Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 19

The Ligue 1 teams were looking to end the year on a high as they played the final round of fixtures before the winter break until January.

Nice 1-0 Montpellier

Olivier Boscagli became the youngest goal scorer of the season as his first for the club was enough to win all three points for Nice against Montpellier. The 18-year-old academy graduate was playing in just his 13^th appearance for the hosts and he made his mark after half an hour. Laurent Pionnier kept out Vincent Koziello’s effort but Boscagli made a well-timed run into the box before finding the net.

Pionnier did well to deny Hatem Ben Arfa and Paul Baysse on separate occasions, keeping Montpellier in the game as Nice continued to threaten. Jean Seri almost found the net in the latter stages of the game as well, but another miss ensured the match would finish 1-0, handing all the plaudits to youngster Boscagli. The victory sees Nice move up to 5^th in the table, while Montpellier are still in dangerous territory in 15^th position.

Caen 0-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Another dominant performance from Les Parisians saw them comfortably beat Caen at the Stade Michel d’Ornano. PSG were off to the best start in the 16^th-minute when some hesitant defending allowed Angel Di Maria to open the scoring after Serge Aurier’s cross wasn’t dealt with. Remy Vercoutre was on form in the Caen goal, preventing PSG from doubling their lead on numerous occasions, but there was nothing he could do for the inevitable second. Zlatan Ibrahimovic fired a thunderous effort into the top corner from the edge of the box, giving the goalkeeper no chance.

Half-time didn’t affect the visitors’ game at all and they added a third within five minutes of the kick-off; Di Maria got his second goal of the game after a cool lift over Vercoutre. It wasn’t Caen’s day as they even failed to score from the spot. Andy Delort was awarded a penalty later in the second half after being fouled by Thiago Silva, but Kevin Trapp saved his effort from the spot to keep the clean sheet. PSG have extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 19 points and Caen are still in a good position in 4^th place.

Bastia 2-0 Reims

Bastia’s important win against Reims saw them move three points above the bottom three to 16^th and they have put the visitors closer to danger as they drop to 17^th. Floyd Ayite was the key man for Bastia as he scored against his former club to guide his side to victory. He made the breakthrough in the 21^st-minute when he collected Seko Fofana’s cross before calmly finding the bottom corner.

Jordan Siebatcheu had one of Reims’ better chances but his header was just the wrong side of the post. The points were wrapped up for Bastia with ten minutes of the game remaining; Julien Romain doubled the lead after finding the back of the net following Brandao’s assist. The win will give Bastia a bit of confidence heading into 2016 whereas the break will give Reims a chance to regroup as they have lost six of their last ten matches and will need to improve if they are going to avoid a relegation battle.

Guingamp 0-2 Rennes

Fellow relegation strugglers Guingamp failed to take advantage of Reims’ slip-up as Jocelyn Gourvennec’s men suffered their fifth straight defeat to remain 18^th. Rennes however earned their first win in six to move up to 7^th in the league, going into the New Year with the European spots in sight.

It took over an hour for the deadlock to be broken and it came through Ousmane Dembele, who made it 1-0 with a composed finish after being played through by Giovanni Sio. The two players then swapped roles for the second goal; Dembele turned provider to pick out Sio who doubled Rennes’ lead and made sure of the victory.

Lorient 0-0 Nantes

Both Lorient and Nantes met at the Stade du Moustoir hoping to strengthen their already respectable league positions, but they couldn’t be separated as they had to settle for a goalless draw on Saturday. Neither side will be content with their display as there was a lack of quality and urgency, resulting in a rather uneventful encounter.

Les Canaris were in need of the win more than Lorient as they have now gone seven games without one, drawing each of their last five matches. Their fall to 13^th in the league is also due to their lack of goals; they have found the net just twice in their last six games. Lorient have won just once in five outings and Les Merlus have dropped to 8^th in the table, but they are still only three points short of the top six going into the season break.

