Ligue 1 Weekend Review

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

This week saw a little bit of everything, as we had tight matches and blow-outs, early insurmountable leads and goals at the death, YCs to GKs and straight RCs to outfield players. There were some exciting derby matches, but the result of the week goes to Rennes, who dominated bottom-dwelling Grenoble 4-0 and moved into the top 4 of Ligue 1.

Saturday, September 19th:

Boulogne 0-2 Bordeaux – Boulogne looked ineffective throughout most of the entire match, only getting off 4 shots. In the 13th minute a long throw-in from Chalme was shot over the crossbar by Bellion, and the pressure was on. In the 18th minute Gouffran was stopped by Boulogne GK Valverde, but in the 34th minute the former was able to head home a corner from Bellion for the first goal. Les Girondins should have had another goal in the 44th minute, but Cavenaghi hit the post with his shot. On the other side of half-time, Cavenaghi was stopped by Valverde, while in the 65th minute a shot from Rabuel elicited a nice save from Bordeaux GK Rame. The 2nd goal came in the 70th minute when defender Lachor deflected a Gourcuff free-kick into his own goal. Boulogne finally woke up, with Rame forced into a double save on Robert in the 86th minute and another save on a Lachor free-kick in the 88th minute.

Grenoble 0-4 Rennes – Rennes bullied Grenoble all over the pitch, getting off 10 shots on goal (to 1 for Grenoble) and fouling them 23 times. The action started immediately, as Gyan took advantage of a defensive mistake and scored just 27 seconds into the match. The score was doubled quickly, as Bangoura took a shot in the 7th minute which was pushed out by Grenoble GK Viviani to a waiting Marveaux for an easy finish. In the 20th minute Viviani was only able to push out a strike from Marveaux as far as Mangane, who had an easy finish of his own to essentially kill off the match. After this 3rd goal play was stopped for a few minutes as fans rained missiles down on the pitch. The rest of the half was uneventful, and the final goal came in the 60th minute when Rendulic fouled Gyan in the box and the latter finished off the resulting PK. There was more trouble amongst the supporters in the 70th minute, and both clubs left the pitch for 10 minutes as things were sorted out. The remainder of the match was played at a relatively slow pace with nothing of note either on or off the pitch.

Lorient 3-1 Nancy – Despite a seemingly equal match-up, Lorient were far more aggressive on the pitch, taking 18 shots and putting 6 of them on frame. Things didn’t really get started until the 21st minute when Diarra sent in a pass to Vahirua, who missed an easy goal. In the 27th minute Gameiro hit the crossbar, and the goal finally came in the 42nd minute when Diarra stole the ball in the midfield and saw some good work from Sosa and Vahirua before receiving the return pass for the finish. The next goal came in the 60th minute when Gameiro received a pass from Morel and then dribbled the defense to put Lorient up 2-0. Nancy’s best opportunity came in the 73rd minute when Traore was stopped by Lorient GK Audard. On the other end of the pitch, Penalba was stopped by Nancy GK Bracigliano in the 81st minute. Nancy managed to pull 1 back in the 91st minute when Alo’o Efoulou turned a free-kick from Feret into the goal. However, it was too late, and their misery was complete in the 93rd minute when Sami handled the ball in the box and Monterrubio finished off the resulting PK.

Nice 1-3 Monaco – The club from the principality got off to the quicker start in this derby match, and Nice were unable to make up enough ground to recover. In the 8th minute Apam fouled Nene in the box, and the latter stepped up to coolly take the resulting PK. The tally was doubled in the 12th minute when Alonso finished off a nice pass from Coutadeur on a counter-attack. In the 16th minute Monaco GK Ruffier did well to stop a free-kick from ben Saada, and his counterpart, Nice GK Ospina, then had to be taken off the pitch in the 35th minute after a collision with Park. Nice rallied around his replacement, Letizi, and were able to equalize just before the half when Remy headed home a cross from Paisley. On the other side of half-time ben Saada once again had his free-kick saved by Ruffier, and Monaco finished off the match in the 71st minute when Alonso and Park moved down the field well together for Alonso to finish off the run with a header. Park could have had a goal of his own, but his header was saved by Letizi in the 90th minute.

Saint-Etienne 1-1 Auxerre – Other than time of possession (63% – 37%), this match was fairly even and the shared points seemed to be the correct result. In the 5th minute Birsa forced a save from Saint-Etienne GK Janot, while just 4 minutes later it was Auxerre GK Sorin making a save on Fernandes. The opening goal came in the 13th minute when Sanogo sent across a pass for the finish from Bergessio. Jelen looked to equalize in the 32nd minute after dribbling through the defense, but his shot was saved by Janot. At the other end of the pitch Sorin preserved hope on either side of half-time, stopping Dabo from the run of play and N’Daw on a free-kick. He had to be active again in the 73rd minute, stopping a shot from Matuidi. His efforts in goal were rewarded just 2 minutes later when Niculae sent in a cross that was headed home by Lejeune. Both clubs had a chance to take the lead, but Fernandes shot wide in the 78th minute and Jelen had his shot blocked by defender Varrault’s face in the 89th minute.

