Ligue 1 Mid-Week Review

Big win for MHSC gets them the result of the week.

Since there is no such thing as Boxing Day* in France, Ligue 1 played a mid-week schedule in order to allow its players to spend some quality time with family over the holidays. This week saw more competition for the GSTGC award, several more RCs (including one which was rescinded. wha?), and a few surprises for some clubs (both good and bad). The result of the week goes to Montpellier, who beat a faltering Lyon side 2-1 to right the ship and move back into 3rd place in the table.

*Speaking of Boxing Day, join us on Saturday for a 3-for-1 special of liveblogging featuring me, James T. and Norfolk Ned. You have nothing else to do.

Tuesday, December 22nd:

Lens 1-0 Saint-Etienne – Les Verts continue to flirt with relegation (really, it’s heavy-petting at this point) as they held 59% of the possession but managed only 1 shot on frame. In the 8th minute a header from Yahia was pushed out by Saint-Etienne GK Janot, who did well to also stop the follow-up from Maoulida. The netminder was busy, as he then had to keep out a header from Boukari and was lucky to see a shot from Sow go over the crossbar. In the 25th minute Janot did an excellent job of stopping Maoulida 1-on-1, and he got a bit of a reprieve as his teammates finally began to apply some pressure in the other direction with Fernandes having a long-range effort kept out by Lens GK Runje. Their next chance didn’t come until the 73rd minute when a diving header from Varrault was barely over the crossbar, but they were undone in injury time when Matuidi brought down Maoulida in the box and Eduardo dos Santos finished off the resulting PK for the victory.

Wednesday, December 23rd:

Le Mans 1-1 Monaco – In an even and exciting match the goals came from a former EPL player and one who might be headed there soon. In the 11th minute Helstad had his shot turned away by Monaco GK Ruffier, and Le Tallec put his follow-up wide. The latter repeated the feat in the 19th minute, but he made up for his misses in the 37th minute when he cleanly finished off a pass from Helstad for the opening goal. Monaco responded in the 50th minute when a cross from Modesto was sent home by the very in-form Park for the equalizer. Le Mans then took charge of the second half, with Goulon missing two good opportunities. The momentum switched again, and Sagbo sent his shot straight at Le Mans GK Ovono in the 73rd minute, with the latter then stopping a header from Park in the 79th minute. One final swing saw two wasted chances for Le Mans, as Dossevi sent his shot over the crossbar and Le Tallec had his header saved by Ruffier to preserve the draw.

Lorient 3-2 Valenciennes – This match started quickly (and strangely) as some confusion between Lorient GK Audard and his defender Marchal allowed Audel to latch onto a long ball and finish for the opening goal in the 4th minute. Just 5 minutes later Audard atoned with a stunning save on a shot from ben Khalfallah. The (first) equalizer came in the 24th minute when Diarra had his shot stopped by Valenciennes GK Assembe only for the rebound to come to Amalfitano for the finish. Valenciennes retook the lead in the 35th minute when Danic dribbled through the defense and unleashed a torrid shot against which Audard was helpless as he stood rooted. Almost immediately after the restart a half-volley from Gameiro was off-target but fell to Amalfitano who sent it home for his second equalizer (winning the GSTGC award for the week in the process). Lorient should have taken the lead in the 57th minute when a shot from Ducasse was spilled by Assembe only for Koscielny to hit the post with his follow-up, and for Amalfitano to have his follow-up on that effort cleared off the line by defender Ducourtioux. Luckily for those two, Sosa saved their blushes in the 67th minute when he headed home a corner from Vahirua for the match-winner.

Lyon 1-2 Montpellier – Les Gones have won only 1 match in their last 8 and their title hopes look increasingly unrealistic, while Montpellier took advantage of their rivals to regain their form and move back into the top 4 of Ligue 1. The latter signaled their intent in the 8th minute when a free-kick from Costa went in after a deflection, but the goal was disallowed for an offside infraction. Lyon attempted to come to life, with Govou shooting over the crossbar in the 17th minute and Lopez forcing a save from Montpellier GK Jourdren in the 38th minute. Costa responded with a shot that was barely over the crossbar in the 43rd minute, and that pressure continued after the break with Montano finishing off a pass from Ait Fana in the 53rd minute for the opening goal. Lyon equalized in the 84th minute when Gomis headed home a cross from Pjanic, but the cheers were short-lived as Montpellier retook the lead just 2 minutes later when Marveaux sent home a free-kick from the impressive Costa. There was a final chance to equalize, but Cissokho shot wide in the 89th minute and Lyon finished the match ruing the fact that they could only muster 2 shots on target.

Marseille 0-2 Auxerre – Marseille missed the opportunity to keep up their pressure on the clubs ahead of them in the table, losing at home to an Auxerre side that has struggled during the month of December. Despite maintaining 67% of the possession and getting an excellent 90 minutes from Hatem ben Arfa (who may have played at Stade Velodrome for the last time), L’OM lost their last match before the holiday break for the second season in a row. In the 12th minute a shot from Dudka took a deflection off Heinze, forcing Marseille GK Mandanda into a good save (which appeared to be his only competent action of the match). In the 15th minute Cheyrou sent his shot over the crossbar, and L’OM continued to suffer when Lucho Gonzalez was injured in the 26th minute (with Abriel providing the replacement). The 33rd minute provided something I have never seen before – a rescinded RC. The referee gave Bakari Kone a RC for an apparent elbow to Valter Birsa, but the latter then came over and explained to the referee that he was positive that the elbow was completely unintentional as both players were merely jockeying for the ball. The opening goal came in the 40th minute when Oliech finished off a cross from Niculae, and Marseille were booed off the pitch by their home supporters at the break. The second half saw slightly less action, with the first opportunity coming in the 60th minute as Mignot shot over the crossbar. L’OM then began to press back, with a header from Brandao forcing a great save from Auxerre GK Sorin in the 73rd minute, who also denied ben Arfa in the 78th minute. Unfortunately for them, just 1 minute later saw Oliech complete his brace as he had an easy finish off a pass from Contout, and Marseille were booed off the pitch by their home support at the end of the match.

