Ligue 1 Weekend Review

Result of the week for Association Sportive de Saint-Etienne. Big win for Les Verts.

This week saw a goal-scoring explosion, 50 cards handed out, and some movement at the top of the table. While most of the matches were close, the one that wasn’t gives us our result of the week. Saint-Etienne stunned reigning champions Bordeaux (who were without Gourcuff) 3-1 in a display of stifling defense.

Saturday, October 3rd:

Grenoble 2-3 Montpellier – Bottom-dweller (and pointless; as in zero points) Grenoble gave Montpellier a fright for all of 2 minutes before the latter reasserted themselves to continue their torrid start. The scoring began in the 3rd minute when a through-ball from Marveaux found Montano for the finish (earning him the GSTGC award for the week). In the 10th minute Ljuboja thought he had equalized with a fierce volley, but Montpellier GK Jourdren was up to the task. Just 3 minutes later the score was 2-0 as a free-kick from Costa was headed home by Dzodic. The rest of the first half was uneventful, but Grenoble opened the second half with renewed vigor and Ljuboja pulled 1 goal back with another wicked volley, this time off a cross from Courtois. It took just 2 minutes for Montpellier to dampen the excitement, as Dzodic headed home a cross from Costa in the 49th minute. The match again slowed down quite a bit, with neither side able to produce any significant opportunities. In the 84th minute Feghouli had his shot saved by Jourdren, while in the 88th minute Matsui had his shot cleared off the line by MotM Dzodic. There was little consolation in the 92nd minute when Dieuze headed home a Matsui cross for the final goal.

Nice 3-2 Valenciennes – For a match that produced 5 goals, the focus was more often on the referee reaching into his pocket. In the 8th minute Fae was in 1-on-1 but was stopped by Valenciennes GK Assembe. Goals remained elusive, as in the 18th minute a free-kick from Hellebuyck wound up rolling near the goal-line without traveling over. The opener finally came in the 41st minute when Pote handled the ball in the box, and Samassa sent home the resulting PK. Valenciennes went up 2-0 in the 50th minute when Sanchez Moreno finished off a cross from Pujol, and then the match deteriorated into handbags. Nice finally broke through in the 67th minute when ben Saada volleyed a cross from Mouloungui into the back of the net. The turning point came in the 72nd minute when Cohade received his 2nd YC of the match to send Valenciennes down to 10 men. On the resulting free-kick from ben Saada, Echouafni was able to rise above the defense and head home the equalizer. The misery was complete in the 76th minute when Ducourtioux saw the ball into his own goal to give Nice a lead they would protect with 10 men behind the ball for the rest of the match.

Paris Saint-Germain 1-1 Nancy – PSG stumbled to their 3rd draw in a row despite taking 21 shots (only 4 on goal, however) and maintaining 65% of the possession. In the 2nd minute Hoarau sent a header just wide, and both sides appeared somewhat jittery early. In the 14th minute Dia produced a comical mis-hit that wound up becoming an easy tap-in for Hadji. PSG responded in the 18th minute when Luyindula had his shot saved by Nancy GK Bracigliano only for Sessegnon to put home the rebound. Luyindula should have had a goal of his own in the 35th minute, but his lob was cleared off the line by Lemaitre. In the 51st minute Hoarau was stopped by Bracigliano, and then it was PSG GK Coupet who was kept busy. The latter stopped Feret in the 67th minute, and then pulled off a great double-save on Hadji in the 72nd minute. The final chance for a winner fell to PSG, but Jallet put his shot over the crossbar in the 79th minute.

Rennes 0-1 Auxerre – In one of the few low-scoring matches of the weekend, both clubs seemed more content to foul than shoot on goal, with 9 YCs and only 8 shots. The first true action came in the 16th minute when Bocanegra received a straight RC for pulling down Oliech as the last defender. To add to his embarrassment, Pedretti sent home the resulting free-kick for the only goal of the match. In the 30th minute Auxerre GK Sorin preserved the lead by stopping a free-kick from Leroy, and the former then watched as teammate Oliech sent a shot just wide of the goal. In the 57th minute Birsa sent a header wide, while Sow reciprocated for Rennes on the other end of the pitch in the 66th minute. Sow missed another chance at an equalizer in the 71st minute when he sent his shot over the crossbar, while Oliech failed to score in the 83rd minute when his shot hit Rennes GK Douchez and he put his own rebound wide.

Saint-Etienne 3-1 Bordeaux – Although Bordeaux were without Gourcuff and were the visitors in this match, this was a truly stunning result as Saint-Etienne sat very near the bottom of Ligue 1 and Les Girondins were unbeaten in 22 matches. Despite 66% of the possession, Bordeaux were bossed all over the pitch for most of the match, only managing 2 shots on goal and getting fouled 20 times. The opener came quickly, as a Matuidi cross was sent back by Landrin for Augusto to head home in the 8th minute. Les Verts went up 2-0 in the 29th minute when a nice pass from Bergessio found Ilan for the nice finish. They continued to apply pressure, with Fernandez shooting wide in the 31st minute and Ilan missing a sitter in the 51st minute. Bordeaux finally scored in the 68th minute when Jussie sent in a well-struck free-kick, but Saint-Etienne clamped down defensively once again. Wendel had a chance to equalize in the 84th minute but sent his free-kick barely over the crossbar, and Payet provided the final goal in stoppage time when he caught Bordeaux GK Carrasso off his line from 30 yards out.

Sochaux 1-0 Le Mans – Another match featuring plenty of cards, Le Mans committed 23 fouls and saw 5 YCs for their troubles while only taking 2 shots on goal. In the 3rd minute Corchia had his free-kick stopped by Sochaux GK Richert, while Goulon sent his show wide of the Le Mans goal in the 7th minute. There was panic in the box in the 25th minute, as Sverkos had his shot cleared off the line by the defense and the follow-up from Martin was stopped by Le Mans GK Ovono. The second half also started with action in the box as Ovono made an excellent double-save on Maurice-Belay in the 49th minute. Just 2 minutes later Sochaux thought they had broken through as Davies released Sverkos, but the latter was once again stopped by Ovono. The 63rd minute saw Loriot receive a YC for a handball in the box, and Le Mans were down to 10 men as it was his 2nd caution. However, the resulting PK from Sverkos was saved by the in-form Ovono. Thankfully for the former, his teammate Martin was able to finish off a cross for Butin for the match-winner.

Lens 0-2 Lyon -Lyon only took 2 shots on goal, but converted them both to take the 3 points from this match. The first goal came in the 7th minute when Govou and Kallstrom combined well, ending in a shot from 25 yards for Govou that hit both the post and crossbar, bounced down across the goal-line and then back into play. In the 20th minute Lyon GK Lloris made a fantastic double-save on Eduardo, while Demont sent his shot just wide in the 29th minute. The latter continued his miscues in the 35th minute when Reveillere committed a handball in the box and he sent the resulting PK wide. The second half saw continued pressure from Lyon, with both Kallstrom (61st minute) and Govou (68th minute) shooting over the crossbar. The final goal of the match came in the 78th minute when Kallstrom and Govou combined once again, this time for the former to score.