Ligue 1 Weekend Review

Result of the week goes to L'OM. Droit au but indeed!

This week saw quite a few close matches, and the tension resulted in an increase in YCs as well (although there were only a few candidates for the GSTGC award). There were no big surprises in the results, however, with all of the league leaders holding serve. The result of the wek goes to Marseille, who got a crucial 2-1 victory over Monaco to keep their dreams of Champions League football alive for next season.

Saturday, February 13th:

Le Mans 0-0 Sochaux – The scoreless draw wasn’t a surprise in this match, as the clubs combined to manage only 4 shots on goal. In the 11th minute the crowd was treated to a sign of things to come as Martin sent his shot well over the crossbar. After a few more minutes he managed to put his shot on target, but he was denied by a good save from Le Mans GK Ovono. In the 32nd minute Corchia sent his free-kick straight at Sochaux GK Richert, while his teammate Le Tallec sent a shot over the bar a few minutes later. The first half ended on a poor note for Sochaux as Poujol received a straight RC for a poor tackle from behind on Dosssevi. It took a while for the action to get started in the second half, with the first opportunity coming in the 61st minute as Brown hit the post. Le Mans had two final chances to earn the full points but Le Tallec sent his free-kick straight at Richert in the 68th minute, and the latter also denied Thomert a few minutes later.

Lille 3-1 Boulogne – Lille completely dominated this match, taking 20 shots and putting 10 of them on frame. The opening goal came very quickly as a long ball from Cabaye was volleyed home by Obraniak in the 6th minute, and the lead was doubled just 5 minutes later when Boulogne GK Bedenik mishandled a corner from Cabaye, allowing Rami to send home a header. Strangely, the exact same scenario played itself out on the other end of the pitch in the 28th minute with Lille GK Landreau mishandling a corner only to see Adefemi score on the easy tap-in. The game was out of reach right before the end of the first half when a weak goal-kick from Bedenik was seized by Balmont who played a pass for Obraniak to finish, completing his brace. Boulogne started the second half more quickly in an attempt to get back into the match, with Blayac forcing a save from Landreau and Adefemi sending a header barely wide. They were unable to break through, and almost went down by 3 goals in the 87th minute when Cabaye sent his free-kick barely over the bar, but Lille didn’t need the extra goal to secure all the points.

Monaco 1-2 Marseille – Monaco had more YCs than shots on frame, thanks in large part to the 28 fouls that they committed in an attempt to slow down the Marseille offense. L’OM began quickly, with Valbuena forcing saves from Monaco GK Ruffier in the 14th and 18th minutes, while Lucho Gonzalez was stopped in the 29th minute. The opening goal came in the 37th minute when Mongongu fouled Niang in the box and the latter finished off the resulting PK. However, the equalizer was not long in coming as a cross from Alonso was volleyed home by Maazou (albeit with a deflection off Monaco defender Mbia). In the 54th minute Ruffier pulled off a fantastic double-save on ben Arfa and Niang to keep the clubs level, and the pace of the match slowed down considerably. Unfortunately for Monaco the winning goal came in the 89th minute when a shot from Valbuena was deflected into the goal by midfielder Nkoulou for an OG. Things got worse in stoppage time as Alonso was given a YC for a bad tackle on Taiwo, and was then given a second YC for arguing the call, ensuring that he will miss Monaco’s next match.

Montpellier 1-0 Grenoble – This match saw both clubs maintain their current courses despite a good effort from Grenoble. In the 11th minute Montano put his header barely over the crossbar, while on the other end of the pitch a volley from Batlles was saved by Montpellier GK Jourdren. The lone goal of the match came in the 28th minute when Montano headed home a cross from Camara. The latter almost had a goal of his own a few minutes later when his corner-kick drifted towards goal, but Grenoble GK Viviani managed to turn it away at the last moment. The second half saw good efforts from both clubs, as Ait Fana drew a save from Viviani while Ravet shot wide for Grenoble, and Marveaux sent a volley barely over the crossbar for Montpellier. The final chance for an equalizer came late, but Ljuboja sent his free-kick barely wide of the post.

Nancy 0-0 Paris Saint-Germain – PSG snapped a 4-game losing streak, but earning only 1 point in this match won’t take much pressure off gaffer Antoine Kombouare as his side looked listless. In the 18th minute Hoarau sent his shot wide, while Alo’o Efoulou saw a header saved by PSG GK Edel in the 31st minute. The latter also stopped a free-kick from Berenguer while Nancy GK Bracigliano watched Chantome volley just wide of the post to end the half. Nancy had the better opportunities in the second half, with a volley from Luiz stopped by Edel while Macaluso managed to miss an open net. PSG could have won in the 76th minute but Luyindula’s shot was stopped by a great save from Bracigliano.

