Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 15

In the same week as the announcement that there will be no away fans in Ligue 1 until mid-December, there were some great encounters in the top flight of French football. A total of 35 goals went in over the weekend.

Lyon 2-4 Montpellier

The biggest shock of the weekend came in the opening game as Montpellier earned a massive three points at the Stade de Gerland against Lyon. This was the visitors’ third successive victory and they are now unbeaten in six after rising to 13^th; Lyon have fallen back down to 4^th in the table after back-to-back defeats. A Maxime Gonalons own goal gave Montpellier the lead after just eight minutes and Casimir Ninga doubled the lead shortly after on a counter-attack.

Alexandre Lacazette then ensured there were three goals inside the opening 15 minutes as he pulled one back following a corner routine. The scoreline was 2-1 to Montpellier at half-time, but the away side made another excellent start after the break with Ninga scoring his second of the game. It looked like it was going to be a rout when Souleymane Camara added a fourth for La Paillade, but Rachid Ghezzal scored a consolation for Lyon and what an effort it was.

Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 Troyes

It was a top versus bottom of the table clash as PSG took on Troyes at the Parc des Princes and the outcome was no more than expected. Edinson Cavani scored his 8^th goal of the season on the 20^th-minute mark before Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored from the spot; his 10^th in as many league games. The third goal was a great finish from Layvin Kurzawa midway through the second period.

PSG put in another excellent performance but this may have been flattered by a Troyes side with very little to offer. The scoreline became even more emphatic when teenager Jean-Kevin Augustin came off the bench to score his first senior goal. Troyes did manage to get a goal back through Thomas Ayasse but another match without a win leaves them bottom of the table and ten points from safety. PSG’s run is quite the opposite; earning their ninth win in a row to keep them 13 points clear at the top of the league.

Angers 2-0 Lille

Angers are back to winning ways and have moved back up to 3^rd after beating a despondent Lille side. Les Dogues’ disappointing season continues for another week as they slip into the relegation zone. The game was settled in the first half, with Giles Sunu opening the scoring in the 20^th-minute from a Thomas Mangani free kick, and the second goal came almost instantaneously with Ismael Traore putting the ball in the net from yet another set piece.

Lille were hoping to make the comeback in the second half but it was made very difficult for them when Renato Civelli was dismissed following an incident with Romain Thomas; a decision which was judged to have been a bit harsh. Lille’s season is showing no signs of revival and now they are conceding goals it is going to be tough to pick up the points while they are failing to score.

Gazélec Ajaccio 1-1 Lorient

Gazélec got another good result on the board as they earned a point against a consistent Lorient team. The hosts looked to be on track for a fifth consecutive win when Mohamed Larbi put his side ahead after 18 minutes from a Damjan Djokovic corner.

This wasn’t to be however as Issiaga Sylla handled the ball inside the area to give Lorient a route back into the game. It was a chance Benjamin Moukandjo never looked like wasting as he convincingly scored from the spot to level the scores. Sylla looked to have redeemed himself later on in the match but an offside flag ruined his celebrations. The results elsewhere meant there were no changes to the league table for these sides; Gazélec remain 16^th while Lorient are still up in 9^th.

Nantes 0-0 Bastia

Visitors Bastia need to start winning if they are going to evade a relegation battle at the end of the season, but a point at the Stade de la Beaujoire was enough to take them out of the relegation zone. Bastia could have actually taken the lead within the first five minutes but Yannick Cahuzac was desperately unfortunate to see his lob from range come back off the woodwork.

It was a game of missed opportunities for Nantes as they got in some good positions but failed to make the breakthrough; Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, Lucas Deaux and Emir Lenjani all came close for Les Canaris. Nantes’ hopes of a winner were dashed later in the second half when Bastia’s Seko Fofana drew a foul from Alejandro Bedoya, resulting in a second yellow card for the Nantes midfielder. Both teams have moved up a place in the league standings, with Nantes now in 10^th and Bastia in 17^th.

Reims 2-2 Rennes

Reims ended a six-game run of losses with this home draw against Rennes and it was a good result in the end considering they finished the game with ten men on the field. Chelsea loanee Jeremie Boga broke the deadlock for the visitors on the stroke of half-time, meaning if Reims were going to avoid another defeat they would have to do it the hard way. They equalised just before the hour-mark when Aissa Mandi found himself in acres of space to slot the ball home.

