Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 4

 

Four games have been played in this year’s campaign and it already looks like one of the most exciting Ligue 1 seasons in recent years, largely because of a more open title race.

Friday 9 September

Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Saint-Étienne Venue – Parc des Princes

Saint-Étienne managed to score an injury time equaliser at the Parc des Princes to prevent champions PSG from claiming all three points.

A combination of Les Verts’ resilience at the back and PSG composure in the final third meant the hosts had to wait over an hour to break the deadlock. Lucas Moura scored from the spot in the 67^th-minute after Kevin Malcuit pushed Blaise Matuidi over in the area.

Malcuit did make amends later on, setting up the equaliser with a delivery towards the back post that was guided home by Robert Beric.

Les Parisians are in unfamiliar territory after failing to win in their last two outings, leaving them 7^th in the table, but they are still better off than Saint-Étienne who are two points behind in 12^th.

 

Saturday 10 September

Lyon 1-3 Bordeaux Venue – Stade des Lumieres

Lyon were left shocked once again as they were defeated for the second consecutive game, this time in front of their home fans against Bordeaux.

The home side got off to a dream start when they took the lead after little over a minute; the ball fell kindly to Aldo Kalulu in the box and he calmly slot the ball home.

Bordeaux got back on level terms just past the half-hour mark when Malcom steered the ball past Anthony Lopes from the edge of the area. Things started to go in the visitors’ favour from here as the sending off of Lyon’s Maxime Gonalons for a reckless challenge turned the game on its head.

Les Girondins took advantage of the extra man and took the lead through Gregory Sertic a few minutes later, before Jeremy Menez wrapped up the points in the final minute of regulation time. Lyon remain 8^th in the league, while Bordeaux’s third win in four saw them climb to 4^th.

Angers 3-1 Dijon Venue – Stade Jean Bouin

Angers ended a run of three successive losses and moved up to 17^th following a win over newly promoted Dijon, who are level on points in 16^th.

The visitors actually took the lead through Frederic Sammaritano after eight minutes but this was cancelled out shortly after by Famara Diedhiou.

Momentum swung in Dijon’s favour when Billy Ketkeophomphone was dismissed for the hosts in the 34^th-minute, but they failed to take advantage before they too were reduced to ten men following Jordan Marie’s red card in the 50^th.

This put Angers back in control and they sealed the victory midway through the second period. Cheikh N’Doye gave the hosts the lead before Karl Toko Ekambi secured all three points with a fine strike.

Bastia 2-1 Toulouse Venue – Stade Armand Cesari

A late goal from Pierre Bengtsson ensured Bastia came out on top against Toulouse at the Stade Armand Cesari.

Sadio Diallo put the hosts in front in the 20^th-minute and it looked like Martin Braithwaite had earned a point for Toulouse with his equaliser in the 68^th-minute.

This wasn’t to be however, as Bengtsson struck within the final ten minutes to ensure Bastia would claim the win and move to 9^th in the table, leaving Toulouse 11^th.

Guingamp 1-1 Montpellier Venue – Stade du Roudourou

Guingamp will feel unfortunate not to have earned all three points against Montpellier but they remain one of just three unbeaten teams in Ligue 1 this campaign.

The hosts started off the better side with Sloan Privat going close on a number of occasions, but it was La Paillade who took the lead when Morgan Sanson was played in by Ryad Boudebouz to open the scoring in the 10^th-minute.

Still in control of the game, Guingamp got their reward later in the first half when Marcus Coco equalised after some neat work from Yannis Salibur and Thibault Giresse. The hosts sit 5^th in the league standings while Montpellier are down in 13^th; on reflection of Guingamp’s flurry of chances they should have been claiming all of the points.

 

Lille 1-4 Monaco Venue – Stade Pierre-Mauroy

Following PSG’s slip-up on the Friday, Monaco made a huge statement in their bid for the title as they thrashed Lille 4-1 at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

The visitors raced out of the blocks and took the lead within two minutes; Djibril Sidibe, against his former club, gave Monaco the lead with an excellent free-kick. Another familiar face came back to bite Les Dogues in the 17^th-minute; Adama Traore converted Nabil Dirar’s cross to make it 2-0 on his return to Lille.

Monaco’s dominance continued in the second half as they scored within two minutes of the restart through Fabinho, before Kamil Glik headed home his first Monaco goal in the 71^st-minute to complete the rout.

Lille were able to score a consolation shortly before the final whistle. In contrast to the performance of his team, Julien Palmieri’s volley from the edge of the area was a piece of quality that gave the home fans something to cheer about. Lille are 15^th in the standings following this poor result, while Monaco remain unbeaten at the top of the league.

Lorient 0-2 Nancy Venue – Stade du Moustoir

After three defeats in a row, Nancy got their first Ligue 1 win of the season and moved to 19^th; overtaking their opponents Lorient who are now the only winless side in the division.

Benjamin Moukandjo’s missed opportunity came back to haunt the hosts as Nancy took the lead through Youssef Ait Bennasser after 32 minutes.

The match could have gone either way but Maurice Dale’s late strike made sure Nancy would claim all three points and give them hope of Ligue 1 survival this season.

 

Sunday 11 September

Nantes 0-3 Metz Venue – Stade de la Beaujoire

Newly promoted Metz continued their fine form by comfortably beating Nantes; their third win in four and second consecutive clean sheet.

Mevlut Erdinc was the star of the show once again, scoring a hat-trick to bag three points for the visitors. He ensured Metz would be two goals ahead at the break following two clinically finished efforts from inside the penalty area.

The third came from the spot with just over ten minutes remaining. Ismaila Sarr was fouled by Oswaldo Vizcarrondo in the box and Erdinc was able to complete his hat-trick.

With only the defeat to PSG going against them, Metz sit 3^rd in the league standings, but Nantes are 18^th after losing a third successive game without scoring in any of them.

Rennes 2-0 Caen Venue – Roazhon Park

Rennes were victorious over Caen on Sunday at Roazhon Park, climbing to 6^th and leaving their opponents in 10^th place.

A first goal at the club for Wesley Said in the 47^th-minute sent Rennes on the way to their second league win of the season.

There was always the danger of Caen getting back into the game but it took until the 88^th-minute for the hosts to secure the win. A quick counter attack led to Paul Georges-Ntep picking out substitute Sanjin Prcic to score the second goal of the game.

Nice 3-2 Marseille Venue – Allianz Riviera

Nice remained unbeaten in the league after beating Marseille at the Allianz Riviera, thanks to an impressive debut from Mario Balotelli.

The Italian striker made his mark after just seven minutes, converting a penalty after Jean Michael Seri was fouled by William Vainqueur in the box. It didn’t take Marseille long to equalise however, as Florian Thauvin’s effort got Les Olympiens back on level terms just seven minutes later.

Marseille were then awarded a penalty of their own after Bouna Sarr drew a foul from Vincent Koziello, and Bafetimbi Gomis stepped up to convert the spot-kick. This time it was Nice’s turn to fight back and it was Balotelli again, levelling the scores with a close range header in the 78^th-minute.

Just as it looked as though both sides would be sharing the spoils, Wylan Cyprien popped up to score the winner for Les Aiglons with a shot from the edge of the area into the bottom left corner. The win keeps Nice level on points with Monaco, in 2^nd, while are struggling down in 14^th.