Ligue 1 Review Gameweek 16

 

Another Nice win and a match abandoned at Metz; the latest round of Ligue 1 games featured lots of action.

Friday 2 December

Caen 3-3 Dijon Venue – Stade Michel d’Ornano

Dijon managed to earn a point at Caen on Friday evening, despite going two goals down and playing over an hour with a man light.

Strugglers Caen opened the scoring in the 24^th-minute through Ivan Santini but their lead lasted no more than two minutes as Pierre Lees Melou equalised for the visitors.

Dijon’s Arnold Bouka Moutou was dismissed just past the half-hour mark and this saw a shift in momentum as the hosts built a two-goal lead before the break. Santini scored his second of the game before a Yann Karamoh goal ensured Caen would have a healthy half-time lead.

Lois Diony pulled a goal back for the visitors shortly before the hour, before Caen were pegged back by an Alaeddine Yahia own goal nine minutes from time as Dijon completed the comeback.

Caen dropped to 17^th as a result, a point behind Dijon who are 15^th; winless in six.

 

Saturday 3 December

Montpellier 3-0 Paris Saint-Germain Venue – Stade de la Mosson

Montpellier produced the shock of the weekend as they comfortably defeated PSG at the Stade de la Mosson.

Les Parisians have an important game in the Champions League midweek; however Unai Emery still named a strong side to feature in Saturday’s encounter. PSG had the better of the chances in the early exchanges as Laurent Pionnier did well to keep out Christopher Nkunku.

Montpellier looked the more creative of the two sides and would have taken the lead earlier if it wasn’t for the linesman’s flag denying Steve Mounie a goal. La Paillade had to wait until the 40^th-minute to make the breakthrough and it came from Paul Lasne. The hosts picked up where they left off in the second half and doubled their lead three minutes after the restart; Morgan Sanson presented the ball to Ellyes Skhiri who rifled the ball into the net.

The introduction of Hatem Ben Arfa saw a stronger PSG, yet they still couldn’t find a goal and they were punished once more as Ryad Boudebouz made it three towards the end of the second period.

PSG’s third loss of the campaign meant they slipped to 3^rd in the table, but Montpellier sit 12^th after giving themselves some breathing space from the danger zone.

Angers 2-2 Lorient Venue – Stade Jean Bouin

There was an exciting spectacle at the Stade Jean Bouin as both Angers and Lorient had to come from behind to earn a point each.

It was the visitors who drew first blood midway through the first half. In spite of a period of Angers pressure, Sylvain Marveaux’s effort from the edge of the box gave Lorient the lead. It took the home side no more than three minutes to level the scores again, as Famara Diedhiou converted from the spot after Vincent Le Goff brought down Cheikh Ndoye in the box.

Angers then turned the game on its head in the second half and after winning a penalty earlier in the game, Ndoye continued to menace the Lorient defence, heading home Karl Toko Ekambi’s delivery. Like Angers in the first half, Lorient provided a quick response and equalised within six minutes through Majeed Waris.

Lorient remain bottom of the league but are unbeaten in three, while Angers sit 11^th in the league standings.

Bordeaux 0-1 Lille Venue – Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux

Lille look to be back to their old selves as they won back-to-back for the first time this season, beating Bordeaux in their latest match.

Les Dogues created a host of chances in the first half and deservedly took the lead moments before the half-time interval. Nicolas de Preville was the quickest to react from a corner and found the net to give the visitors a lead at the break.

Rony Lopes struck the crossbar for Lille and they were nearly punished for not finishing their chances as Bordeaux were awarded a penalty. Nicolas Pallois drew a foul from Franck Beria in the area, but Diego Rolan could only steer his spot-kick onto the crossbar.

After their first away win of the campaign, Lille climbed out of the bottom three and up to 14^th, meanwhile Bordeaux dropped to 7^th.

Guingamp 2-0 Nantes Venue – Stade du Roudourou

After a four-match streak without a win, Guingamp broke their duck and got back to winning ways against a struggling Nantes side.

