It was one of the sure values of the Girondins de Bordeaux this season. A good defense, solid and not very permeable, with this statistic often repeated by coach Jean-Louis Gasset: the number of clean sheets. 12 this season, the most recent of which – with a rather bitter taste – against Olympique de Marseille last week. However, with the departure of Pablo this winter, Bordeaux has now found its typical defense: Sabaly-Koscielny-Baysse-Benito. But the Navy and White remain on 4 defeats in the last meetings with nine goals conceded in the last five games.
But the injury to right-back Youssouf Sabaly at the beginning of February, for three to four weeks, unbalanced this type of defense with the arrival of Enock Kwateng in his place. Despite the more defensive profile of the former Nantes, he suffered multiple assaults from Brest, including Romain Perraud, and the beautiful emerging relationship Sabaly-Oudin also took a lead in the wing. The tactical change made in Lyon with the defense at 3, brought back to Brittany and home against Toulouse, has certainly destabilized this defense which gradually found its bearings.
Signs of frailty
Surprisingly, Bordeaux did not suffer during its confrontations against the two teams on the podium, Lyon and Lille. The Girondins were dominated by Toulouse (Ligue 2) and Brest, two teams that had room to hit more than 20 times on goal. Behind, the former international Laurent Koscielny seems less imperial in the duels on the ground and wins, on average, two to three duels per game in the last five meetings. However, the Girondins may have the opportunity to regain defensive strength this weekend against Nîmes, the second worst attack in the championship.
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