chiesa, who is regarded as one of Italy's most promising players.

"Chiesa is a player who has improved enormously. Obviously, he may fall over if there is a physical contact but he doesn't go to ground at the slightest touch," he said.

Fiorentina have 13 points, ahead of Inter Milan and Sassuolo on goal difference.

AC Milan made surprisingly light work of surprise packages Sassuolo -- who would have gone second with a win -- as they won 4-1 away to end a run of three successive draws.

Franck Kessie collected the ball in his own half, powered forward and scored from the edge of the area to give Milan the lead before halftime.

Suso and Samu Castillejo scored with long-range left-foot shots after the break and, although Filip Djuricic pulled one back for Sassuolo, Suso fired in a fourth in stoppage-time.

Genoa striker Krzysztof Piatek continued his remarkable start to his Serie A career by notching a brace in a 2-1 win at lowly Frosinone, who at least had the consolation of scoring their first goal of the season.

Piatek volleyed home in the 33rd minute and the Pole turned in a Christian Kouame cross from close range three minutes later, his eighth goal in six appearances since joining from Cracovia for a modest four million euros ($4.64 million) in July.

Promoted Frosinone, who have one point, finally scored when Camillo Ciano converted a penalty three minutes before halftime after Nicolas Spolli fouled Stipe Perica.

Former AS Roma and Arsenal forward Gervinho grabbed the only goal to give Parma a 1-0 win over Empoli in a game between the other two promoted sides.

It was a third win of the season for Parma who were relegated to the fourth tier in 2015 after going bankrupt and have bounced back to the top flight with three successive promotions.

Torino won 1-0 at Chievo after forward Simone Zaza came off the bench to grab a late winner, leaving the Flying Donkeys rooted to the bottom of the table with minus one point after having three deducted for accounting irregularities.

Russia's World Cup hero Akinfeev retires from internationals

Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is retiring from international soccer after leading the national side as captain to this year's World Cup quarter-finals on home soil.

The 32-year-old CSKA Moscow player's acrobatic penalty saves captivated home crowds and helped Russia to their best tournament finish since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"There is a beginning and an end to every story," Akinfeev was quoted as saying on CSKA's website.

"My story with the national team has also reached its logical end."

Akinfeev earned 112 caps for his country since his debut in 2004 as an 18-year-old, according to the Russian Football Union.

The highlight of his international career came at this year's World Cup hosted by Russia.

"It was a great honour for me to lead the Russian team as captain at the World Cup," he said. "Honestly I couldn't have dreamt of it. But it happened and probably was the peak of my career with the national team."

Akinfeev played a key role in helping his team reach the quarter-finals, where they lost 4-3 to Croatia in a penalty shootout.

He saved two spot-kickS, including one with his left leg, to help Russia eliminate 2010 world champions Spain in the round of 16.

After the match, graffiti of the goalkeeper appeared around the country and his kick save became a symbol of Russia's unexpected success at the tournament.

"We didn't win any medals at the World Cup, but all the guys did what they could," he said. "The most important thing is that no one was indifferent among us."

Russia had been heavily dependent on Akinfeev, who before the World Cup had had a checkered history in internationals.

At the 2014 World Cup, he fumbled the ball to gift South Korea a goal and a 1-1 draw, a mistake that contributed to Russia's group-stage exit from the tournament.

"I'm leaving with peace of mind," Akinfeev said. "A very good and promising generation has appeared in Russia. Some guys already revealed themselves to be real leaders at this World Cup."