The hosts’ star man Jimmy Briand was assisted by Yannis Salibur before opening the scoring in the 22^nd minute. Salibur then got onto the score sheet himself just past the hour mark to seal the win.

It’s been a week of disappointment for Les Canaris who suffered a heavy defeat to Lyon midweek before parting company with their manager Rene Girard, and when Adrien Thomasson was dismissed in Saturday’s game it compounded their misery.

Nantes remain 19^th, still only two points from safety. Guingamp, on the other hand, are flying high in 5^th place.

 

Metz A-A Lyon Venue – Stade Saint-Symphorien

There were some unsavoury scenes at the Stade Saint-Symphorien on Saturday as the match between Metz and Lyon was abandoned after a firecracker was thrown at Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

Metz were in the lead thanks to Gauthier Hein, but after the incident involving Lopes and a 45-minute break in play, the match was abandoned.

No date for the rescheduling of the fixture has been confirmed, however there is talk of a potential forfeiting on Metz’s behalf.

Monaco 5-0 Bastia Venue – Stade Louis II

Monaco’s free scoring form continued at the weekend as they thumped five goals past Bastia.

It looked as though the hosts were heading for another emphatic win when Kylian Mbappe turned the ball home in the 10^th-minute after Jean-Louis Leca initially denied Radamel Falcao. Monaco had to wait nearly an hour to score their second, but when Thomas Lemar scored midway through the second half, the floodgates opened.

A brace from Falcao put the game beyond doubt as the Colombian scored twice within the space of five minutes to give Monaco a 4-0 lead. Lemar assisted Falcao’s second and was the provider once again for the fifth; this time he crossed the ball for Guido Carrillo to steer home.

The victory took Monaco temporarily to top spot, as they continue to hunt down Nice, while Bastia now occupy the third relegation spot.

 

Sunday 4 December

Rennes 2-0 Saint-Étienne Venue – Roazhon Park

After their disappointing result against Lorient in the week, Rennes were back on form with a win versus Saint-Étienne on Sunday.

It was a battle between two sides hoping to be in the European spots come the end of the season, but Rennes took advantage of the situation. They sit 4^th in Ligue 1, five points above Les Verts in 9^th.

The opener arrived in the 54^th-minute when Benjamin Andre picked out Paul-Georges Ntep to give Rennes the lead. There was always the danger of a Saint-Étienne leveller, but the hosts secured the victory in stoppage time with a Kamil Grosicki strike.

Marseille 3-0 Nancy Venue – Stade Vélodrome

Relegation-threatened Nancy couldn’t follow up their thrashing of Metz with another win as they were defeated by Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome.

After a goalless first half, it took Les Olympiens less than a minute in the second to break the deadlock. Florian Thauvin scored the opener with a fine curling strike.

Marseille had to wait until the 80^th-minute to score their second; Bafetimbi Gomis showed great composure to swivel past a defender and unleash a fierce strike past Sergey Chernik. After Nancy’s Benoit Pedretti was given his marching orders, Marseille put the game to bed as Clinton N’Jie made it 3-0 to the hosts.

The visitors slipped to 16^th and are just two points from the relegation zone, while Marseille climbed to 10^th.

Nice v Toulouse Venue – Allianz Riviera

Nice dealt with the pressure from Monaco once again, and built a four-point lead over PSG with a comfortable win over Toulouse.

Les Aiglons had a 2-0 lead at half-time thanks to two goals in quick succession from Alassane Plea and Younes Belhanda. Plea was released by Dante and converted in the 23^rd-minute, before another long ball from Dante played in Belhanda who lobbed Alban Lafont expertly in the 26^th.

The points were all but secured just past the hour mark when goal scorers Plea and Belhanda combined to tee up Jean Seri to add a third.

The victory meant Nice took back top spot from Monaco, while Toulouse remain 8^th in the Ligue 1 standings.