Ligue 1 Weekend Review

Big win for Les Dogues.

This week saw far fewer cards and a bit more scoring than last week, along with a few surprising results. Several of the clubs coming off European competition kept up their momentum, while Grenoble finally managed to gain their first point of the season. The result of the week goes to Lille, as they registered a shock 2-0 win over Ligue 1-leading Bordeaux.

Saturday, November 7th:

Le Mans 0-1 Auxerre – Le Mans were completely incompetent in front of goal on both ends of the pitch, and paid for their mistakes by gifting the 3 points to Auxerre. The latter club started more quickly, with Capoue shooting just over the bar in the 17th minute, but their next shot didn’t come until Jelen missed a sitter in the 41st minute. The second half saw more action, as in the 47th minute a free-kick from Corchia was pushed out by Auxerre GK Sorin only for Helstad to hit the crossbar with his follow-up. The lone goal of the match came in the 51st minute when Jelen had his shot parried by Le Mans GK Ovono, only for that rebound to hit Joao Paulo and bounce back in for an OG. Le Mans had numerous chances to equalize, with Helstad stopped by Sorin in the 57th minute, Le Tallec hitting the post in the 78th minute, and Corchia hitting the crossbar in the 85th minute. They should have equalized in the 86th minute when Mignot handled the ball in the box, but Sorin stopped the resulting PK from Le Tallec and Maiga was unable to convert the follow-up.

Lorient 5-0 Boulogne – Lorient took 20 shots, putting 10 of them on goal, and was not caught offsides even once during the match. The first action came in the 12th minute when Moreira put his shot barely over the crossbar, but after that Lorient was dominant. In the 26th minute Gameiro had his shot stopped by Boulogne GK Kone, who also saved a fine volley from Vahirua in the 30th minute. The 2 would have their revenge, however, as Gameiro finished off a long ball from Amalfitano with a lob in the 33rd minute to open the scoring, while Vahirua capitalized on a mistake by defender Ramare in first-half injury time. The latter was victimized again almost immediately after the restart, this time by Gameiro who completed his brace. Just 10 minutes later Vahirua had a brace of his own as a Ducasse free-kick deflected off the wall and was put into the back of the net off his stomach. A dispirited Robert was unable to get a goal back in the 87th minute, shooting wide, and the misery was complete in second-half injury time when Amalfitano volleyed home a corner.

Monaco 0-0 Grenoble – Grenoble put only 2 shots on goal, committed only 8 fouls, and failed to win even 1 corner kick, yet they managed to come away with their first point of the season at the expense of a frustrated Monaco. They almost went ahead early, as Monaco defender Nkoulou slipped in the 8th minute, but Akrour shot wide after gaining possession. The club from the principality responded in earnest, with Mollo forcing an excellent save from Grenoble GK Le Crom in the 13th minute and Alonso sending a header just wide in the 17th minute. There were chances on either side of the break as a Courtois free-kick was tipped over the bar by Monaco GK Ruffier in the 39th minute, and the latter did well to stop a fierce volley from Batlles in the 50th minute. It seemed inevitable that Grenoble would concede, but Nimani was stopped by Le Crom in the 58th, 83rd and 85th minutes to maintain the draw.

Nancy 0-1 Saint-Etienne – Saint-Etienne were offsides (5) more often than they were on target (2), but they needed only 1 goal to take the 3 points from this match. In the 2nd minute Hadji sent his shot just wide in a signal of intent from Nancy, and teammate Bakar further threatened in the 10th minute. After Hadji had a header stopped by Saint-Etienne GK Janot in the 20th minute, the latter saw his club bottle a free-kick in the 34th minute as it was headed wide by Bergessio. The pressure from Nancy continued in the second half, as Bakar had his shot blocked by the defense in the 57th minute and Feret sent a shot wide in the 66th minute. However, it was Payet who finally broke through in the 71st minute, finishing off a pass from Landrin with some nice work and a hard shot past Nancy GK Gregorini. Janot made the goal count, tipping a header from Traore onto the post in the 79th minute and stopping a close volley from Diabite in the 86th minute.

Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Nice – Things continued to go downhill for PSG as a late match-winner from Loic Remy saw them booed off the pitch by their home supporters, who are clearly not impressed with 1 win in the past 2 months. Remy began the action, sending a header wide in the 13th minute, while Jallet forced a save from Nice GK Ospina just 5 minutes later. Remy then elicited a save from PSG GK Coupet in the 31st minute for the only other action of the first half. Erdinq hit the post with a header in the 55th minute, while Mounier had his shot pushed out by Coupet in the 61st minute only for Remy to miss the open goal. PSG began to apply significant pressure, with Giuly having a shot tipped over the bar by Ospina in the 68th minute and hitting the post with a volley in the 73rd minute. While Sessegnon hit the bar in the 78th minute, the only goal came in the 88th minute as Remy cleanly finished off a counter-attack for the victory.

