Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 7

Nice 6-1 Bordeaux

Bordeaux’s unbeaten run has come to a sharp end as they were beaten emphatically by Nice at the Allianz Riviera. There were good signs for the visitors as they took the lead after just six minutes when Jaroslav Plasil scored on his return from injury but goals form Valerie Germain and Mickael Le Bihan ensured Nice went in at the break in front. A horrendous two minutes shortly after the restart saw Bordeaux down to ten men after Enzo Crivelli was dismissed for a two-footed tackle, before Nicolas Pallois scored an own goal to make it 3-1 to the hosts.

Hatem Ben Arfa then scored two goals within the space of seven minutes midway through the second half to make it 5-1; scoring his 3^rd and 4^th goals of the season. Alexandre Mendy then came on as a substitute and took only seven minutes to make an impact on the match, scoring his first Ligue 1 goal in the 84^th-minute to rub salt in the wounds of Bordeaux. The win moves Nice up to 8^th in the league whereas Bordeaux are without a win in three and have slipped to 16^th.

Troyes 0-1 Saint-Étienne

This narrow result sees Troyes remain in the bottom three after their third successive defeat while high-flying Saint-Étienne put the pressure on PSG and move up to 2^nd following five straight victories. The home side were up against it almost instantly when an unfortunate Thomas Ayasse put the ball into his own net from a Romain Hamouma cross.

Troyes had their chances but Saint-Étienne will feel relieved to take all three points after Francois Clerc, Nolan Roux and Jonathan Brison all went close but failed to make it more of a comfortable match for Les Verts. Despite their winless start to the season Troyes shouldn’t be too despondent after keeping a strong Saint-Étienne side from dominating the game.

Toulouse 1-1 Marseille

Marseille rescued a point in injury time in a match that Toulouse would’ve won if it wasn’t for a lack of discipline in the final ten minutes. Martin Braithwaite steered Adrien Regattin’s shot in the right direction to make it 1-0 to the hosts after some poor defending in the 67^th-minute. The last quarter of an hour was the turning point in which referee Antony Gautier had to distribute three red cards.

The first dismissal went to Marseille’s Benjamin Mendy who was sent off for a professional foul almost immediately after coming on from the bench. Toulouse then handed Marseille a way back into the game when two defenders; Francois Moubandje for two yellow cards and Steeve Yago for a lash out at Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, were dismissed within three minutes of each other. In the final moments of the game Michy Batshuayi was released before firing in an equaliser. Toulouse really needed the three points to climb the table but instead sit 14^th, while Marseille dropped down a place to 12^th following the result of Monaco’s match.

Montpellier 2-3 Monaco

There was more heartbreak for Montpellier as they threw away their best chance to get their first three points of the season on the board against Monaco. Ryad Boudebouz was causing the visitors problems all night long and played a vital part in Montpellier’s early dominance in this match. Daniel Congre put the hosts ahead from a corner before another set piece deflected off Guido Carrillo and found its way into the net to give the home side a 2-0 lead going into half-time.

Another defender got on the score sheet when Fabio Coentrao popped up to give Monaco some hope early in the second half before Thomas Lemar equalised in the 65^th-minute to complete the visitors’ comeback. This situation seemed all too familiar for Montpellier having lost late to Caen last weekend and the misery continued when Monaco were awarded a penalty five minutes into stoppage time. Jonathan Ligali was the one penalised and Fabinho didn’t waste the spot kick. This result sees Montpellier sink to the bottom of the league while Monaco move up slightly to 10^th.