Ligue 1 Weekend Review

Result of the week to Stade Rennais FC.

This week saw a further tightening at the top of the table as Bordeaux are only ahead by 3 points while Marseille moved into 5th with a Top-4 finish well within their sights. Although some clubs failed to register a goal, there was quite a bit of scoring overall as only one match finished in a goal-less draw.

The result of the week goes to Rennes, who stunned Bordeaux 4-2 in front of a raucous crowd.

Saturday, February 6th:

Boulogne 0-2 Montpellier – Although Boulogne looked to get off to a quick start, they failed to put a shot on frame, allowing Montpellier to take advantage of their inaccuracy to get a crucial 3 points in their title chase. In the 8th minute Moussilou shot wide of the target, while Cuvillier had his shot deflected wide in the 17th minute for Boulogne’s only chances of the first half. Montpellier got a goal on their first opportunity as Camara volleyed home a cross from Jeunechamp in the 27th minute. The former could have had a brace in the 30th minute, but he sent another volley wide. Shortly after the restart Montano was stopped by Boulogne GK Bedenik, while on the other end of the pitch Yatabare wasted Boulogne’s lone chance of the half by sending his shot soaring over the crossbar. The only other action came in stoppage time as Bedenik stopped Belhanda only to have Montano send home the rebound.

Grenoble 5-0 Auxerre – In one of the surprise results of the week bottom club Grenoble came out with vigor, scoring on 5 of the 6 shots that they put on frame despite only holding 40% of the possession. The scoring began early, with Ljuboja lobbing Auxerre GK Sorin from 20 yards in the 8th minute (winning the GSTGC award in the process). Just 2 minutes later a cross from Matsui was headed home by Akrour. Jelen thought he had pulled one back in the 23rd minute, but his shot was cleared off the line by Grenoble defender Calve. In the 36th minute Ljuboja turned provider, dribbling 3 defenders and passing to Matsui for the finish. Akrour completed his brace in the 42nd minute after a cross from Robin was headed on by Dieuze for a great finish. Almost immediately after the restart Matsui completed his own brace as his pass was cleared back out to him and he took the opportunity to take the shot the second time around. Auxerre’s only remaining chance came in the 67th minute when a great shot from Pedretti was saved by Grenoble GK Viviani, and Grenoble were content to play at a slower pace for the remainder of the match.

Lens 2-1 Le Mans – In one of the more tightly-contested matches of the weekend Le Mans failed to capitalize on their 9 corner kicks (compared to 1 for Lens) and came away with no points for their effort. They could have scored first, but Abdi’s volley elicited a great save from Lens GK Runje in the 11th minute. There was comedy in the 23rd minute when Akale missed a sitter, but the first goal wasn’t long in coming as a flick across goal from Eduardo found Monnet-Paquet to give Lens a 1-0 lead. That lead was doubled shortly after the break when Roudet broke on a counter-attack and found Eduardo for a 1-time shot that hit the back of the net. Le Mans began to push back, with Thomert stopped by Runje in the 51st minute, but that was short-lived as Eduardo put a shot into the side-netting and Akale was turned away by Le Mans GK Ovono. The latter’s teammates finally pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute when Maiga sent home a pass from Geder, but it was too late to save the match.

Nice 1-1 Lille – Lille had twice the number of shots on goal and twice the possession, but they had to share the points with Nice after the latter managed to hang on to an early goal. In the 15th minute a cross from Remy deflected off Lille defender Rami to ben Saada, who sent home a header. Lille had a chance to equalize a few minutes later but Nice GK Letizi pulled off a fantastic double-save on shots from Frau and Hazard. The latter then sent his free-kick wide in the 33rd minute for the final opportunity of the half. Lille continued their pressure after the break, with de Melo shooting wide and a volley from Debuchy forcing a save from Letizi. The equalizer finally came in the 75th minute when de Melo headed home a free-kick from Obraniak. Lille had 2 final chances to earn all 3 points, but Letizi turned away efforts from Gervinho and Balmont.

Paris Saint-Germain 0-3 Lorient – A miserable season continues for PSG as they were unable to stop Lorient’s star players from running riot during a crucial 12-minute span of the match. In the 4th minute Hoarau had his header saved by Lorient GK Audard, and 5 minutes later his header found the back of the net only to be disallowed for offsides. The pressure then began from Lorient as a corner from Amalfitano forced a great save from PSG GK Edel. In the 24th minute Diarra was brought down in the box by Armand, and Vahirua stepped up to slot home the resulting PK. Only 2 minutes later he turned provider, doing some excellent work before laying off the ball for Gameiro. And 10 minutes after that Amalfitano made a nice run down the right side and lobbed Edel for the final tally of the match. PSG did began to push back, and Erdinq was stopped by great saves from Audard twice in the waning minutes of the half as the home supporters booed them off the pitch. Lorient started the second half quickly, and Amalfitano thought he had a brace only to see his shot cleared off the line by PSG defender Traore. His teammates had the better opportunities in the second half, but Giuly was stopped by Audard and Erdinq sent a shot over the crossbar in front of an increasingly frustrated home crowd.

