Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 9

There weren’t as many goals as last week but Ligue 1 wasn’t short of entertaining action in the ninth round of fixtures.

Mark Sheppard takes us through the latest action from Ligue 1 action from France

Lille 2-0 Montpellier

Montpellier failed to add to the three points from the previous game with a defeat at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Friday evening. It was a match that either team could have won as Lille had also won just one of their league games before this one. The hosts started the better of the two teams but it took nearly the duration of the first half to break the deadlock with Sofiane Boufal winning and converting a penalty minutes before the break.

Les Dogues doubled their lead midway through the second half when Djibril Sidibe scored his first goal of the season with an emphatic strike from range. Montpellier were offered a lifeline when Sebastien Corchia brought down Quentin Cornette in the area; a chance Ryad Boudebouz failed to take as he saw his spot-kick come back off the post. The Algerian did score the rebound but it was disallowed as no player touched the ball in between. The defeat leaves Montpellier in 18^th place and four points from safety, whereas Lille have moved up to 12^th after a much needed three points.

Lyon 1-0 Reims

Reims’ unbeaten streak is over as they suffered a narrow defeat at Lyon. The hosts bounced back well from their defeat to Bordeaux last week and are now level with Reims on 15 points. Lyon started well and were awarded a penalty in the 41^st-minute when Jaba Kankava was penalised for handball in the area, but Alexandre Lacazette hit the crossbar from the spot, missing his second penalty this season.

Lacazette made up for his error just minutes later when a neat exchange with strike partner Claudio Beauvue allowed him to get a shot on goal to open the scoring. Lyon could have scored more with Lacazette coming close again and Beauvue hitting the crossbar but the one goal was just enough to seal the victory. Reims almost equalised in the latter stages but Anthony Lopes made a fine save late on to ensure his team got the win. The result means Lyon and Reims are now 6^th and 7^th in the league respectively.

Angers 1-0 Bastia

Angers keep on impressing in Ligue 1 this season and they have now completed a four-game unbeaten run for the second time this season with a win over Bastia. It wasn’t the most exciting first half but it was the home side who took the lead shortly before the break when some great build-up play led to Billy Ketkeophomphone finishing to make it 1-0.  They should have doubled their lead just before half-time but there was another missed penalty; a familiar theme in Ligue 1 last weekend.

Mehdi Mostefa conceded the penalty but Abdoul Camara saw his effort saved by Jean-Louis Leca. The hosts could have added a couple more goals to their tally but a number of missed chances saw the game finish at 1-0 to make certain Angers’ unbeaten home record stays intact. They have now moved up to 2^nd in the league; five points behind leaders PSG while Bastia’s fifth defeat in six games sees them drop to 13^th.

Gazélec Ajaccio 2-2 Toulouse

Gazélec got another point but remain rooted to the bottom of the table and are five points from safety after a home draw with Toulouse. The visitors took the lead in the 21^st-minute when Aleksandar Pesic’s through ball found Martin Braithwaite who slotted home the opener. It took the hosts just four minutes to find the equaliser as Kevin Mayi header the ball in from a cross to make it 1-1.

Gazélec then doubled their goal tally for the season when they went in front on the stroke of half-time; Kevin Mayi turning provider this time to set up Gregory Pujol to score. It was the home side’s turn to give up their lead so quickly however as some early pressure from Toulouse in the second half led to an own goal from Issiaga Sylla to level the scores and see the game end 2-2. A share of the points wasn’t much good for either side as Toulouse failed to escape Gazélec and are still 17^th.

Nice 2-2 Nantes

In what was a promising game at the Allianz Riviera, the game between Nice and Nantes had to be cut short after torrential rain made the pitch unplayable. Jules Iloki put the visitors ahead but a brace from Valere Germain gave Nice the lead shortly after.

Adrien Thomasson then equalised for Nantes but the heavy downpour gave the referee no option but to suspend the game. This leaves Nice in 8^th and Nantes in 15^th with the game to play; a win for either side would put them in a much stronger position.