Sochaux 2-5 Valenciennes – Although they were evenly matched on shots (18-14) and shots on goal (7-7), it was Valenciennes’ physicality (22 fouls, compared to 9 for Sochaux) that allowed them to boss the match. It was actually Sochaux who opened the scoring, as a corner from Faty was punched out by Valenciennes GK Assembe only for Brechet to volley home the rebound in the 3rd minute. There was a lull in the action for quite some time, which was ended in the 24th minute when Sanchez Moreno finished off a nice solo run for the equalizer (winning this week’s GSTGC award in the process). In the 35th minute Dalmat had his shot stopped by Assembe, and Sochaux re-took the lead in the 40th minute when Boudebouz sent home his free-kick. The equalizer came quickly after the restart, with Pujol volleying home a cross from Audel in the 49th minute. Dalmat was stopped by Assembe once again in the 53rd minute, and the GK did well to tip a Sverkos free-kick over the bar in the 57th minute. Valenciennes began to apply more pressure, and Audel finally gave them the lead in the 63rd minute when he took down a cross from Pujol and slotted home through the legs of Sochaux GK Richert. Ben Khalfallah had the club’s 4th goal in the 78th minute when he put his shot in off the post, and after Sverkos received a straight RC for a nasty tackle on Gomis, Pujol completed his brace in the 85th minute when he headed home a cross from Audel.

Marseille 4-2 Montpellier – The Ligue 1 newcomers had gotten the season off to a high-flying start, but they were outmatched against the title favorites despite doubling their shots and fouling them 24 times. The match started slowly, with Montpellier getting their first opportunity in the 17th minute as Montano sent his header just wide. The opening goal came in the 31st minute when Gonzalez headed home a cross from Niang to give Marseille the lead. Just 3 minutes later Niang did all of the work himself, dribbling through the entire defense for an excellent finish. The destruction appeared complete just 5 minutes after that, as Cisse finished off a well-weighted pass from Gonzalez. Montpellier should have had 1 back just before the half when a free-kick from Costa came back out into the pack, but Montano missed a sitter. Marseille continued the painful lesson on the other side of half-time, when Diawara headed home the 4th goal in the 50th minute. To their credit, Montpellier did not simply lay down, and Belhanda sent his shot barely wide in the 53rd minute. They finally broke through in the 75th minute when Costa dribbled through a lazy Marseille defense and passed to Belhanda for the relatively easy finish. The score should have been 5-1 in the 84th minute when an Abriel free-kick rebounded out to Brandao, but the unmarked Brazilian sent his volley wide. The final goal of the match came in the 88th minute when Cisse handled the ball in the box and Camara finished off the resulting PK.

Sunday, September 20th:

Lens 1-1 Lille – In another very even match, the Derby du Nord ended in a deserved draw after a second-half goal from each club. In the 3rd minute Frau forced a save from Lens GK Runje, and then action settled into a slower pace. Lens should have had a goal in the 17th minute when Jemaa found dos Santos near the penalty spot, but the latter managed to put his shot over the crossbar. In the 25th minute Lille clamored for a PK as Chelle took down Gervinho in the box, but the referee was unmoved. The opening goal finally came in the 57th minute Boukari headed home a Demont free-kick just past Lille GK Butelle (who manage to get a hand to the shot). Lens surely thought that they had assured the 3 points in the 73rd minute when Cabaye saw a straight RC for a nasty tackle on Boukari, particularly as the latter seemed invigorated by the challenge. In the 76th minute Boukari and Jemaa had a 2-on-1 break but were dispossessed, and in the 81st minute Boukari had his shot stopped by Butelle. They would rue those misses as a long ball forward from Mavuba was headed home by Rami in the 93rd minute for the equalizer.

Toulouse 2-0 Le Mans – After finding out that captain Cetto would be out for 3 months following a broken collarbone in training, and seeing a supporter critically injured before their Thursday Europa League 3-2 victory over Partizan Belgrade, Toulouse were looking for some good news and found it in this match. The club took 19 shots (7 on goal), which lead them to their 2nd win of the season despite a slow start to the match. In the 19th minute Gignac had his shot blocked by the defense, and on the other end of the pitch Lamah sent his shot straight at Toulouse GK Pele. In the 26th minute Gignac sent a nice pass to Didot, who slammed a shot into the upper corner for the opening goal of the match (watch the build-up in the video below – it’s brilliant). Le Mans finished off the half with good pressure, as Maiga had his shot stopped by Pele in the 30th minute and Cerdan had his shot tipped over the bar by Pele in the 44th minute. Toulouse should have had another goal just after the restart as Gignac had his shot pushed out to Didot by Le Mans GK Ovono, but Didot had his attempt blocked by the defense. In the 58th minute Le Tallec had his shot deflected onto the crossbar by the defense, and Toulouse made Le Mans pay for their misses in the 69th minute when Sissoko dribbled through the defense and lobbed Ovono. The scoreline could have been even worse, as Ovono made nice saves on Gignac in the 77th and 81st minutes.

Paris Saint-Germain – Lyon – Lyon dominated the time of possession (62% – 38%), but left it late to salvage the points from a draw. In the 1st minute Clement forced Lyon GK Lloris into a full stretch for an excellent save, and the latter did well again in the 7th minute to stop a fierce volley from Jallet. In the 9th minute a Lopez free-kick found Kallstrom, but his shot was just over the crossbar. PSG thought they had broken through in the 17th minute when a Ceara free-kick was tipped onto the crossbar and Hoarau sent a fierce header back in, but Cissokho cleared the effort off the line. The opening goal came in the 29th minute when a shot from Hoarau was turned into the goal by Giuly past a helpless Lloris. Lyon threatened to equalize right before half-time, but Lopez had his header stopped by PSG GK Coupet. The latter’s teammates continued to make the most of their minimal possession, with Hoarau eliciting saves from Lloris in the 52nd and 68th minutes. Lyon managed to get the equalizer in the 85th minute after some nice work from Cissokho and Lopez set up Gomis (who appeared to be offside) for an easy finish.

So, after Matchday 6, the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 16 points on a 5-1-0 record and a +11 goal differential; (2) Lyon, with 14 points on a 4-2-0 record and a +7 goal differential; (3) Marseille, with 14 points on a 4-2-0 record and a +6 goal differential; and (4) Rennes, with 12 points on a 3-3-0 record and a +8 goal differential.