Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 26

Big wins at the bottom of the league for Troyes and Montpellier made the relegation battle even more exciting, while the race for the European spots became incredibly tight.

Rennes 1-0 Angers

Rennes closed in on a place in the top six after a narrow victory over Angers, with the visitors losing in a harsh fashion. Arnold Bouka Moutou put the ball into his own net in stoppage time to hand the hosts the victory.

Bouka Moutou’s static defending saw Paul Georges-Ntep’s corner deflect off him into the goal to sink Angers’ hearts. Rennes have now overtaken Angers in the league, moving up to 7^th, while the visitors lost their third successive game and fell to 8^th.

Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 Lille

Struggling Lille may not be safe from relegation but they put in a strong performance against the champions to earn a point at the Parc des Princes. The result saw Les Dogues move up to 13^th in the table, but Les Parisians still have a 24-point lead at the top of Ligue 1. PSG probably had the Champions League match against Chelsea in mind, as they rested Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Maxwell and Thiago Motta.

Lille offered a lot of attacking threat on the counter-attack, but a fine defensive display and a strong performance from Vincent Enyeama in goal was enough to earn them a point. Angel Di Maria, Lucas Moura, Edinson Cavani and Marquinhos all went close for the home side, but a combination of poor finishing and a structured Lille back line saw the game remain goalless, ending PSG’s winning streak.

Gazélec Ajaccio 2-3 Troyes

Now Troyes have almost been written off, they can go into every game with an ‘all-or-nothing’ attitude and this showed against Gazélec. Despite the victory, they remain 15 points from safety at the bottom of the table but they have dragged Gazélec into the bottom three after Montpellier took advantage of the slip-up. The hosts took the lead through Jacques Zoua within the first minute when he headed in a Damjan Djokovic corner.

Karim Azamoum then stepped forward for Troyes with an inspired display. He assisted Chaouki Ben Saada for the equaliser before scoring two goals for himself; the first an effort from 20 yards and the second a composed finish from a Benjamin Nivet pass. The hosts did managed to pull a goal back, but it was nothing more than a consolation when Roderic Filippi headed in from a set piece.

Guingamp 2-4 Bordeaux

Bordeaux have made another big step to securing a place in European football next season as the win over Guingamp took them up to 9^th, just two points short of the top six. This win came at the cost of Guingamp’s six-match undefeated streak, as they slip to 15^th. Les Girondins raced into a first half lead; Adam Ounas and Diego Rolan gave Bordeaux a two-goal lead, making it very difficult for Guingamp to stage a comeback.

The hosts did fight back however, as Jocelyn Gourvennec’s team talk worked to get his side level within 13 minutes of the second half restart. Guingamp had a sign of hope just before the break when Thibault Giresse pulled a goal back with a well-taken free-kick. Marcus Coco then got the home side level after a great team goal. Any hopes of a result for Guingamp were dashed though, as Clement Chantome and Cheick Diabate ensured Bordeaux ended the game in style to win 4-2.

Montpellier 2-0 Toulouse

A much-needed win for Montpellier was enough to get them out of the relegation zone in Saturday’s six-pointer against Toulouse. The visitors had the earliest chance of the game when Wissam Ben Yedder forced a good save from Laurent Pionnier. The hosts’ keeper was on hand once again to deny Oscar Trejo, and his efforts were rewarded when his side took the lead midway through the first half with a Mustapha Yatabare goal.

The points were wrapped up with little time to play when Ryad Boudebouz picked out Souleymane Camara who nodded in a second. The victory takes Montpellier up to 16^th, while Toulouse remain 18^th, eight points from safety.

Nantes 2-1 Lorient

Nantes made another step towards a surprise gate crashing of the European spots with a win over ten-man Lorient. Les Canaris took an early lead after just ten minutes when Adryan was found by Adrian Thomasson to open the scoring. It was 2-0 shortly before half-time; Thomasson provided the assist once again, this time for Emiliano Sala who headed in the hosts’ second.

Les Merlus did manage to pull a goal back with over ten minutes to go; Benjamin Moukandjo scored a consolation from the spot to give Lorient hope of a comeback. This hope soon faded away however, as Lamine Gassama was dismissed with a straight red card, meaning an equaliser was an unlikelihood. Nantes are 6^th on goal difference, while Lorient’s fourth defeat in six games saw them drop to 14^th.

Reims 0-1 Bastia

Reims failed to make it three wins in a row with a disappointing result at home to Bastia. The hosts made it out of the relegation zone last week but failed to take advantage of Gazélec’s mistake as they remain 17^th. Bastia move up to 12^th and build a small gap from the danger zone.

The visitors could have taken the lead early on but Brandao’s header struck the post via a deflection. Floyd Ayite was involved in the visitors’ goal; his shot was parried by Johnny Placide and Hamari Traore could only bundle the ball into his own net. Reims felt they should have had a penalty in the second half when Yannick Cahuzac looked to have fouled Thievy Bifouma, but overall the hosts created very few chances.

Lyon 4-1 Caen

Lyon look to be at the best and it has come at a good time in the season; Les Gones have scored ten goals in their last three games and Caen were the victims of the latest onslaught on Sunday. Samuel Umtiti gave the home side the lead within the first ten minutes when he turned in Corentin Tolisso’s knockdown. Alexandre Lacazette then demonstrated his clinical finishing shortly after, converting Jordan Ferri’s pass to make it 2-0. Tolisso was involved in the third goal as well; he set up Maxwel Cornet to cap an impressive first half display.

Andy Delort did pull a goal back for the visitors when he converted Ronny Rodelin’s cross with an hour played. Tolisso then got a deserved goal to end any hopes of a Caen fightback; with the help of a deflection, he was able to make it 4-1 following Rachid Ghezzal’s assist. Lyon climb to 5^th after this victory, while Caen’s three consecutive defeats sees them plummet to 10^th in the league standings.

Saint-Étienne 1-1 Monaco

Another European battle ended in a stalemate as Saint-Étienne and Monaco couldn’t find a winner, meaning the visitors still have the advantage of a six-point lead in 2^nd, and Les Verts remain 4^th.

Danijel Subasic was on form to keep the hosts out on a number of occasions, but he couldn’t prevent Saint-Étienne from taking the lead shortly after the second half restart. Moustapha Bayal Sall was able to head in Renaud Cohade’s cross to make it 1-0. A late goal from the visitors denied Les Verts what would have been a vital win in their race for Champions League football. Vagner Love struck in the 84^th-minute to net the leveler.

Nice 1-1 Marseille

Marseille kept up their impressive unbeaten run on the road as they earned a point at the Allianz Riviera when they took on Nice in Sunday’s final match. The game had to be suspended for a brief period while the smoke from flares cleared, but it didn’t really affect what was a good game for both sides.

Mauricio Isla broke the deadlock with a header for Les Olympiens when he converted Romain Alessandrini’s cross. Valere Germain leveled the scores in the 58^th-minute however, ensuring Les Aiglons took a point. They could have lost the game in the latter stages though, as Michy Batshuayi struck the post to leave Marseille frustrated. The hosts remain 3^rd after failing to capitalise on Monaco and Saint-Étienne dropping points, but Marseille are still down in 11^th place.