Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 28

PSG suffered their first loss of the campaign and a number of European contenders were stunned in the latest round of Ligue 1 matches.

Nice 0-2 Bastia

Nice were shocked by Bastia at the Allianz Riviera on Friday as their bid for Champions League football was dealt a huge setback. The first half was fairly even but the game changed in the 58^th-minute when Nice’s Paul Baysse was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card. Bastia took advantage of the extra man within three minutes as Sadio Diallo fired a free-kick into the roof of the net.

The game was settled shortly after the opener when the visitors doubled their lead; Floyd Ayite scored from inside the area to give his side a big three points. Les Aiglons fell to 5^th in the table as a result, whereas Bastia climbed to 11^th and may have escaped an end of season relegation scrap. To add salt to the Nice wounds, Monaco dropped points at Nantes which meant they could have closed the gap.

Montpellier 3-0 Lille

Another shock result came in the encounter between Montpellier and Lille. The visitors had taken four points from PSG and Lyon before this match but they were comfortably beaten by La Paillade. Lille’s Vincent Enyeama has been in excellent form all season and he was responsible for keeping the scores at 0-0 at half-time. He couldn’t keep Montpellier out for much longer however, as Kevin Berigaud was brilliantly picked out by Ryad Boudebouz before heading home.

Bryan Dabo added a second midway through the second period and Ellyes Shkiri scored a late goal to cap a fine performance and victory for the hosts. Montpellier’s third successive win takes them above Lille to 14^th, with Les Dogues one place below in 15^th.

Guingamp 2-2 Angers

Angers failed to capitalise on the teams above them slipping up as they were held to a draw with Guingamp. The hosts are just 16^th in the league, while Angers remain 9^th. It took over half an hour for the deadlock to be broken; Pierrick Capelle netted one of the goals of the season with a half-volley from distance to give Angers the lead. The lead lasted less than ten minutes though as Guingamp were level through Sloan Privat.

The visitors were then reduced to ten men after Cheikh N’Doye’s reckless challenge on Benjamin Brou Angoua gave the referee no alternative but to send him off. The referee’s day got even busier when he was forced to award two penalties. The first of which was converted by Guingamp’s Thibault Giresse, but Angers equalised with a Billy Ketkeophomphone spot-kick to earn the visitors a share of the spoils.

Reims 4-1 Bordeaux

Bordeaux were another team to be surprised at the weekend as they were on the end of a thrashing at the Stade Auguste Delaune. It was a huge win for Reims as they moved to four points clear of the relegation zone in 17^th, while Bordeaux’s European charge has taken a hit as they drop to 12^th. Goals from Aissa Mandi and Thievy Bifouma gave the home side a 2-0 lead at half-time, giving Les Girondins all to do in the second period.

They offered little response however and Bifouma struck again for Reims to add a third and put the game out of Bordeaux’s reach. They did manage to pull a goal back through Adam Ounas to spark little hope of a comeback, but Lass Bangoura’s goal on the stroke of full-time completed the rout for Reims.

Toulouse 1-2 Rennes

Toulouse went excruciatingly close to the three points in this game but threw it away as Rennes fought back to score two late goals. The visitors dominated for large parts of the match, but it was Toulouse who took the lead when Wissam Ben Yedder scored the opener in the 78^th-minute.

It would have been astonishing if Rennes didn’t score after dominating the game but they did find the net with little time remaining. Up-and-coming talent Ousmane Dembele scored an excellent solo goal to level the scores, before the youngster assisted Kamil Grosicki to score two minutes into stoppage time to steal all the points from Les Pitchouns. The result leaves Toulouse ten points from safety in 19^th place, but Rennes move just inside the top six.

Troyes 0-1 Lorient

Another disappointing result for Troyes meant they drifted even further away from safety as they were beaten at home by Lorient. The only goal of the game was after just three minutes; Majeed Waris opened the scoring for Les Merlus after Jimmy Cabot took advantage of a defensive mistake before crossing the ball.

Lorient continued to push but there was no second goal. Troyes’ woes grew deeper later in the match though when Fabien Camus was dismissed for a late challenge on Remi Mulumba. Troyes are 18 points from safety at the bottom of the Ligue 1 table but Lorient have moved up to 10^th.

Nantes 0-0 Monaco

Monaco were held to a goalless draw at the Stade de la Beaujoire, but they got away with it as the sides below them failed to take advantage of their slip-up. Nantes’ recent form has been something to admire and they began the match with attacking intentions; only Danijel Subasic kept Les Canaris from going two or three goals up inside the opening ten minutes.

Kolbeinn Sigthorsson consistently attacked the Monaco goal but Subasic was on top on numerous occasions. Guido Carrillo went close for the visitors but his volley was denied by Remy Riou in the Nantes’ goalmouth. The hosts were denied a goal by the lineman’s flag as Alejandro Bedoya turned the ball home before being called for offside. Monaco still have an eight-point gap in 2^nd, while Nantes are 8^th but a win in their game in hand could take them up to 3^rd.

Gazélec Ajaccio P-P Marseille

Gazélec and Marseille’s encounter had to be postponed due a waterlogged pitch after two days of heavy rain.

The date for the match to be played is yet to be confirmed.

Saint-Étienne 1-2 Caen

Caen made a big step towards securing a European spot by beating fellow contenders Saint-Étienne at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. It was an enthralling match but it took 78 minutes for the first goal. Andy Delort scored once again for Caen after some hesitant defending from Herve Bazile’s delivery into Les Verts’ box.

The lead was double inside the final ten minutes of the match when Ronny Rodelin squeezed an effort from range past Stephane Ruffier. There was a late goal from Saint-Étienne as Valentin Eysseric grabbed a consolation with a fine free-kick in stoppage time, but Caen held on for a very important victory. This took the visitors up to 4^th in the league standings, overtaking Les Verts who now drop to 7^th.

Lyon 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain

After defeating Lyon four times in all competitions this season, PSG were hoping of a fifth victory against Les Gones but instead suffered their first league loss of the season. It was a record-breaking run for Les Parisians but it came to an end on Sunday as Lyon moved up to 3^rd in the league. A good start for the hosts allowed them to take the lead after just 13 minutes when Alexandre Lacazette picked out Maxwel Cornet to score from the edge of the area. PSG were fortunate to have all eleven men on the pitch after a moment of madness from Thiago Motta saw him strike Jordan Ferri with his left arm; an act which only saw him receive a yellow card.

The high intensity from Lyon was forcing mistakes form the visitors and they doubled their lead in first half stoppage time. Rafael crossed the ball for Sergi Darder and the Spaniard took his goal extremely well. Javier Pastore was brought on at half-time and was instantly involved in halving Lyon’s lead. He persistently pressured the hosts and the ball found its way to Lucas Moura who scored his eighth goal of the campaign. Lyon held on for all three points which means PSG will have to wait another week to get their status as champions confirmed.