Ligue 1 Weekend Review

Result of the week for Les Dogues, who move into 2nd place.

After a very long layoff, Ligue 1 got back to action this weekend with a full slate. There were 2 matches on Wednesday amidst some good Coupe de le Ligue action, and 9 matches on Saturday, leaving the big Bordeaux v. Marseille tilt alone on Sunday. The result of the week goes to Lille, who used a 3-1 thrashing of Paris Saint-Germain to move into 2nd place in the table.

Wednesday, January 13th:

Monaco 4-0 Montpellier – The club from the principality dominated this match, taking 20 shots (8 on goal) and earning 9 corners (to only 2 for Montpellier) to easily secure the 3 points. The scoring began quickly, as Puygrenier headed home a corner from Park in the 11th minute. Montpellier had the next few chances, with Marveaux shooting just wide in the 19th minute and a shout for a PK denied in the 33rd minute after Modesto took down Ait Fana in the area, but they were unable to capitalize. The second half proved to be the downfall for the title challengers as Monaco came out very aggressively. In the 55th minute a poor clearance from Montpellier defender Spahic was sent home with a quick shot from Haruna, who completed his brace in the 66th minute after Montpellier GK Jourdren was only able to parry a shot from Park straight to his feet for the easy tap-in. The latter should have had a goal of his own in the 79th minute, but his header hit the post. The final goal came in the 87th minute when a shot from Perez deflected off Kaoutari for an OG.

Boulogne 0-0 Sochaux – Thankfully most Ligue 1 fans were focused on the Coupe de la Ligue action on Wednesday, as this match featured only 4 shots on goal and some poor play from both clubs. Much of the first half was extremely listless, with only Cuvillier looking like he might make something happen for Sochaux. The half ended with a shot from Boudebouz that was easily blocked before it even made its way toward goal. The second half started similarly to the first, with Cuvillier shooting (passing?) across the goal-mouth in the 55th minute and playing in Caruso (who would shoot wide) in the 57th minute. The best opportunity for Sochaux came in the 62nd minute when a half-volley from Dalmat was well-saved by Boulogne GK Bedenik. Just a few minutes later an error from Boulogne defender Adefemi resulted in a lob from Tulasne that hit the crossbar. The teammates of the former continued to press, with Robert shooting wide in the 76th minute and Agouazi having his header stopped by Sochaux GK Richert in the 81st minute, but their best chance came in the 89th minute when a shot from Ducatel forced a great save from Richert.

Saturday, January 16th:

Auxerre 0-0 Boulogne – After their second nil-nil draw in a few days, Boulogne sit firmly in the relegation zone and haven’t shown signs of moving up the table. In the 9th minute Oliech sent a shot just wide, while in the 17th minute Niculae was stopped by Boulogne GK Bedenik. The latter also stopped Oliech in the 25th minute, while on the other end of the pitch Moussilou sent a header wide to end the half. In the 52nd minute Blayac shot well over the crossbar, while his teammate Bedenik made another save, this time on Jelen, in the 64th minute. Boulogne actually had the last chance of the match, but Agouazi sent his free-kick over the crossbar in the 79th minute and the club ended without having put any shots on target.

Grenoble 1-2 Saint-Etienne – After being knocked out of the Coupe de la Ligue during the week, Saint-Etienne took advantage of struggling Grenoble to move out of the relegation zone in what turned out to be a fairly even match. Grenoble started more quickly, with Ljuboja shooting barely wide in the 2nd minute and Matsui heading wide in the 11th minute. A cross-turned-shot from Mirallas was tipped away by Grenoble GK Viviani in the 26th minute, but it seemed like a goal was inevitable. Just 5 minutes later a free-kick from Payet was deflected to Riviere, who sent in a cross for Perrin to finish. The next goal came soon after, as Riviere received a pass from Payet and sent a lob over Viviani. Grenoble were lucky to get a goal to finish the half, as a header from Ljuboja was deflected past Saint-Etienne GK Janot by Varrault for an OG. The second half started with pressure from Saint-Etienne, as Mirallas sent a shot straight at Viviani in the 58th minute and Sanogo headed just wide in the 63rd minute. Grenoble began to push for the equalizer, and a header from Paillot elicited a great save from Janot in the 75th minute, who made another great save on a header from Dieuze just 3 minutes later. The equalizer should have come in the 82nd minute, but Ljuboja managed to miss a header from 2 yards out. The final opportunity of the match went to Saint-Etienne, as Sanogo exhibited some excellent control and slammed a volley into the post.

