The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and Opinions
Monaco strengthened their lead at the top of the table with another victory while there was a postponement at the Stade Michel d’Ornano.
Friday 20 January
Bastia 1-1 Nice Venue – Stade Armand Cesari
Nice’s hopes of a title win took another hit on Friday evening as they were held to their third consecutive draw, at Bastia.
Les Aiglons had already surrendered top spot to Monaco last week but it looked as though they would be falling further behind when Prince Oniangue gave Bastia the lead with a fine strike on his debut.
The visitors levelled later in the first half through Arnaud Souquet headed in from Wylan Cyprien’s corner. Despite Bastia playing the last half an hour with a man less, following Yannick Cahuzac’s dismissal, Nice couldn’t find the breakthrough and the game ended with the scores tied.
As a result, Nice are left hanging onto 2nd place but Bastia remain down in 16th.
Saturday 21 January
Nantes 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain Venue – Stade de la Beaujoire
PSG were able to capitalise on Nice’s third successive mistake with a win at the Stade de la Beaujoire versus Nantes.
Edinson Cavani was on form once again for Les Parisians as the Uruguayan scored a brace to secure the three points.
The opener came in the 21st-minute and a well worked team goal saw Lucas Moura’s cross converted by Cavani to give PSG the lead. He had to wait until over an hour was played before scoring his second; a well-taken free-kick to double his side’s advantage and make it 20 goals in 19 league games.
A third win in a row for PSG saw them sit three points off the pace in 3rd, while Nantes are still 11th in the league standings.
Bordeaux 1-0 Toulouse Venue – Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux
A first win in seven saw Bordeaux climb to 9th as they defeated Toulouse, who dropped below their opponents to 10th place.
The deadlock was broken with less than a minute on the clock when Valentin Vada found the top corner from inside the box.
Any hope of a Toulouse comeback was reduced when Yann Bodiger was sent off for a foul on Jeremy Toulalan. Bordeaux had a good opportunity to double their lead from the spot, however Malcom saw his effort saved with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Caen P-P Nancy Venue – Stade Michel d’Ornano
The match between Caen and Nancy was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
Dijon 0-0 Lille Venue – Stade Gaston Gérard
A goalless encounter at the Stade Gaston Gérard wasn’t good for neither Dijon nor Lille as they both remain dangerously close to the bottom three in 15th and 14th respectively.
The hosts had the larger share of the possession and a greater number of attempts but they failed to make it count as the teams shared the points.
Guingamp 1-1 Rennes Venue – Stade du Roudourou
There was another draw at the Stade du Roudourou where Guingamp were held by a ten-man Rennes.
The hosts drew first blood in the 39th-minute when a Fernando Marcal delivery was met by Moustapha Diallo to head home the opener.
It looked as though it may have been a difficult second half for Rennes when Sanjin Prcic received a second yellow card in stoppage time, but they re-emerged stronger after the break and were soon on level terms. Yoann Gourcuff curled the ball into the top corner from distance with less than a minute of the second period played.
Both sides shared the points ensuring Guingamp would finish the weekend in 5th place, just two points above Rennes who slipped to 8th.
Metz 2-0 Montpellier Venue – Stade Saint-Symphorien
Two quick, first half goals from Cheick Diabate were enough to earn the points for Metz and sink Montpellier at the Stade Saint-Symphorien.
The Malian international opened the scoring in the 14th-minute, converting Renaud Cohade’s cross with his head. Another combination of the two saw Cohade pick out Diabate to score his second just five minutes later.
It was a crucial win for Metz as they move up to 18th and only in the bottom three on goal difference. Montpellier are 13th in the league standings but only two points above the drop zone.
Sunday 22 January
Monaco 4-0 Lorient Venue – Stade Louis II
Another emphatic victory for Monaco saw them comfortably dispose of bottom club Lorient to establish a two-point lead at the top of the table.
Three goals in 13 first half minutes put the game beyond Lorient as Monaco continued to be the strongest contenders for the title.
Two goals in four minutes from Gabriel Boschilia set the pace for the hosts, before Valere Germain’s right footed effort in the 39th-minute made for an unassailable lead at the half-time interval.
Germain then stepped up, following in Boschilia’s footsteps to make sure he had a brace to his name and complete the rout for Monaco just before the hour mark.
Saint-Étienne 2-1 Angers Venue – Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saint-Étienne came back from a goal down to beat Angers at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard to move back up to 6th, leaving the visitors 19th after failing to win in their last nine outings.
Mateo Pavlovic opened the scoring for Angers in the 17th-minute and Les Verts had no answer, meaning the visitors were leading at the break.
An Abdoulaye Bamba own goal saw the home side back on level terms, before Loic Perrin gave Saint-Étienne the lead later in the second half. The hosts held on for a win which gets their hunt for a European spot back on track.
Lyon 3-1 Marseille Venue – Stade des Lumieres
The game of the weekend was at the Stade des Lumieres and Lyon came out on top, defeating Marseille to keep the pressure on the leaders.
It looked as though the first half was going to be a goalless one but Mathieu Valbuena put the home side in front with two minutes of regulation time remaining. Alexandre Lacazette strengthened Les Gones’ lead just past the hour mark to give Marseille a lot to do to get a result.
When Doria pulled a goal back for Les Olympiens there was the hope of a fightback, however it was short-lived as Lacazette scored his second of the game just eight minutes later.
Marseille slipped to 7th as a result of the loss but Lyon remain 4th in the standings, albeit with a game in hand over their rivals.
