After PSG’s draw in Strasbourg on Friday evening (3-3), that of Lens at home against Nantes on Saturday afternoon (2-2) and Rennes’ victory over Saint-Étienne on Saturday evening (2-0), the 35th day Ligue 1 continued this Sunday with challenges at all levels. Here is the recap of everything you need to remember from the afternoon meetings.
The defeat that hurts: Bordeaux cracks against Nice
Dominant at Matmut Atlantique, OGC Nice almost never succeeded in finding the fault against Bordeaux, constantly stumbling on a very low defensive block. Brave, the Girondins have long braced themselves behind, sometimes relying on miraculous rescues, like the tackle on the line of Gideon Mensah (10th). But they ended up giving in a quarter of an hour from the end, on a mess in the area, which ended up benefiting an opportunistic Andy Delort (0-1, 74th).
The Bordelais then finally began to be enterprising offensively, but too late. They miss a golden opportunity to get their heads out of the water a bit and remain 19th, four points behind Saint-Étienne, the current barrage. For the people of Nice, on the other hand, victory is good, after the successes of Rennes and Monaco. The Aiglons, fifth in Ligue 1, are now two points from the podium.
The crazy series: Monaco reaps and puts pressure
Unstoppable since the end of winter the Monegasques of Ruben Aguilar (9 successes in his last 9 tenures) never stop winning. Against Angers this Sunday (2-0) they signed a 7th straight success in Ligue 1. Abdoulaye Bamba, against his side, scored the first goal just before the break (42nd) then Wissam Ben Yedder doubled the lead with a dry strike from the left. The former Toulousain has signed his 21st achievement of the season and is back up to Martin Terrier in 2nd place in the scorers’ rankings, behind the inevitable Kylian Mbappé. What to come back to three small points from Marseille, 2nd, which receives Lyon this Sunday evening (8:45 p.m.). For Philippe Clement’s men, only ninth on the evening of the 26th day, the Champions League is now clearly in sight.
The slap: Lille takes three in Troyes
A story of penalties… and a red card at the Stade de l’Aube this Sunday. Facing LOSC, the Trojans, 14th, offered themselves a nice breath of fresh air in their quest to maintain. Bruno Irles’ men opened the scoring shortly before half-time with a contentious penalty but perfectly converted by Florian Tardieu.
In the second half, Lille scuttled each other for the first time with an expulsion following two yellow cards received in quick succession by Renato Sanches for protest. Then a second time five minutes later with a fault – indisputable this time – by Sven Botman in the box. The Canadian Ugbo takes care of the sentence before Tardieu gives more scope to the Trojan success, again on penalty. Reduced to 9 after the expulsion of Burak Yilmaz in the 69th, the Mastiffs have won only 2 of their last 8 Ligue 1 games.
The missed opportunity: Metz is joined on the gong in Montpellier
The Messins no longer have a choice. To keep a tiny chance of evolving in the elite next season, the Garnets are condemned to faultless until the 38th day. On the field of Montpellier this Sunday, they thought they offered a first reprieve by leading 2-0 until the 80th minute. Former Paris FC player Thomas Delaine opened the scoring in the 24th minute with a nice curling shot from the right after a scramble in the area. On returning from the locker room, Mafouta took the break but nothing was going in favor of Lorraine this season. Arnaud Souquet reduced the score in the 80th minute before Elye Wahi scored his 10th goal of the season in added time. Each passing weekend seems to bring FC Metz a little closer to Ligue 2.
Regrets: Lorient dominates but loses against Reims
Dominating is not winning and the people of Lorient experienced that this Sunday. Superior in all post-match statistics, the Merlus nevertheless lost 2-1 at home to Reims. Terem Moffi responded to Arbër Zeneli’s opener but it was the Champenois who would have the last word with El-Bilal Touré who beat Dreyer with a fine volley on the hour mark. 12th, have already ensured their maintenance, unlike the Bretons, 16th, who have only 3 points ahead of Saint-Étienne, roadblocker.
Victory in the mind: Brest drops Clermont in numerical inferiority
Favorites at kick-off against Clermont, the Brestois were much less so after the exclusion of Romain Del Castillo in the 23rd minute of play. But the Auvergnats, 17th two points behind Saint-Étienne 18th, will not benefit never. And it was the Bretons who finally won 2-0 thanks to two goals scored in quick succession on the hour mark. The first was the work of Lilian Brassier, the second was scored by Steve Mounié. The Brestois, already maintained, sign a 3rd success in a row in Ligue 1.
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