Le Mans 0-3 Lorient – Although this match was fairly even, statistically, Le Mans could not convert their chances and the club fall into the relegation zone. Things began bleakly for Lorient as they saw star player Gameiro go off with an injury in the 5th minute, and Le Tallec almost made them pay for their resulting lethargy when he played Dossevi through in the 13th minute, only for the latter to be stopped by Lorient GK Audard. This apparently woke them up, as Koscielny sent home a corner from Monterrubio in the 23rd minute to open the scoring. Le Mans thought they had equalized in the 35th minute, but Abdi saw his header cleared off the line by a busy Koscielny. The half ended with a free-kick from Monterrubio deflected past Le Mans GK roche by his defender Camara for an OG. Monterrubio is still hoping that the goal is credited to him, as he would then have a brace since he sent home a volley in the 53rd minute for the final goal of the match. Le Mans had one final opportunity, but a free-kick from Corchia was headed wide by Cerdan in the 76th minute.

Lille 3-1 Paris Saint-Germain – The club from the capital continue to struggle, falling all the way to 10th in the table after being dominated by Lille to complete a humiliating week in which they were knocked out of the Coupe de la Ligue by Ligue 2 sicde Guingamp. The opening goal came in the 5th minute when Obraniak sent home a blistering shot, and the rout was on. PSG GK Edel was forced to make saves in quick succession in the 18th minute, first stopping a volley from Cabaye and then turning away the efforts of Balmont. The remainder of the half saw more chances for Lille, with Cabaye shooting wide in the 31st minute and Hazard sending a shot into the side-netting in the 43rd minute. The second half started poorly for PSG as Ceara lost the ball to Obraniak, who sent in a cross that was headed home by Balmont. In the 60th minute Hazard was stopped by Edel, but the third goal came just a few minutes later when a headed cross from Cabaye was headed home by Beria, thus confirming the old adage that “2 headers in the box equals a goal.” PSG were spared the blushes off being held scoreless in the 83rd minute when a cross from Maurice was headed in off the post by Erdinq.

Monaco 2-0 Sochaux – Monaco continued their success to move up in the table despite a very game Sochaux club. In the 12th minute Puygrenier had his header stopped by Sochaux GK Richert, who was kept very busy throughout the match, making another save on a long-range effort from Nene in the 18th minute. Sochaux thought they had a goal in the 23rd minute after some great individual effort from Privat saw him dribble through half of the defense, but Monaco GK Ruffier made an outstanding save. The half ended with opportunities on both ends of the pitch, as Faty had a header stopped by Ruffier while Haruna saw his effort turned away by Richert. The match looked to be heading for a draw as Traore was denied by Richert and Dalmat was turned away twice (once by the post, and once by Ruffier), but Nene had a surprise. In the 84th minute he sent home a shot after being onside by the slimmest of margins, and he completed his brace in stoppage time as he volleyed home a cross from Sagbo.

Montpellier 1-0 Nice – Montpellier got a sorely needed win to stay in the title conversation with a dominant performance, out-shooting Nice 22 to 6 (8 to 0 for shots on target) and maintaining 61% of the possession. They began quickly, with a cross-turned-shot from Camara hitting the post in the 3rd minute, but then settled into a measured pace. In the 30th minute Costa sent a volley just wide, while in the 35th minute he was denied an assist when Montano scored with a handball and was rewarded with a YC (save the Titi jokes). Nice had their only chance of the half in the 41st minute when a volley from Mounier grazed the crossbar. The lone goal of the match came in the 57th minute when a free-kick from Costa bounced around in the box only for Nice GK Ospina to push it directly into the path of Camara for an easy tap-in. Ospina then made a nice save on a hard shot from Costa in the 70th minute, and was left helpless in the 79th minute only to see a long-range effort from Spahic crash into the post for the final opportunity of the match.

Nancy 0-2 Lyon – Les Gones were out-shot in the match, but they maintained 58% of the possession and needed all of it as they took the 3 points through two late goals. In the 10th minute Kallstrom sent a long ball over the top that Gomis sent onto the post, and just 1 minute later Nancy thought they had taken the lead through Dia, who was ruled offside. In the 24th minute it was Lyon’s turn to think they had scored, as Gomis had his shot cleared off the line by Nancy defender Marange. The action continued to move from end-to-end, and in the 33rd minute Dia was stopped in a 1-on-1 situation by Lyon GK Lloris. A goal also could have come in the 49th minute, but Delgado missed an easy cross from Cissokho. Ultimately, the first goal did come from a miss as Nancy GK Bracigliano missed contact on a corner allowing Cris to score easily in the 79th minute (and take home this week’s GSTGC award in the process – we always reward the defenders). Nancy were left without hope in the 87th minute when a corner from Bastos was sent into the back of the net by Gonalons to secure the 3 points.

