Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 7

There were a lot of goals in the midweek Ligue 1 fixtures involving lots of late heartbreak for teams in desperate need of some points.

Mark Sheppard reviews the mid-week action in Ligue 1.

 

Angers 0-0 Reims

Angers kept up their great form on their return to Ligue 1 with a draw against Reims who are also enjoying a good run in the league. The hosts kept their fifth clean sheet of the season; their strong defence being key to their performances. There was a lot of intent in the first half but neither goalkeeper was really troubled until the second period.

Johnny Placide was called upon to stop Angers’ Romain Saiss scoring with a header but there were a real lack of chances created by the home side. Jordan Siebatcheu got a well-earned start to the game after scoring a number of goals as a substitute for Reims, and he would’ve taken all three points for his side if it wasn’t for a Ludovic Butelle save in the latter stages. The only thing separating Reims and Angers in the league is goal difference as they are both placed in 5^th and 6^th respectively.

Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Guingamp

PSG continued their unbeaten run with a comfortable victory over Guingamp. The leaders started on the front foot and put Guingamp under immediate pressure, earning their reward when Javier Pastore finished from a through ball from Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 18^th-minute. The hosts were given a warning later in the first half when Nill de Pauw capitalised on some complacent defending but failed to make his chance count.

Les Parisians got their second goal just under a quarter of an hour left to play when Angel Di Maria found the net from a rebound, scoring his first goal in French football. Ibrahimovic was a constant threat to the visitors all game and he got on the score sheet for himself with seven minutes to play when he was assisted by Di Maria before calmly finishing. The Swedish international was then given a chance to score his second when Younousse Sankhare brought down Edinson Cavani to concede a penalty. Jonas Lossl saved Ibrahimovic’s penalty to prevent the scoreline becoming any more emphatic. PSG remain at the top of the table by one point and Guingamp have dropped down to 11^th following the other results.

Gazélec Ajaccio 1-1 Rennes

There was heartbreak for Gazélec as a late Rennes goal denied the hosts their first win of the season. The home side ended their five-match losing streak but will feel disappointed to not win the game after holding onto their lead for nearly the whole second half. Mohamed Larbi put Gazélec ahead in first-half stoppage time with a free-kick and they did well to stay in front for so long.

Rennes came back and put Gazélec under a lot of pressure in the latter stages of the game, finally making a breakthrough in the 89^th-minute when Romain Danze found Giovanni Sio who finished to earn his side a fortunate point. Rennes sit 3^rd in the table just three points behind the leaders, while Gazélec have moved off the bottom of the table for the first time in weeks.

Lorient 2-0 Caen

The visitors Caen have dropped down to 7^th in the league standings after this defeat at the Stade du Moustoir. Lorient have now won three games in a row and the wind seems to be in their sails after the excellent victory at Monaco last weekend. They made a great start again in this match with some attacking football, breaking the deadlock after just 13 minutes when Maxime Barthelme’s free kick found Benjamin Moukandjo who was able to put the ball in the net.

Caen had more of the chances in the game but it was Majeed Waris who doubled the home side’s lead with just ten minutes of the first half remaining. Syam Ben Youssef did have a goal ruled out for offside for the visitors but Lorient were able to hang on fairly comfortably to get the three points. Lorient have moved up to 9^th place, just ahead of Monaco on goal difference.

Lyon 2-0 Bastia

Les Gones are back to winning ways and up to 4^th in Ligue 1 with this comfortable victory over struggling Bastia. It was Lyon’s first home win of the season and it was sparked by 19-year-old Aldo Kalulu who scored his first Ligue 1 goal when he lobbed Jean-Louis Leca in the 18^th-minute of the game. Bastia looked to have equalised with minutes of the first half remaining, but Floyad Ayite’s goal was given as offside.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Bastia striker Francois Kamano was dismissed following an incident with Samuel Umtiti. Lyon weren’t really threatened in the second period but had to wait until the 88^th-minute to seal all three points after Corentin Tolisso scored following a cutback from Maxwell Cornet. Bastia are now 15^th and the most out-of-form side after being on the end of a fourth consecutive loss.