Valenciennes 2-1 Nice – Although neither side applied much pressure over the course of the match, Nice was particularly lax in front of goal, putting only 1 shot on frame. They were almost behind very early, as in the 2nd minute ben Khalfallah and Danic combined to elicit a great save from Nice GK Ospina, who then turned away a header from Sanchez in the 14th minute. Kadir was next to push forward for Valenciennes, shooting just wide in the 17th minute and seeing his volley turned away by a fantastic save from Ospina in the 26th minute. The rest of the half saw little action, but Kadir started off well after the break, sending a ball through for Mater, who beat the defense and finished clinically for the first goal of the match. The pace slowed again, with the next opportunity also producing a goal as Remy headed home a ben Saada free-kick for the equalizer. The match-winner came in the 90th minute when a cross from Mater was taken by Sebo for an easy finish.

Lyon 1-0 Lens – In a match that was fairly even statistically, Lyon managed to earn the 3 points to keep their slim title hopes alive. Jemaa forced saves from Lyon GK Lloris in the 16th and 23rd minutes, while Gomis was stopped by Lens GK Runje a few minutes before the half. The second half started with a shot from Monnet-Paquet that drew a good save from Lloris, but after that all the pressure came from Les Gones. Gomis was stopped by Runje, who then saw a header from Govou hit the post. The Lens GK was left helpless in the 78th minute after some good work from Govou and Lopez resulted in a good finish from Delgado. The final chance at an equalizer came just one minute later, but Monnet-Paquet had his header stopped by Lloirs.

Sunday, February 14th:

Auxerre 1-0 Rennes – In another even match Auxerre was able to take the full points and improve their chances of European competition for next year. They began very quickly as a shot from Oliech drew a good save from Rennes GK Douchez in the 1st minute, who also turned away a header from Niculae in the 11th minute. Auxerre GK Sorin then saw some action as he stopped a free-kick from Marveaux and made a great save on a shot from Asamoah Gyan. The lone goal of the match came in the 42nd minute when Jelen got onto the end of a long pass from Oliech and lobbed Douchez. The second half saw pressure come solely from Rennes, as Gyan was denied twice by Sorin (and once by Auxerre defender Grichting) while Marveaux sent a shot barely wide of the post, but they were unable to make it pay off.

Lorient 1-1 Toulouse – The clubs looked disinterested in the first half, with a weak shot from Sissoko in the 1st minute easily saved by Lorient GK Audard, who then had to be alert to make a great save on the former in the 20th minute. The only other action of the half came right before the break when Vahirau sent a header well over the crossbar. The first action of the second half saw the first goal, as a cross from Diarra was sent home on a half-volley by Gameiro in the 56th minute. Cetto was denied the equalizer by a great save from Audard shortly thereafter, but the goal would eventually come in the 78th minute when Braaten volleyed home a cross from Capoue. Gameiro almost secured the full points in stoppage time, but his header was well-saved by Toulouse GK Vidal.

Bordeaux 3-1 Saint-Etienne – Les Girondins put on a master class, peppering Saint-Etienne GK Janot with 11 shots on goal and exhibiting stiff defense in turning away 7 corner-kicks from Les Verts. The opening goal came quickly as Chamakh headed home a well-struck free-kick from Wendel (earning the GSTGC award in the process) in the 13th minute. There was almost a quick response on a free-kick from Sanogo, but Bordeaux GK Carrasso did well to turn it away. Wendel gave his club the 2-0 lead with another well-struck free-kick in the 27th minute, demonstrating his value on dead-balls yet again. The theme continued as Saint-Etienne finally broke through on a free-kick of their own, with Sako directing his effort directly into the back of the net at the very end of the first half. Les Verts continued to push for the equalizer, and in the 67th minute Riviere had his shot deflected by Bordeaux defender Planus, forcing Carrasso into an excellent reflex save. Their best opportunity came in the 71st minute when Chamakh was whistled for a handball, but Bergessio missed the resulting PK. He would rue that miss several minutes later when a pass from Gouffran across the goal-mouth was finished off by Wendel for his brace, effectively putting the match out of reach. Bordeaux had two final chances to increase their goal differential statistic, but Janot stopped a bicycle kick from Gouffran in the 83rd minute and a shot from Sertic in the 86th minute.

So, after Matchday 24 the top of the table looks like this: (1) Bordeaux, with 51 points on a 16-3-5 record and a +22 goal differential; (2) Montpellier, with 48 points on a 15-3-6 record and a +8 goal differential; (3) Lille, with 44 points on a 13-5-6 record and a +22 goal differential; and (4) Lyon, with 43 points on a 12-7-5 record and a +11 goal differential.