Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 2

Guingamp 0-1 Lyon

Guingamp suffered a defeat in this match due to a goal from a familiar face. Claudio Beauvue scored on his return to the Stade du Roudourou after joining Lyon earlier this summer. Beauvue didn’t start the game as he was dropped to make way for new signing Mathieu Valbuena; the attacking midfielder joined from Dynamo Moscow last week.

Guingamp could have taken the lead early on when Mustapha Diallo’s header was pushed onto the post by the Lyon goalkeeper, and Lyon were only threatening the hosts with their set pieces. Beauvue’s headed finish in the 79^th-minute made it difficult for Guingamp to get anything from the game, keeping Lyon in touch with the leaders in 7^th place. Guingamp appear to be struggling without the goals of Beauvue as the two 1-0 losses against Nantes and Lyon have dropped them into the bottom three.

Rennes 1-0 Montpellier

Rennes have recovered from their opening week defeat to Bastia with a win against a struggling Montpellier side. Polish winger Kamil Grosicki made a huge impact after coming on as a substitute, curling in the only goal of the game five minutes from time. Despite the doubt that Grosicki’s goal was an intended cross, Rennes will happily accept the three points which lifts them to 9^th in the Ligue 1 standings.

Montpellier are on a strong descend at this early stage of the season, losing both their games without scoring a goal, leaving them at the bottom of the table heading into their game against PSG on Friday night.

Troyes 3-3 Nice

The weekend’s most exciting match was at the Stade de l’Aube where Troyes and Nice were involved in a six-goal thriller. It was Troyes’ Corentin Jean who broke the deadlock after just three minutes, but their lead didn’t last long when Jonathan Pereira conceded a penalty after the restart with a foul on Alassane Plea; Hatem Ben Arfa levelled for Nice from the spot. Plea was a threat to Troyes all game and he got on the score sheet himself in the 16^th-minute before drawing the foul which earned Chris Mavinga his second yellow card of the game.

Maxime Le Marchand scored for the visitors just before the break, meaning Troyes had it all to do in the second half. Two inspired changes from manager Jean-Marc Furlan allowed them to get back in the game, with Fabien Camus and Thiago Xavier coming off the bench to rescue the game; the latter scoring the equaliser in the 93^rd-minute. Troyes remain unbeaten with two draws in 11^th, with Nice just one point behind in 13^th.

Reims 1-0 Marseille

It was another frustrating game for Marseille, who are now in the bottom three after losing both games this season. Without a manager they entered the game on the back of a defeat to Caen, facing a Reims team who were full of confidence after their victory over Bordeaux.

A Hamari Traore strike in the 14^th-minute was enough to give the hosts all the points, as the defender fired in a long range effort following a corner. Marseille struggled to compete after the dismissal of Alaixys Romao who was sent off in the second half. Reims’ impressive start to the season sees them fall just short of PSG on goal difference in 2^nd place.

 

Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Gazélec Ajaccio

PSG have gone to the top of the table on goal difference after a comfortable victory over Gazélec Ajaccio. Gazélec struggled with the pace on their visit to the Parc des Princes and it didn’t take PSG long to establish a lead; an excellent strike from Blaise Matuidi in the 11^th-minute.

The second goal only took another ten minutes to arrive with Thiago Silva heading in from a corner after the captain was left unmarked. The two goals were enough to secure the points for PSG, with Gregory Pujol having the best of few chances for the visitors. This defeat leaves Gazélec with just one point from the first two games, just one place above the bottom three.