Valenciennes 1-1 Montpellier – This match was a bit of a snoozer, with Valenciennes dominating but Montpellier able to hang on after an early goal to continue their good run of results. The scoring opened in the 3rd minute when Montano headed home a cross from Ait Fana to put Valenciennes on the back foot. They had opportunities to extend their lead, but Spahic had his shot tipped onto the bar in the 17th minute by Valenciennes GK Assembe and Ait Fana shot over the crossbar in the 32nd minute. The pressure reversed course in the second half, as Tiene forced a save from Montpellier GK Jourdren in the 46th minute. It paid off in the 52nd minute when Cohade saw his shot carom off the post for Sanchez Moreno to send home the rebound. There was only 1 opportunity for a match-winner, but Abardonado sent his shot wide in the 69th minute. The end of the match saw some shenanigans, as Spahic received 2 YCs within 3 minutes of each other to get sent off.

Sochaux 1-2 Lens – Sochaux took 23 shots (putting 6 on target) and held 65% of the possession, but only got a very late goal to spare their blushes. In the 9th minute Mikari had his shot stopped by Lens GK Runje, and the 2 players repeated their dance a minute later. The first goal came in the 38th minute when a free-kick from Roudet deflected off defender Dalmat, and Sartre was able to get a touch on the ball to direct it in (no word on whether he suffered an existential crisis). After the restart Runje twice denied Sverkos, while dos Santos put his shot over the bar on the other end of the pitch. Boukari doubled the lead in the 85th minute after dribbling the defense and finishing with a curling shot from the top of the box, and Sochaux were only able to pull 1 goal back in the 94th minute when Privat sent home a header.

Sunday, November 8th:

Lille 2-0 Bordeaux – Bordeaux appeared to be the only French club suffering from a UEFA hangover, getting off only 2 shots on goal and never looking like they would threaten. In the 10th minute Gervinho put his shot over the bar, while Gourcuff saw one of his club’s few chances saved by Lille GK Landreau in the 18th minute. In between saves from Bordeaux GK Carrasso on Cabaye, Chamakh was stopped by Landreau in the 37th minute and neither he nor his teammates could muster a shot on goal in the second half. While Frau went wide twice and Gervinho once, the 2 players combined for a shot that was tipped out by Carrasso only for Cabaye to slam home the rebound in the 70th minute. When Toure fouled Ciani in the box in the 86th minute, Balmont sent home the resulting PK for the final tally.

Toulouse 3-2 Rennes – Toulouse got just enough from their star players to move forward in their domestic campaign after a disappointing performance in the Europa League. In the 17th minute Machado forced a save from Rennes GK Douchez, while Tettey was stopped by Toulouse GK Blondel in the 22nd minute. The opening goal came in the 31st minute when a Machado corner was punched out by Douchez to a waiting Sissoko, while the equalizer came just before the half when Gyan volleyed home a cross from Cheyrou. Douchez was at fault again in the 59th minute when a poor clearance found its way to Sissoko, who passed to Braaten for an easy finish. The match looked secure in the 63rd minute when Gignac capitalized on a goalmouth scramble, but Toulouse were made to sweat when Mangane headed home a cross from Bangoura in the 84th minute.

Lyon 5-5 Marseille – In an exciting match that had Stade Gerland rocking, the clubs were nearly even on shots on goal, fouls, and time of possession, with the sharing of points a well-deserved result. The match began quickly as Pjanic capitalized on a short clearance to send home an excellent volley and put the home crowd into a frenzy. The equalizer almost came just 1 minute later, as Niang was stopped by Lyon GK Lloris and the follow-up from Cheyrou cleared off the line by Makoun. It did come in the 11th minute, when Diawara powerfully headed home a corner from Abriel. The furious pace continued, as Govou made a scintillating run through the midfield and sent a powerful shot curling past Marseille GK Mandanda in the 14th minute. The defenses finally began to exert themselves, as the remainder of the first half was played at a more measured pace, but Marseille equalized again in the 44th minute when Cheyrou slammed home a shot from the top of the area, with Lloris looking at fault for poor positioning. L’OM took their first lead in the 47th minute when a cross from Abriel (who was brilliant throughout the match) was finished off with an outstanding half-volley from Kone. The GKs finally got a chance to make saves as Lloris stopped Abriel in the 58th minute and Mandanda shut down Lopez in the 65th minute. A header from Brandao in the 74th minute gave L’OM a 2-goal lead, but that lasted just 6 minutes as Lopez exhibited great control in bringing down a pass from Makoun and chipped an advancing Mandanda. Lopez got the Lyon equalizer in the 83rd minute after Heinze handled the ball in the box and he sent home the resulting PK. When Bastos finished off some nice work from Lopez and Pjanic in the 91st minute, the 3 points seemed assured, but in the 92nd minute a shot from Niang went almost straight up in the air and bounced into the goal off Toulalan for an equalizing OG.

Better quality video highlights (goals only):

So, after Matchday 12 the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 25 points on an 8-1-3 record and a +11 goal differential; (2) Lyon, with 24 points on a 7-3-2 record and a +6 goal differential; (3) Auxerre, with 23 points on a 7-2-3 record and a +3 goal differential; and (4) Monaco, with 22 points on a 7-1-4 record and a +5 goal differential.