Ligue 1 Weekend Review

Good result for the club from the capital.

This week saw more swine flu, less scoring, changes at the top of the table, and the lack of a GSTGC award winner. The Monaco v. Montpellier match was postponed due to the re-emergence of the swine flu as a Ligue 1 threat, with up to 8 individuals affected, most of whom are suspected to be from Montpellier (Montano and Lacombe are the chief suspects). The result of the week goes to Paris Saint-Germain, who beat Ligue 1 leaders Auxerre 1-0 to begin to right their season. Perhaps the latter were a bit thrown by the fact that gaffer Jean Fernandez has insisted that they will not be crowned Ligue 1 champions at the end of the season.

Saturday, November 28th:

Lille 4-0 Valenciennes – Lille took twice the shots on goal, while Valenciennes committed almost twice as many fouls in a match that was truly one-sided. The latter club actually started more quickly, with ben Khalfallah forcing a save from Lille GK Landreau in the 8th minute. At the other end of the pitch Gervinho dribbled around Valenciennes GK Assembe but had his shot cleared off the line by defender Bong in the 27th minute. The opening goal came in the 42nd minute when Frau headed home a corner from Cabaye, and the floodgates were opened. Assembe did very well to stop Gervinho in first-half injury time, but the former was left helpless in the 52nd minute when the latter dribbled through his defense and sent home an easy finish. Gervinho completed his brace just 9 minutes later on a quick counter-attack. The destruction was complete in the 87th minute when Hazard was fouled in the box and Cabaye sent home the resulting PK.

Lorient 2-2 Grenoble – Visiting Grenoble were the more aggressive side, but they were once again downed by their own mistakes and were only able to take away 1 point rather than the 3 that they deserved for most of the match. In the 16th minute a corner from Vahirua was poorly cleared, but Grenoble GK Le Crom was able to stop the follow-up shot. The former continued his pressure, forcing Le Crom into a good save on a free-kick in the 29th minute. Vahirua was involved in the first goal as well, with his corner deflected into the goal by Cesar for an OG in the 37th minute. The misery was almost repeated in the 44th minute when a shot from Gameiro was deflected, but Le Crom managed to keep that effort out. In the 55th minute a free-kick from Ljuboja was stopped by Lorient GK Cappone, and the latter’s teammates were able to equalize in the 63rd minute when Matsui finished off a cross from Sauget. One-man team Vahirua had another free-kick saved by Le Crom in the 68th minute, and it was Grenoble who went ahead just 3 minutes later when Cappone dropped a free-kick from Batlles at the feet of Juan for an easy finish. Just when it looked like they had secured their first win of the season, Grenoble allowed Gameiro to poke home during a goalmouth scramble in in the 92nd minute.

Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Auxerre – In a fairly even match, it was perhaps fear of being booed off their home pitch yet again that motivated PSG to a much-needed win. In the 11th minute Camara had his header saved by Auxerre GK Sorin, while Niculae drew a save from PSG GK Coupet in the 19th minute. Then Sessegnon began to apply pressure, having a volley cleared off the line by defender Coulibaly in the 21st minute and forcing a save from Sorin in the 33rd minute. Disaster almost struck for Auxerre in the 49th minute when Coulibaly nearly turned the ball into his own net, but the goal was always coming. In the 66th minute Sessegnon sent a cross to Ceara, who passed on to Clement for a clinical header on the only goal of the match. PSG looked to double their lead in the 78th minute, but a long-range shot from Armand was turned away by a great effort from Sorin. [UPDATE: I blame the holidays and family time for the fact that I missed this, but apparently Coupet managed to Eduardo himself]

Sochaux 1-0 Nice – Despite complete statistical dominance by Nice (22 shots to 12 for Sochaux, with the latter also committing 22 fouls and earning only 1 corner kick), they failed to break through when it mattered and saw Sochaux take an unearned 3 points in front of a subdued crowd. They perhaps should have known that it would not be their day when Bagayoko missed a sitter in the 2nd minute, and Remy was stopped by an outstanding save from Sochaux GK Richert in the 5th minute. The latter was clearly the busier of the netminders, having to punch clear a shot from Mounier in the 14th minute. The goal came in the 29th minute, and it came with a bit of controversy as Maurice-Belay had his shot parried by Nice GK Ospina and Mikari took the rebound, hitting the bar and having the ball bounce back out. Although replay appeared to show that the ball never crossed the line, it was ruled a goal to the dismay of the Nice players and staff. To their credit, the southern club pushed on, with Fae drawing a save from Richert in the 38th minute and shooting barely over the bar in the 60th minute. However, Sochaux also sprang to life with Ospina making an incredible double-save on Sverkos in the 65th minute. The tide turned once again, with Richert making yet another wonderful save, this time against Traore in the 70th minute. Nice had 2 final opportunities, but Richert denied Mouloungui in the 89th minute and Fae in the 91st minute to preserve the victory.

