Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 15

 

A round of midweek Ligue 1 fixtures saw important wins for Nancy, Lille and Lorient as there was a shift at the bottom of the league table.

 

Tuesday 29 November

Lille 4-2 Caen Venue – Stade Pierre-Mauroy

After scoring just ten goals in their opening 14 matches, Lille hit four past Caen on Tuesday and climbed out of the relegation zone.

Les Dogues sacked manager Frederic Antonetti last week and started the match as a reformed team. Eder put the hosts in front after 13 minutes, before Naim Sliti doubled the lead midway through the first period.

Julien Feret pulled a goal back for Caen just past the half-hour mark, but two second half goals in the space of a minute from Nicolas de Preville and Rony Lopes gave Lille an unassailable lead.

Ronny Rodelin scored a consolation goal for the visitors against his former club, but Lille saw the game out to hand Patrick Collot his first win as interim boss, moving to 17^th in the table, level on points with Caen who are now one place below.

Lorient 2-1 Rennes Venue – Stade du Moustoir

Lorient got their long-awaited win on Tuesday against a well-positioned Rennes side, but it wasn’t enough to move them off the bottom spot while the visitors dropped to 6^th.

The hosts took the lead shortly before the half-hour when Michael Ciani headed in from a corner. There were warning signs of another wasted lead when Giovanni Sio capitalised on a defensive error to level the scores for Rennes.

It didn’t take long for Lorient to re-establish their lead after the restart. Less than a minute had passed when Majeed Waris netted from close range; Lorient held onto their lead and will hope the three points kick-start their campaign.

Dijon 1-1 Monaco Venue – Stade Gaston Gérard

Monaco were playing ahead of league leaders Nice for the first time in weeks and a late Dijon equaliser saw them drop points at the Stade Gaston Gérard.

The visitors were quick out of the blocks and made the breakthrough in the 17^th-minute; Guido Carrillo turned the ball in after Baptiste Reynet initially kept out Bernardo Silva’s delivery.

Dijon grew into the game and after a number of chances, they earned their reward with three minutes of regulation time remaining as Lois Diony unselfishly teed up Frederic Sammaritano to equalise.

Monaco fell below PSG to 3^rd and are now three points off the pace as a result, while Dijon sit 15^th but without a win in five.

 

Wednesday 30 November

Bastia 1-1 Bordeaux Venue – Stade Armand Cesari

Bordeaux failed to close the gap on Monaco as they were held to a 1-1 draw with ten-man Bastia.

Those in attendance at the Stade Armand Cesari had to wait until the second half to see the first goal of the game and it came four minutes into the half. After linking up well with Allan Saint-Maximin, Gael Danic delivered a cross for Thievy Bifouma to break the deadlock.

Gaetan Laborde levelled for Bordeaux in the 78^th-minute and the momentum was with Les Girondins as Bastia were reduced to ten men. Florian Marange’s challenge on Jeremy Menez was deemed to be worthy of a straight red card, but Bordeaux couldn’t capitalise with the extra man as the match finished level.

The point saw Bordeaux slip to 6^th in the league standings, but Bastia look to be in danger as they fall to 16^th, just outside of the danger zone on goal difference.

Guingamp 0-1 Nice Venue – Stade du Roudourou

A narrow win at the Stade du Roudourou was enough to ensure Nice retained Ligue 1’s top spot for another week.

The slip-up against Bastia at the weekend meant Les Aiglons had to respond and their intentions were clear from the outset. Younes Belhanda opened the scoring with a calm finish after being played in by Jean Seri.

Guingamp’s only real opportunity came from a free-kick, but Nice’s Yoan Cardinale was reliable when called upon to prevent Yannis Salibur from equalising.

Lucien Favre’s side still have their one-point lead at the top, while Guingamp’s first defeat in seven outings leaves them 7^th.

 

Nancy 4-0 Metz Venue – Stade Marcel Picot

Nancy scored a third of their seasons’ goal tally on Wednesday evening as they thrashed Metz at the Stade Marcel Picot.

Benoit Pedretti opened the scoring for Nancy shortly before the half-time interval with a well-taken free-kick, but the hosts had to wait until later in the second half to double their lead.

Joffrey Cuffaut doubled the home side’s lead in the 78^th-minute, before Issiar Dia scored the third goal of the game two minutes later. If Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s sending off wasn’t enough for Metz, their misery was compounded when Youssef Ait Bennasser added a fourth for Nancy in injury time.

The victory took Nancy out of the bottom three and up to 13^th; two points behind Metz who are just above in 12^th.

Nantes 0-6 Lyon Venue – Stade de la Beaujoire

Lyon suggested their title hopes aren’t over just yet as they strode to an emphatic victory over Nantes at the Stade de la Beaujoire.

First half goals from Corentin Tolisso, a penalty from Alexandre Lacazette and another from Maxime Gonalons saw the match all but over before half-time.

Les Gones didn’t let up in the second half as they continued to push for goals. Mathieu Valbuena added a fourth on the hour mark, before Mouctar Diakhaby and Nabil Fekir wrapped up the points later in the half.

Lyon jumped to 4^th in the league standings however remain 11 points from the leaders, while Nantes remain 19^th with Lorient in hot pursuit.

Saint-Étienne 0-0 Marseille Venue – Stade Geoffroy-Guichard

A point suited neither Saint-Étienne nor Marseille as no side could find the breakthrough, leaving them 9^th and 11^th respectively.

Maxime Lopez could have scored after four minutes for Les Olympiens but Stephane Ruffier did well to deny the Frenchman. At the other end, Yohann Pele was called into action to prevent Oussama Tannane from opening the scoring.

Marseille certainly had the better of the chances; Bafetimbi Gomis, Rolando, Romain Alessandrini and Clinton N’Jie all wasted their opportunities to ensure the game would finish goalless.

Toulouse 1-0 Montpellier Venue – Stadium Municipal

After a five-match winless run, Toulouse finally returned to winning ways with a narrow victory at home to Montpellier.

Martin Braithwaite and Issiaga Sylla combined well to create an opening and the latter’s strike in the 19^th-minute put Les Pitchouns ahead.

The hosts had to withstand a lot of Montpellier pressure in the latter stages, but a solid goalkeeping performance from Alban Lafont led Toulouse to their first win since the beginning of October.

Montpellier slip to 14^th in the Ligue 1 table, while Toulouse continue to climb and move above Saint-Étienne to 8^th.

Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Angers Venue – Parc des Princes

Monaco’s mistake handed PSG the opportunity to take 2^nd spot; a chance they gladly took with a win over Angers, leaving their opponents 10^th.

The visitors held Les Parisians for over half an hour but Thiago Silva headed in Lucas Moura’s corner to break the deadlock. The PSG goal came at a pivotal moment as Silva had just cleared Cheikh N’Doye’s header off the line at the other end.

Romain Thomas gave the champions a chance to double their lead when he fouled Hatem Ben Arfa inside the penalty area midway through the second period. Edinson Cavani stepped up to score his 100^th goal for PSG, before paying tribute to the victims of the Chapecoense plane crash and getting booked for his sincerity.