Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 37

 

As the penultimate weekend of the Ligue 1 season came to a close, Lyon virtually secured 2^nd place, while three teams are still in danger of getting relegated.

Bastia 1-0 Angers

Bastia were able to beat Angers on Saturday thanks to a Yannick Cahuzac goal, marking his 300^th appearance for the club in style. The midfielder scored the winning goal shortly before half-time, when his effort from range deflected before beating Alexandre Letellier in the Angers goal.

The visitors had a glorious opportunity to equalise within minutes of the restart after Pierrick Capelle was awarded a penalty, however Thomas Mangani wasted the chance from the spot by striking the ball over the crossbar. This ensured Angers dropped to 9^th after failing to score for the third consecutive match, whereas Bastia remain 14^th and can still dream of a top half finish.

Bordeaux 3-0 Lorient

After defeating Troyes in the previous match, Bordeaux were able to follow up that win with another comfortable victory over Lorient at the weekend. Les Girondins climbed to 11^th as a result, whereas three straight defeats without scoring leaves Lorient 16^th; fortunately for Les Merlus they are not under threat from the bottom three. Malcolm broke the deadlock for the hosts, scoring in the 12^th-minute to get Bordeaux underway.

Cheikh Diabate then took over for the home side, scoring a brace to make sure there was no chance of a Lorient fightback. His first came just nine minutes after the opener, giving Bordeaux a 2-0 lead at half-time. He added another goal to his tally just three minutes after the interval; his tenth goal since January.

Gazélec Ajaccio 0-4 Paris Saint-Germain

There was no mercy from the champions at the Stade Ange Casanova as PSG thumped Gazélec 4-0 to threaten their survival hopes. The hosts weren’t expecting to win when Les Parisians came to town but the emphatic scoreline has damaged their goal difference, making it inferior to Toulouse and Reims. Edinson Cavani gave the visitors an early lead, heading home Angel Di Maria’s cross. Gazélec did have a large share of possession in the first half, but they were unable to break down a resilient PSG defence.

As they have done in many games this season, the champions dominated after half-time. The same two players combined again as Di Maria picked out Cavani to make it two; the Uruguayan did well to take down the Argentine’s pass before beating Clement Maury. Cavani scored his hat-trick shortly before the hour mark, this time converting Layvin Kurzawa’s pass to claim the match ball. There was still time for Zlatan Ibrahimovic to get in on the action after a somewhat quiet game; the Swedish talisman escaped the Gazélec defence before calmly finishing to make it four. PSG set two records in this game; beating their own previous record of the highest points tally in a Ligue 1 season, as well as scoring the most goals in one season, surpassing Marseille’s count of 94 from the 1970/71 campaign. Gazélec dropped to 18^th after Toulouse’s victory, meaning they have to win next week to avoid returning to Ligue 2. 

Lille 0-0 Guingamp

Lille failed to capitalise on Saint-Étienne’s loss to move into the European spots as they were held to a goalless draw with Guingamp. Les Dogues are now unbeaten in nine matches, but the win would have taking them above Les Verts with an advantage heading into the final day.

Guingamp’s goalkeeper was the busier of the two; Jonas Lossl made a number of key saves and denied Sebastien Corchia in spectacular fashion. Despite being second-best for the majority of the game, Guingamp had an opportunity to score the winner in the latter stages but Thibault Giresse’s effort was matches by Vincent Enyeama in the Lille goal. The point kept the hosts in 6^th and the superior goal difference will give them hope ahead of the last game of the season, whereas Guingamp sit 15^th following this result.

Lyon 6-1 Monaco

In the battle for 2^nd place, Lyon came out on top and did so in an extreme fashion, beating Monaco 6-1 to make them near impossible to catch. With a game to play, Les Gones have a three point lead over Monaco, with a superior goal difference by 22. While the visitors remain 3^rd, they are under pressure in the last game of the season as Nice have closed the gap to just two points. The home side made the perfect start after three minutes when Andrea Raggi’s slip allowed Rachid Ghezzal to pounce and fire Lyon into an early lead. It look five minutes for Lyon to double their lead; Alexandre Lacazette converted Sergi Darder’s cross to make it 2-0.