Toulouse 1-0 Boulogne – In a relatively lackluster match, new boys Boulogne saw their fate turn on a mistake. In the 6th minute Gignac was stopped by Boulogne GK Bedenik, who also did well to stop a volley from Sissoko in the 15th minute. However, the goal came in the 30th minute when Bedenik misjudged a free-kick from Didot, allowing Fofana an easy finish with the header. Gignac then increased his pressure, forcing Bedenik to save his scissor kick in the 42nd minute and shooting barely wide in the 48th minute. The pace of the match slowed somewhat, until a das Neves volley was stopped by Toulouse GK Pele in the 78th minute. The latter ended the match on a bad note, as he was injured while stopping Moussilou in the 94th minute.

Lens 1-0 Marseille – The club from the southern port city looked listless in this match as they stumbled yet again in an attempt to undermine my championship prediction from the beginning of the season. In the 4th minute Hermach latched onto a poor clearance and played through Maoulida, whose shot was stopped by Marseille GK Mandanda. On the other end of the pitch Taiwo had his shot punched out by Lens GK Runje in the 21st minute, while the latter stopped Kone twice in quick succession (29th and 31st minutes). Kone then saw his day ended in the 52nd minute when he went off with an injury. Lens thought they had broken through in the 62nd minute when Bocaly fouled Demont in the box, but the latter had his PK stopped by Mandanda. L’OM then had the better opportunities late in the match, but Runje denied Cheyrou in the 71st minute and Diawara in the 78th minute. The home crowd then erupted in the 92nd minute when Eduardo sent home a Roudet free-kick with a diving header.

Sunday, November 29th:

Le Mans 1-1 Saint-Etienne – A physical, aggressive match saw a goal early and late for a deserved draw. In the 15th minute Thomas saw his shot punched out by Saint-Etienne GK Janot, and the goal came on the other end of the pitch in the 18th minute when Ilan finished off a good pass from Sako. The pace slowed for the majority of the first half, although Helstad hit the post in the 41st minute while Bergessio had a goal disallowed in the 43rd minute for lifting his boot too high in a challenge with Le Mans GK Makaridze. Almost immediately after the restart Le Tallec was brought down in the box by Matuidi but the referee ignored calls for a PK. Le Mans continued to push for the equalizer, with Maiga heading wide in the 71st minute. Le Tallec saw his karmic reward in the 74th minute when he sent home a header from a Baal corner to earn the draw.

Nancy 0-3 Bordeaux – Bordeaux regained their place atop the Ligue 1 standings with an emphatic victory as they bossed Nancy all over the pitch. In the 8th minute Dia had his header stopped by Bordeaux GK Carrasso, and it was the latter who saw his team take the lead in the 25th minute when Diarra dummied a cross from Gouffran for Fernando to finish. Dia then saw another shot stopped by Carrasso in the 43rd minute to end the action of the first half. Almost immediately after the restart Nancy GK Bracigliano made a fantastic double-save on a shot from Gouffran and a follow-up from Wendel, and he produced another outstanding effort to stop Chamakh in the 51st minute. However, he was unable to stop Wendel in the 61st minute after the latter had dribbled through half of the Nancy defense, looking helplessly as the shot was chipped over him. The destruction was complete in the 75th minute when Gouffran’s shot went through the legs of defender Lemaitre and went in off the post.

Lyon 1-1 Rennes – Lyon failed to keep pace with Bordeaux, earning only 1 point despite completely outplaying Rennes. The latter club actually scored first, as Gyan Asamoah took a pass from Bangoura and left defender Boumsong looking foolish in the 14th minute. The goal sparked Les Gones, as Cris volleyed barely wide in the 26th minute  while Rennes GK Diallo pulled off an incredible double-save on a close-range shot from Pjanic and a follow-up from Bastos in the 33rd minute. The equalizer came in the 42nd minute when Lopez sent home a clinical free-kick, and he should have had a brace in the 49th minute but saw his volley blocked. Both clubs went into a bit of a defensive shell for the next 30 minutes, with the next opportunity seeing Cheyrou stopped by a great save from Lyon GK Lloris. The latter also turned away a long-range shot from Kembo-Ekoko in the 84th minute, and saw a shot from Lemoine (after a poor clearance from Cris) hit the post and go wide in the 85th minute. Lyon then had 2 final opportunities themselves for the win, but a volley from Gomis slammed into the bar in the 87th minute and Lopez had his free-kick denied by Diallo in the 93rd minute to preserve the draw.

So, after Matchday 14 the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 28 points on a 9-1-4 record and a +13 goal differential; (2) Lyon, with 26 points on a 7-5-2 record and a +6 goal differential; (3) Auxerre, with 26 points on an 8-2-4 record and a +4 goal differential; and (4) Lorient, with 25 points on a 7-4-3 record and a +11 goal differential.