Sochaux 1-1 Nancy – Sochaux dominated the possession (58%-42%), but they only put one shot on frame. Fortunately for them that shot resulted in an actual goal, allowing them to earn the draw and share the points. In the 7th minute Dalmat sent a pass through for Ideye, but the latter only managed to hit the side-netting. A few minutes later a long-range shot from Hadji elicited a save from Sochaux GK Richert, while the former’s teammate Feret hit the crossbar with a fierce shot near the half-hour mark. The opening goal came in the 32nd minute when Dia lashed a shot into the top corner. The final action of the half saw Feret slam another fierce shot into the crossbar. The equalizer came shortly after the break, with some good work from Ideye and Maurice-Belay finished off by Dalmat with a shot that appeared to come off his knee. They could have scored the match-winner 2 minutes later, but a corner from Martin was well-taken by Nancy GK Bracigliano, while the latter’s teammate Hadji saw his own chance go wanting in the 62nd minute as he put a shot into the side-netting. The final opportunity for either club came in the 64th minute when Ideye sent his shot wide, after which both clubs seemed content to settle for the draw.

Rennes 4-2 Bordeaux – The match of the week saw a stunned Bordeaux side pushed around on the road as Rennes got off to a quick start. In the 3rd minute some good work from Bangoura and Briand was clinically finished off by Marveaux to immediately put Les Girondins on the back foot. Marveaux was then fouled in the box by Plasil in the 17th minute, and Briand stepped up to slot home the resulting PK. The damage could have been even worse, but Bangoura was stopped by Bordeaux GK Carrasso. His club began to exert pressure of their own, with Plasil and Gouffran (twice) drawing saves from Rennes GK Douchez. The scoreline was 3-0 shortly after the break when Bangoura volleyed home a pass from Leroy, and Bordeaux were further disappointed in the 62nd minute when a goal from Chamakh was waved off as he had fouled Douchez. Les Girondins finally pulled one back in the 64th minute when Gouffran headed home a free-kick from Wendel, and the latter had a goal of his own in the 68th when his free-kick hit the back of the net. Although that made the match 3-2, Rennes put things out of reach in the 78th minute when Gyan received a great ball, played the ball between the defender’s legs and then sent home a clinical strike into the corner.

Sunday, February 7th:

Saint-Etienne 3-0 Monaco – Although this match was fairly even statistically Saint-Etienne were able to continue their climb out of the relegation zone by taking all 3 points. Monaco started more quickly, with Maazou having his shot stopped by Saint-Etienne GK Janot, but the opening goal came a few minutes later when Matuidi finished off some nice work from Payet. The only other opportunities of the half came when Sako sent a volley barely wide of the post and Sanogo did the same shortly before the break. The second half started with a header from Sanogo that was stopped by Monaco GK Ruffier, who also stopped Mangani and Bergessio with an excellent effort. The latter managed to prevail in the 74th minute when he finished off a pass from Riviere. Monaco thought to have pulled one back shortly after that, but Sagbo saw his header cleared off the line by Saint-Etienne defender Benalouane, and the former sent another shot barely wide a few minutes later. The final goal came in stoppage time when Riviere made a long run and sent a shot home into the top corner.

Toulouse 0-0 Lyon – Lyon’s push for the title suffered another blow in this match as they were only able to muster 5 shots, putting none of them on goal. In the 7th minute a corner from Braaten was well-take by Lyon GK Lloris, while Gignac sent a shot wide of the post in the 19th minute. The first chance for Les Gones came near the half-hour mark when Delgado had his shot blocked, while on the other end of the pitch Gignac hit the post with his header. Lyon went down to 10 men in the 67th minute when Makoun received his 2nd YC for a tackle from behind on M’Bengue. Toulouse were unable to take advantage, as Berson volleyed wide and Gignac was turned away by Lloris.

Marseille 5-1 Valenciennes – L’OM renewed their chances for European competition with an emphatic win over Valenciennes, maintaining 62% of the possession and putting 10 shots on frame. It took quite some time for the action to develop, but Marseille made their first chance pay off when some good work from ben Arfa in the 33rd minute was finished off by Gonzalez. The latter then turned provider in the 43rd minute, feeding Brandao who then dribbled through the defense before putting his shot into the back of the net. They started the second half quickly as well, with Cheyrou drilling home a long-range shot in the 53rd minute. Valenciennes managed to avoid the shut-out in the 66th minute when Sanchez Moreno headed home a corner kick, but L’OM responded 10 minutes later through some nice work from ben Arfa and Hilton, who laid off to Valbuena for a great shot. The busy ben Arfa earned another assist in stoppage time with a cross that was finished off by Niang after a brief goal-mouth scramble.

So, after Matchday 23 the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 48 points on a 15-3-5 record and a +20 goal differential; (2) Montpellier, with 45 points on a 14-3-6 record and a +7 goal differential; (3) Lille, with 41 points on a 12-5-6 record and a +20 goal differential; and (4) Lyon, with 40 points on an 11-7-5 record and a +10 goal differential.