It looked as though Reims would be at a disadvantage when Jaba Kankava was sent off for a second bookable offence, but they took the lead a few minutes later when Nicolas de Preville scored from a tight angle. The inevitable happened within the final ten minutes though, as the hopes of the home fans were crushed by a goal from 18-year-old Ousmane Dembele who gave his side a share of the points. The results elsewhere weren’t too bad for either side, as Reims and Rennes are unmoved in 15^th and 8^th respectively.

Toulouse 2-0 Nice

Another surprise result came at the Stadium Municipal where Toulouse overcame Nice to earn their second win of the season, and their first since the opening day. The visitors’ prospect of a result diminished on the half-hour mark when goalkeeper Moez Hassen was shown a straight red card for bringing down Martin Braithwaite in the area. The Danish striker got back on his feet to convert the spot-kick to make it 1-0.

Half-time was an opportunity for Nice to regroup but it didn’t help as Wissam Ben Yedder did so well to get into the box to double Toulouse’s lead. Les Aiglons didn’t have many chances in the game but Hatem Ben Arfa wasted the best opportunity, dragging his shot wide of the post. Toulouse haven’t moved in the table as they are still 19^th but are now only three points from safety, whereas Nice have dropped to 6^th.

Saint-Étienne 3-0 Guingamp

Saint-Étienne are back to scoring and winning ways as they strode to a comfortable victory over Guingamp, taking them up to 5^th. The loss means the visitors have slipped to 12^th in the league. It took 52 minutes for Les Verts to open the scoring; Romain Hamouma capitalised on a defensive error to slide the ball past Jonas Lossl. The game then died down again for a while with all the action coming in the few minutes before the full-time whistle.

Hamouma was awarded a penalty just three minutes before the 90-minute mark when he was fouled by Dorian Leveque; Valentin Eysseric converted from the spot. The hosts were reduced to ten men when Moustapha Bayal Sall was shown a second yellow card, but it was too late to make any meaningful impact on the game. In fact Saint-Étienne carried on dominating; Nolan Roux was set up by Eysseric to make it 3-0 in stoppage time.

Bordeaux 1-4 Caen

Away side Caen have done exceptionally well so far this season and they were well deserving of their win, but this was still a disappointing result for Bordeaux on home turf. The Europa League game against Liverpool may have taken its toll on Les Girondins. Syam Ben Youssef set the pace of the game when he scored after just five minutes; Bordeaux keeper Cedric Carrasso did well to save Ronny Rodelin’s effort but he could only parry the ball to Ben Youssef.

Damien Da Silva was involved in both of Bordeaux’s second and third goals; he reacted quickest from Andy Delort’s free kick to make it 2-0, before a header which was later given as a Carrasso own goal. Delort then got on the score sheet for himself as his shot found the net via a deflection. Matters got worse for Bordeaux as Andre Biyogo Poko was sent off in the latter stages of the game after receiving a second yellow card, but they were able to get a consolation through Enzo Crivelli just before the final whistle. Caen’s fifth win in eight games has seen them establish a bit of a gap in 2^nd, while Bordeaux have slipped to 14^th.

Marseille 3-3 Monaco

The best game of the weekend was at the Stade Vélodrome where Marseille and Monaco were involved in a thrilling encounter. It looks as though Marseille are back on track after picking up four very useful points against Saint-Étienne and Monaco, but just a point from Sunday’s game keeps Les Olympiens five points behind Monaco. Romain Alessandrini put the home side ahead in the 12^th-minute with a close range effort, but the lead didn’t last very long as Almamy Toure equalised for Monaco. Marseille were unlucky not to take the lead again when Michy Batshuayi hit the post, but this misfortune was costly as Toure scored a second for the visitors to give Monaco a half-time lead.

The momentum shifted once again after the interval as Batshuayi did manage to get on the score sheet from a Karim Rekik cross. Monaco took the lead once more, something which suggests they should have won the game, and it was Fabio Coentrao who scored the goal which looked like it may be the winner. This wasn’t to be however as Marseille fought back brilliantly once again as Georges-Kevin N’Koudou struck a late goal to equalise. This leaves Monaco just outside the European spots in 7^th, but Marseille are gradually climbing up the table in 11^th.