Rennes 1-1 Lens – This match was statistically even, and the sharing of points was always going to be the fairest result. In the 17th minute Bangoura made a long run but sent his shot directly into the arms of Lens GK Runje, who also stopped a header from Hansson in the 20th minute. On the other end of the pitch Monnet-Paquet had a volley well-saved by Rennes GK Douchez in the 26th minute. The only other chance of the first half saw Bangoura send his shot wide in the 38th minute. The scoring was opened in the 55th minute when Sow headed home a cross from Fanni to give Rennes the 1-0 lead. However, that lasted just 9 minutes as a corner from Demont was played through Yahia and Boukhair for Monnet-Paquet to finish off for the equalizer. Lens should have retaken the lead in the 73rd minute on a free-kick from Milovanovic, but Douchez was up to the task. The 87th minute saw Lens go down to 10 men after Yahia received a straight RC for a foul on Sow, but Rennes were unable to capitalize.

Valenciennes 1-3 Toulouse – A struggling Toulouse side seemed to take this match as an opportunity to remind the rest of Ligue 1 that they are still capable of playing some good football as they made the most of their 5 shots on goal. Valenciennes almost scored first, and in a comical fashion, after a misunderstanding between Toulouse GK Valverde and his defender Fofana saw a cross-turned-shot from Audel barely cleared off the line by Congre in the 8th minute. It was a defensive error on the other end of the pitch that lead to the first goal, as Bisevac lost the ball to Didot, whose pass to Gignac was sent on Tabanou for the finish in the 16th minute. Valenciennes equalized in the 44th minute when Audel headed home a free-kick from Mater, and they could have taken the lead in the 49th minute when Sanchez saw his shot tipped onto the crossbar by Valverde. Toulouse began to apply more pressure to break the draw, with Sissoko having his shot blocked in the 60th minute. The latter thought he had provided the lead in the 80th minute when his header hit the crossbar and came down onto the goal-line, but it was correctly ruled to not have crossed the line. However, the lead came just 4 minutes later when Tabanou completed his brace by sending home a cross from Gignac. The latter was also instrumental in the final goal, having his cross pushed out by Valenciennes GK Wimbee to a waiting Sissoko in the 87th minute.

Sunday, January 17th:

Bordeaux – Marseille – In a match that was dominated statistically by Marseille, it was a different reality on the pitch as Bordeaux bossed L’OM, who haven’t won at Bordeaux in 33 years, for most of the 90 minutes. In the 13th minute Ciani had his shot deflected barely wide, but the Bordeaux defender did his best work on the other end of the pitch as he should have been MotM. In the 24th minute Wendel elicited a good save from Marseille GK Mandanda, and then the action slowed down as the clubs seemed content to make probing runs through the midfield to no effect. The opening goal arrived with controversy in first-half stoppage as a cross into the middle saw Chamakh challenge Mandanda, with the ball ending up in the back of the net off of Mandanda’s hands. L’OM protested vociferously, arguing that Chamakh had fouled Mandanda (with those protests earning Brandao a YC), and replays confirmed their version of events. The start of the second half saw Bordeaux suffer some karma, as GK Carrasso suffered a hamstring injury and was replaced by Rame in the 58th minute. Things got worse for Les Girondins in the 61st minute when Planus was given a straight RC for a bad tackle from behind on Niang. The foul appeared to merit only a YC, but the referee, perhaps in an effort to atone for his earlier mistake, incorrectly ruled that Planus was the last defender when in fact Ciani was in excellent position to stop Niang. The resulting free-kick from Cheyrou was sent barely wide, but L’OM continued to press their advantage through 64th-minute substitute ben Arfa. In the 73rd minute Brandao had a header cleared off the line by Tremoulinas, but a goal seemed certain to come. When it did come, it was in fantastic form as Cheyrou exhibited excellent control and finished with an incredible scissor-kick in the 81st minute.

So, after Matchday 20 the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 44 points on a 14-2-4 record and a +20 goal differential; (2) Lille, with 37 points on an 11-4-5 record and a +20 goal differential; (3) Montpellier, with 36 points on an 11-3-6 record and a +2 goal differential; and (4) Marseille, with 33 points on a 9-6-4 record and a +10 goal differential.