Nancy 0-4 Lille – A rampaging Lille squad took its sixth victory in row having scored 4 goals per match in five of those matches and not having conceded in its last four. In the 8th minute a free-kick from Malonga was deflected, forcing Lille GK Landreau into a nice save, but after that Nancy were on the back foot. Lille thought they had opened the scoring in the 17th minute after a free-kick from Obraniak was headed in by Rami, but the latter was adjudged to have committed a foul. In the 33rd minute Mavuba sent a shot over the crossbar, but in the 42nd minute his run down the right allowed him to find Gervinho who crossed to Hazard for the goal. It took only 9 minutes for the next goal to come, as a shot from Frau was pushed out by Nancy GK Bracigliano only for Gervinho to slot home the follow-up effort. Just 1 minute after that Nancy were lucky to escape a third goal as Obraniak hit the crossbar, and on the other end of the pitch they saw their last opportunity wasted as a volley from Bakar was stopped by Landreau. On the 1-hour mark Frau was brought down in the box from behind by Sami, who received a straight RC as he was the last defender (and thus saw only 15 minutes of action on the pitch, as he was a half-time substitute), and the former finished off the resulting PK. The final goal came in the 72nd minute after some nice work from Hazard and Obraniak resulted in a cool finish from Gervinho, who sealed his brace by slotting his shot between the legs of a dismayed Bracigliano.

Nice 2-2 Boulogne – Despite an imbalance in time of possession, this match was a very even affair and the sharing of points was the deserved result. In the 9th minute Sable shot over the crossbar and in the 18th minute his teammate Remy sent a header in the same direction. The 20th minute saw a Cuvillier free-kick well-saved by Nice GK Ospina after a deflection, but the former had more success in the 58th minute when his cross found Perrinelle for the opening goal. Nice equalized in the 67th minute when Pote headed home a cross from Cantarel for his first Ligue 1 goal, but Blayac regained the lead for Boulogne in the 74th minute on a quick counter-attack. Nice were able to come away with 1 point with another equalizer in the 86th minute when a shot from Remy was pushed out by Boulogne GK Bedenik to a waiting Pote who completed his brace into an empty net.

Paris Saint-Germain 4-0 Grenoble – Yet again Grenoble were embarrassed on the pitch, earning 7 corners (to 1 for PSG) and out-shooting their opponents 7 to 6 yet coming up on the wrong end of the result. They started off far more quickly, with Calve dribbling through the defense and forcing a save from PSG GK Edel in the 1st minute, but it was Luyindula who opened the scoring in the 9th minute when he finished off a nice pass from Sessegnon. The latter was the provider again in the 18th minute, this time for Armand to give PSG the 2-0 lead. The second half began much as the first, as a header from Courtois elicited a great save from Edel. The PSG netminder made another great save in the 54th minute when a free-kick from Ljuboja was deflected, and his teammate Erdinq gave the club a 3-0 lead in the 65th minute with an easy finish of a cross from Clement. Edel finally made a mistake in the 68th minute with a poor clearance, but Akrour failed to make him pay for it as his volley slammed into the crossbar. The final goal of the match came in the 80th minute when Jallet sent in an excellent free-kick.

Sochaux 2-0 Rennes – Rennes were almost immediately in trouble in this match, as they went down to 10 men in the 12th minute when Gyan Asamoah received a straight RC for elbowing Perquis (although ESPN Soccernet insists that it was Sochaux who played with 10 men). In the 19th minute Martin had his header stopped by Rennes GK Douchez, who also denied Drame in the 28th minute. The inevitable goal finally came in the 45th minute when a beleaguered Douchez tipped away a corner from Martin to the feet of Maurice-Belay, whose shot was blocked into the path of Dalmat for the finish. Rennes had an opportunity for the equalizer immediately after the restart but Marveaux had his header saved by Sochaux GK Richert, and Mangane hit the crossbar a few minutes later. The second goal came in the 61st minute when Butin beat the offside trap of a tired Rennes defense and clinically finished off his 1-on-1, and neither club had any good chances during the remainder of the match.

Toulouse 1-2 Bordeaux – In another fairly even match Bordeaux got a goal early and late to maintain their position at the top of the table in Ligue 1. Toulouse got the opening goal in the 4th minute when Machado dispossessed Jussie in the midfield, but Chamakh equalized in the 9th minute when he headed home a cross from Tremoulinas. The match slowed down somewhat, and the next opportunity came in the 39th minute when a header from Ciani off a free-kick from Gourcuff was well-saved by Toulouse GK Valverde. After the restart Gignac forced a save from Bordeaux GK Carrasso while Machado sent his shot wide. The 59th minute saw Valverde spill a shot from Gouffran, who followed up his shot only to see his second effort cleared off the line by defender Congre. The match turned in the 73rd minute when Mbengue received his 2nd YC for a tackle on Chamakh, and Wedel rifled home the ensuing free-kick for the match-winner. Bordeaux had two final chances to increase their lead, but Valverde turned away a header from Plasil in the 83rd minute and tipped a shot from Gourcuff onto the post in the 91st minute.

So, after Matchday 19 the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 43 points on a 14-1-4 record and a +20 goal differential; (2) Lille, with 34 points on a 10-4-5 record and a +18 goal differential; (3) Montpellier, with 33 points on a 10-3-5 record and a +5 goal differential; and (4) Marseille, with 32 points on a 9-5-4 record and a +10 goal differential.