Toulouse 1-1 Lille

Given Lille’s recent run of form this was quite a disappointing result at the Stadium Municipal as Les Dogues were held to a draw by Toulouse. It was the home side that took the lead through Wissam Ben Yedder after just 11 minutes; he was able to convert a cross from William Matheus to grab his eighth goal of the season. There were many chances for both sides as the game progressed with Yassine Benzia and Eric Bautheac going close for Lille and Tongo Doumbia and Martin Braithwaite for the hosts.

Toulouse made it very difficult to hold on to what would be a much-needed win when they were reduced to ten men. Tongo Doumbia received a second yellow card for a reckless challenge and the visitors inevitably capitalised with the extra man. Sofiane Boufal was the hero once again as he produced a late equaliser to salvage a point for Lille. Toulouse are now four points from safety in 19^th, while Lille remain 11^th in the table.

Troyes 0-0 Monaco

Troyes managed to get a point against the odds as they produced an excellent performance to frustrate Monaco. Mouhamadou Dabo conceded a penalty within the first five minutes of the match when he ran into the back of Helder Costa and the Troyes defender was dismissed for his error. This gave Monaco an easy opportunity to break the deadlock but Lacina Traore’s poor effort was saved by Paul Bernardoni. Fabinho was Monaco’s standout player in the first period and he forced the best out of Bernardoni midway through the half.

Traore, Thomas Lemar and Costa also went close for Leonardo Jardim’s side but they failed to score. The hosts did well to keep out Monaco and they began to grow into the game, showing confidence that isn’t reflective of their league position. Troyes began to create chances of their own and came close through Lossemy Karaboue and Matthieu Saunier, but their efforts weren’t rewarded. Monaco did still move up to 2^nd despite dropping points and Troyes remain bottom, but can be praised after a valiant performance with a man less.

Saint-Étienne 1-0 Angers

Angers’ first loss in six games came at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard where Saint-Étienne managed to get their first win in three. The win sees Les Verts move just inside the European spots to 6^th and the loss meant Angers drop a place to 3^rd after Monaco picked up a point.

Benjamin Corgnet scored his first goal of the season after he capitalised on Angers not being able to clear the ball from the back, and this was enough to seal all three points for Saint-Étienne. Stephane Ruffier contributed greatly to the win, especially to keep out Pierrick Capelle’s attempt. Angers were unfortunate not to get themselves back into the game; first Saint-Étienne’s Jonathan Brison nearly scored an own goal and Slimane Sissoko struck the crossbar late on.

Gazélec Ajaccio 2-1 Lyon

Lyon’s woes continue to grow as their third consecutive loss sees them plummet to 9^th in the league as results elsewhere didn’t go in their favour. Gazélec on the other hand, have now gone nine games unbeaten and climb to 12^th in the league with this win over Lyon; they are only five points away from the European places themselves. Les Gones started the brighter of the two sides and Clement Grenier’s deflected free-kick was the earliest chance within the first minute of the game.

Mohamed Larbi put the home side ahead just after half an hour and John Tshibumbu nearly gave Gazélec a 2-0 half-time lead but his effort was saved by Anthony Lopes. Corentin Tolisso came close, hitting the post as Lyon continued to press. They were pegged back once again though as Larbi struck again, making a comeback very difficult for Hubert Fournier’s side. Clement Grenier did pull a goal back shortly after but it proved to be nothing more than a consolation as Gazélec closed the gap on Lyon to just two points.

Bordeaux 1-1 Marseille

The final game of the weekend saw a draw between Bordeaux and Marseille as both sides continue to push for a European place. Alaixys Romao headed Marseille into the lead from a corner early in the second period after a goalless first half. Les Girondins were soon back in the game however as Wahbi Khazri was involved in another Bordeaux goal; scoring the equaliser after being teed up by Enzo Crivelli.

The hosts nearly stole all three points in injury time as Diego Rolan managed to beat Steve Mandanda in the Marseille goal but saw his effort hit the crossbar. Bordeaux are showing signs of a revival, going unbeaten in three matches and despite their position of 14^th; they are just six points below the top six. Les Olympiens have finished the year on a positive note, going six matches without defeat and entering the New Year in 10^th place.