Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 9

Troyes 0-1 Guingamp

Troyes are still without a Ligue 1 win after a disappointing home defeat to Guingamp. They could have taken the lead in this match but Yoann Court could only direct his effort onto the post in a lacklustre first half. The second half wasn’t a great deal better in terms of promising attacking football and it is no surprise there was just one goal needed to separate the teams.

The visitors left it late to make their mark on the game with Younousse Sankhare scoring in the 81^st-minute. The goal looked to have been scored with Sankhare’s arm which suggest Troyes were unlucky to lose the game. The match went from bad to worse moments later when Thomas Ayasse was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Lionel Mathis; another harsh decision from the referee. Troyes are 19^th in the league still in search of a win but the three points sees Guingamp rise to 11^th.

Monaco 1-1 Rennes

Rennes have stretched their impressive unbeaten run to eight games with an impressive point at the Stade Louis II, but they have dropped to 4^th in the league after failing to win in their last four matches. The visitors’ impressive start to the game would’ve seen them take the lead after 15 minutes but Ludovic Baal’s goal was judged to be offside and was disallowed. They did go on to break the deadlock however as Abdoulaye Doucoure headed in Baal’s cross to give Rennes a half-time lead.

It didn’t take long for the hosts to get themselves back in the game after half-time as Wallace scored following a corner in the 51^st-minute. Rennes were given the perfect opportunity to take the lead again when Fabinho brought down Cheik M’Bengue in the penalty area, but Danijel Subasic saved Pedro Henrique’s spot-kick. Monaco were fortunate to get a share of the points in the end but they are still struggling in 10^th place.

Caen 1-0 Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne were on the end of another shock defeat last weekend at Caen. After five wins in a row Les Verts are now on the end of back-to-back losses for the first time this season. It was Caen’s sixth win this season and it sees them climb up the table to 3^rd place. Andy Delort scored the only goal of the game in the 62^nd-minute when he headed home Vincent Bessat’s cross to give Caen a deserved lead.

Delort could have scored a hat-trick in the game but he saw a number of his chances saved by Stephane Ruffier. All Caen’s hard work was nearly undone later in the game but Loic Perrin failed to find a way past Remy Vercoutre. Saint-Étienne have now fallen to 5^th in the league and are behind leaders PSG by seven points.

Lorient 3-2 Bordeaux

One of the better games of the weekend was at the Stade du Moustoir where Lorient claimed victory over Bordeaux. The visitors took the lead through Diego Rolan after another assist from Wahbi Khazri; both players are having great campaigns so far. The lead was held until half-time but Lorient came out after the break and Benjamin Moukandjo scored within two minutes of the restart.

Majeed Waris assisted Moukandjo and then got on the score sheet for himself, converting a penalty midway through the second period. The last quarter of an hour had action in abundance, with Zargo Toure making it 3-1 to the hosts before Andre Poko and Lamine Gassama were both dismissed following an altercation. Adam Ounas scored a consolation goal for Les Girondins with few minutes remaining; a great moment for the 18-year-old who scored his first Ligue 1 goal. Lorient have now risen to 9^th in the league standings but Bordeaux are just 14^th, struggling to find consistency in their performances.

Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Marseille

It was a weekend full of penalties and this was no exception with three penalties in the game as PSG beat Michel’s Marseille. The champions extended the gap at the top of the league going five points clear but they were rather fortunate to take all three points in this game at the Parc des Princes. Marseille took the lead through Michy Batshuayi with a header at the back post as Les Olympiens dominated the majority of the first half.

PSG were then awarded two penalties in the space of three minutes. Steve Mandanda fouled Ibrahimovic for the first and Rolando handled the ball for the second; Ibrahimovic actually put the ball in the net three times after the referee made him retake the second after Edinson Cavani encroached the area. It was a major landmark for the Swedish international as he has now scored 110 goals for PSG since his arrival in July 2012; overtaking Pauleta as the club’s all-time top goal scorer. Marseille were also awarded a penalty later in the game but Kevin Trapp outwitted Abdelaziz Barrada to keep the score at 2-1. PSG managed to maintain their unbeaten run but Marseille are 16^th in Ligue 1 with just eight points from nine games and without a win in four.