Monaco’s evening went from bad to worse after Lacina Traore was dismissed for a second bookable offence, tackling Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and Anthony Lopes in quick succession. The hosts’ third came after the half-hour mark; Yanga-Mbiwa leapt highest to head home Maxime Gonalons’ corner. Lyon wrapped up the points shortly after and the game fast became a rout as Lacazette added a fourth goal, lifting the ball over Danijel Subasic. Monaco grabbed a consolation goal just before half-time; Ricardo Carvalho showed quick reactions to head home after Lopes parried Bernardo Silva’s free-kick. The visitors looked better in the early stages of the second period but Lyon pegged them back once again as Yanga-Mbiwa scored his second goal for the club to make it five. In the final ten minutes, Lacazette added the gloss to the victory and claimed the match ball, his eleventh goal in nine games; finishing on his second attempt.

 

Marseille 1-0 Reims

After a disappointing season at the Stade Vélodrome, Marseille got their first win since September and went out on somewhat of a high. Les Olympiens had to defeat a relegation-threatened Reims side and the visitors are now facing an uphill battle as anything but a win on the final day is not enough for survival.

Reims were the first to threaten; Diego’s header beat Steve Mandanda but also the post, as it flew just wide of the upright. Marseille got over this brief scare and began to control the game, Benjamin Mendy came close, testing Kossi Agassa. Agassa was in fine form and went on to prevent Romain Alessandrini and Steven Fletcher from finding the net. The pressure on the Reims goalkeeper was increasing and the breakthrough came ten minutes into the second half. Agassa’s clearance was charged down by Michy Batshuayi and the striker was able to open the scoring. The visitors rarely threatened the Marseille goal and the hosts were able to earn the three points, keeping them 13^th. Reims on the other hand dropped to 19^th, one point from safety with an inferior goal difference by five.

Montpellier 2-0 Rennes

Montpellier’s early season woes look to be behind them as they moved into the top half of the table with a comfortable victory over Rennes. La Paillade have now won four successive Ligue 1 games and they could still finish above Rennes on the final day.

After a goalless first half, the home side broke the deadlock shortly before the hour mark. Ryad Boudebouz crossed the ball and a touch from Souleymane Camara took it into the path of Casimir Ninga to score the opener. The points were sealed midway through the half; Boudebouz went from provider to goal scorer and scored after a fast counter-attack. Montpellier climb to 10^th as a result, while a fifth consecutive game without a win leaves Rennes 7^th in the league standings.

Nantes 1-2 Caen

Nantes and Caen have both had positive seasons, but it was the visitors who were the stronger as the teams met on Saturday at the Stade de la Beaujoire. The teams were level on points heading into this encounter, but it looks as though Caen might finish the campaign in a higher position after they jumped to 8^th, leaving Nantes down in 12^th. The away side were fast out of the blocks and took the lead within the first five minutes through a Ronny Rodelin header.

After Anthony Walongwa handled the ball in the penalty area just before the break, Caen were given the opportunity to double their lead from the spot; a chance Andy Delort took to give the visitors a comfortable lead at half-time. A nervous finish was set up when Alejandro Bedoya scored with 12 minutes to play, but Caen were able to hold on for the win.

Nice 2-0 Saint-Étienne

There was a big game at the Allianz Riviera at the weekend and Nice came on top by beating Saint-Étienne, moving above Les Verts and closing the gap on Monaco in the league table. Paul Baysse thought he had scored the opener for Nice after heading in Hatem Ben Arfa’s delivery, but any celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. Any hopes of Saint-Étienne getting a result were dashed when Kevin Malcuit received a second yellow card for a challenge on Alassane Plea, before Franck Tabanou was also dismissed for kicking out.

The two red cards were the turning point and Nice were able to make the breakthrough. Valere Germain scored a brace for Les Aiglons late on, first converting Plea’s delivery before scoring a second after getting on the end of Mahamane Traore’s pass. If Nice win on the final day and Monaco lose, they would qualify for the Champions League, whereas Saint-Étienne will be hoping to put off Lille or even overtake Nice again in the European spots.

Toulouse 1-0 Troyes

A narrow victory over Troyes turned out to be a vital three points for Toulouse, as they climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time since October to give them an advantage heading into the final day. Their goal difference is keeping them above Gazélec in the league standings, but they have moved one point above Reims.

Wissam Ben Yedder was causing problems for Troyes all evening, as he has for many a defence this season. It was Oscar Trejo who made the breakthrough however, coming on as an impact substitute to cut inside and curl a fine finish beyond Mathieu Dreyer. Troyes’ unspectacular season is nearly complete after yet another disappointing result on the road.