Ligue 1 Review – Gameweek 25

 

Important wins for Montpellier, Nantes, Dijon and Angers ensured there were even more twists and turns in this season’s relegation battle.

 

Friday 10 February

Bordeaux 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain Venue – Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux

Edinson Cavani’s rich form continued on Friday evening as he hit a brace to guide PSG towards a comfortable victory at Bordeaux.

The Uruguayan opened the scoring after just six minutes, beating Cedric Carrasso with an excellent volley from the edge of the box. Les Parisians continued on the front foot and doubled their lead through Angel Di Maria with five minutes of the first half remaining. Following a through ball from Marco Verratti, Di Maria showed pace and composure to lob the goalkeeper.

Cavani’s second of the game wrapped up the points two minutes after the second half restart. Di Maria turned provider to deliver a cross for the frontman to expertly finish with another volley.

The defending champions continue to push Monaco while in 2^nd place, but Bordeaux are still 7^th in the league standings.

 

Saturday 11 February

Guingamp 2-1 Lyon Venue – Stade du Roudourou

Keeping their European hopes alive, Guingamp ended a six-match losing streak with a win against Lyon on Saturday.

Alexandre Lacazette broke the deadlock for Les Gones in the 10^th-minute, but two goals in quick succession saw Guingamp turn the game on its head.

Moustapha Diallo converted Nicolas Benezet’s cross to equalise with half an hour gone, before provider turned scorer with Benezet heading home Yannis Salibur’s delivery just four minutes later.

Lyon’s fourth defeat in six left them clinging on to their European spot in 4^th, with Guingamp just six point behind in 8^th.

Dijon 2-0 Caen Venue – Stade Gaston Gérard

Dijon earned a much needed win to leapfrog Caen in the battle at the bottom of the table.

The hosts’ opener came at a crucial time in the game. As half-time was approaching, Mehdi Abeid’s close range effort five minutes before the break put Dijon in front.

After assisting Abeid’s goal, Lois Diony sealed the victory in the 86^th-minute with a goal of his own; finding the bottom right corner from the centre of the box.

The results went in Dijon’s favour as they climbed to 13^th, leaving Caen 18^th as they become another team to slip inside the danger zone.

Lille 1-2 Angers Venue – Stade Pierre-Mauroy

Another vital victory was claimed by Angers at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, defeating Lille to jump to 14^th, leaving their opponents one point above the drop zone in 17^th place.

After failing to score in their previous two outings, Angers were quick out of the blocks in this match and took the lead in the 20^th-minute. Thomas Mangani delivered a cross into the box for Pierrick Capelle to attack and open the scoring.

Lille pulled a goal back just seven minutes later through Yves Bissouma to ensure the scores were level at the break.

Angers retook the lead moments before the hour mark as the hosts struggled to deal with the aerial threat posed by the visitors. Romain Thomas won the game for Stephane Moulin’s side and matters got worse for Les Dogues in the latter stages when Bissouma was given his marching orders for a challenge on Baptiste Santamaria.

Monaco 5-0 Metz Venue – Stade Louis II

Monaco took their league goals tally to 75 in 25 on Saturday with an emphatic victory at home against Metz.

Despite back-to-back victories in their previous two, Metz had been struggling and the encounter at the Stade Louis II was over in the first half. A brace from Kylian Mbappe-Lottin and a Radamel Falcao goal within the space of 13 minutes meant Monaco would be three goals up at the interval.

It didn’t take the home side long to find the net again in the second half as Mbappe-Lottin completed his hat-trick in the 50^th-minute, converting Gabriel Boschilia’s cross. Falcao then added another goal to his name five minutes later, scoring his 22^nd goal of the campaign to complete the rout.

 

Leonardo Jardim’s side still have a three-point lead at the top of the table, while Metz are down in 16^th with two points between them and the bottom three.

Nancy 0-3 Montpellier Venue – Stade Marcel Picot

Montpellier kept themselves out of danger with a win at Nancy, climbing to 11^th, two points above Saturday’s opponents who dropped to 15^th.

It was a must-win game for both sides but La Paillade took the opportunity and stated their intent in the 10^th-minute with an Isaac Mbenza strike. Not long after the opener, Nancy were having to regroup once again as Steve Mounie headed home Ryad Boudebouz’s cross to make it 2-0 to the visitors.

The points were wrapped up on the hour when Mbenza scored his second of the game a fierce strike into the top corner from inside the area.

Toulouse 4-1 Bastia Venue – Stadium Municipal

Toulouse look to be back on form as they made it three games unbeaten; defeating Bastia and making it nine goals scored in three outings.

Les Pitchouns had to wait until the 38^th-minute to open the scoring and it was through an Andy Delort strike. They didn’t have to wait long for a second however, five minutes to be exact, as Martin Braithwaite’s well-placed finish doubled the home side’s lead.

Prince Oniangue pulled a goal back for Bastia, but any hope of a result soon faded when Yannick Cahuzac and Nicholas Saint-Ruf were dismissed within the space of 14 minutes. The latter’s sending off led to Braithwaite scoring Toulouse’s third from the spot to put the game beyond doubt.

There was still time for Issa Diop to strengthen the hosts’ lead four minutes from time, as the three points took Toulouse to 9^th in the league, leaving Bastia four points from safety in 19^th place.

 

Sunday 12 February

Rennes 2-2 Nice Venue – Roazhon Park

Nice came from two goals down at Rennes to secure a point, however their title hopes continue to diminish as they fall five points short of Monaco at the top.

Morgan Amalfitano scored for Rennes after just seven minutes and it looked as if it was going to be a disappointing afternoon for Nice when Giovanni Sio doubled the home side’s lead.

Anastasios Donis restored hope for Les Aiglons with a goal just before the hour mark and Valentin Eysseric completed the comeback with less than ten minutes remaining.

Failure to win on the road since November is the reason Nice have dropped to 3^rd in the league, while the point didn’t benefit Rennes either as they slipped to 10^th, trying to stay in touch with the European places.

Saint-Étienne 4-0 Lorient Venue – Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

There was another host of goals at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard where Saint-Étienne defeated Lorient.

Four players were on the score sheet for Les Verts in this game but Loic Perrin began the wave of goals in the 18^th-minute, just two minutes before Jordan Veretout found the net to deal a blow to the league’s bottom club.

The second half involved more dominance for the hosts and Romain Hamouma made it 3-0 shortly before the hour mark. With no response from Les Merlus, Jorge Intima added a fourth in stoppage time to put Saint-Étienne in with a great chance of a top four finish.

For now, they remain just behind Lyon in 5^th, while Lorient failed to take advantage of their rivals’ slip-ups once again, as they sit rock bottom and four points adrift of safety.

Nantes 3-2 Marseille Venue – Stade de la Beaujoire

Marseille suffered their second loss to lower half opposition in three games with a defeat at Nantes in the final game of the weekend.

Les Olympiens were stunned early on in the first half when Diego Carlos opened the scoring for Nantes in the 12^th minute, before Mariusz Stepinski doubled the lead eight minutes later.

Bafetimbi Gomis continued his fine goal scoring form when he pulled one back for the visitors in the 49^th-minute, but Les Canaris re-established their two-goal lead less than a minute later through Adrien Thomasson.

Gomis added another just past the hour but Marseille couldn’t find the leveller, leaving them 6^th in the league. Nantes on the other hand, got a much needed three points on the board, climbing five places to 12^th.