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Ligue 1 Round 17 Results: Leader Montpellier falls to shock defeat, as PSG closes in at the top
Leaders Montpellier was defeated 1-0 by Daniel Sanchez's men as Marseille and Bordeaux played out a 0-0 draw.
Dec 11, 2011 6:00:00 PM
By Mohammed Ali
Ligue 1: Round 17 Results
| Saturday DECEMBER 9 | KO | Sunday DECEMBER 10 | KO |
| Nancy - Ajaccio | 2-2 |
Auxerre - OGC Nice | 2-1 |
| Stade Rennes - Brest |
1-1 | Lille - Dijon | 2-0 |
| Saint Etienne - Caen |
2-0 | Lorient - Olympique Lyonnais | 0-1 |
| Sochaux - PSG |
0-1 |
||
| Toulouse - Evian | 2-1 | ||
| Valenciennes - Montpellier | 1-0 | ||
| Marseille - Bordeaux | 0-0 | ||
| all times in ET |
|
| Nancy | 2-2 |
Ajaccio |
| AS Nancy needed a late equalizer to salvage a point at Stade Marcel Picot against AC Ajaccio on Saturday. It took Jean Fernandez's men only 10 minutes to race into the lead. Djamel Bakar was slipped through a simple ball by Daniel Niculae, and the number 11 fired past Guillermo Ochoa to take the lead. Nancy's good work was to be undone however. Just after the half hour as a speculative cross into the box saw Andre Luiz head past his keeper for an own goal. Ajaccio progressed from this gift, and almost took a surprise lead soon after. Ilan and Johan Cavalli intertwined with the left post of Guy N'dy Assembe shattered. Moments after Nancy spurned a huge chance through Bakaye Traore, the visiting side punished the club with a goal of its own. A missed interception allowed Cavalli to pounce with 17 minutes to go, and bury the ball home and to leave is team with a chance of a morale-boosting win. That was sadly not to be. In the 92nd minute Jung-Jo Gook assisted Daniel Niculae to steal a point late. |
| Stade Rennes |
1-1 |
Stade Brestois |
| Stade Rennes was held to a 1-1 draw by Stade Brestois in a rather dull game at Stade de Route de la Lorient. Rennes' recent downturn in fortunes looked to have spilled over when in the 13th minute, the visiting side took the lead. A superb effort from Bruno Grougi saw him hit the woodwork from 35 meters and was converted by a quick-fire Nolan Roux. Les Rouge et Noir were only behind for four minutes however as Julian Feret launched a floating ball to Romain Danze who headed past Steeve Elana to restore parity. A balanced Brest side broke down the resilient attack from the home side which was rather profligate and wasteful in front of goal. Alex Dupont's men meanwhile registered their 11th draw of the campaign. |
| Saint Etienne |
2-0 |
Caen |
| Saint Etienne moved up to seventh in the table, with a comfortable 2-0 win over Caen, which has its winless run continue. Les Verts had the ball in the net within 10 minutes as Banel Nicolita finished off a flowing attacking move which saw Florent Sinama Pongolle and Pierre Aubameyang cause a defensive headache initiated from Faouzi Ghoulam's long ball. Caen's recent run has been somewhat unlucky, and things didn't look to get better for the visiting side. Livio Nabab was sent off as les Malherbes struggled to keep the home side at bay. Albin Ebondo and Sinama-Pongolle had further efforts, but were denied by Alexis Thebaux. Romain Hamouma threatened to equalize, after a highly-charged move saw him find Pierre-Alain Frau, only for Sylvain Marchal to intervene. The game-winning goal did come however, as Aubameyang fed through Bakary Sako, and the substitute jinked past three defender to score, despite Thomas Heurtaux's best efforts. |
| Sochaux |
0-1 |
PSG |
| Paris Saint Germain moved back to joint top of Ligue 1 after a hard-earned 1-0 win over Sochaux on Saturday. The embattled visitors hit the ground running at Stade Auguste Bonal with former Les Lionceaux star Jeremy Menez causing havoc on the wing. The electric Javier Pastore and Kevin Gameiro combined well with the latter controlling a long ball to fire past Teddy Richert with the help of the post inside 20 minutes to give PSG the lead. Cedric Bakambu and Marvin Martin had efforts to unseat Salvatore Sirigu, with the goalkeeper's clearance striking Milan Bisevac in an unsightly moment as PSG lead at the interval 1-0. Les Parisiens' front four saw plenty of action after the interval, but without much success. Pastore and Gameiro again were at the forefront, but the lack of a killer finish saw them restricted. Antoine Koumbouare's men now look forward to the visit of Athletic Bilbao as they look to qualify for the last 16 on the Europa League on Wednesday. |
| Toulouse |
2-1 |
Evian |
| Toulouse grabbed a late winner to finally end Evian's challenge in a competitive game on Saturday. Yannick Sagbo and Sami Khelifa enjoyed the best of the opening minutes at Stade Municipal, with their efforts forcing Cheik M'Bengue clearing off the line. Umit Bulut issued a direct response with the Turkish striker firing an effort at Stephan Andersen as the home side rallied. And rally it did, when Moussa Sissoko was fed through Franck Tabanou to strike home the first goal. Aldo Angoula's mistake saw Tabanou through in attack. Alain Casanova's men stepped up their efforts in the second period, with Tabanou proving to be a real force on the wing. Pavle Ninkov fed through Etienne Didot, but the midfielder was to be thwarted by Andersen. Daniel Wass managed to equalize for Bernard Casoni's men to give them some hope after the hour. It wasn't to be for the visiting side, as Bulut fired home in the 89th minute and propel Le Tefece to sixth. |
| Valenciennes |
1-0 |
Montpellier |
| Montpellier fell to a shock 1-0 defeat by Valenciennes on Saturday evening, as the club was joined by PSG at the top of Ligue 1. In a rather turgid first half at Stade du Hainaut, the visiting side was kept well at bay by a resolute Valenciennes defense. Foued Kadir and Remi Gomis interlinked to create the hosts best first half opportunity, while the visiting team could only muster attempts by an uninspired Olivier Giroud and Younes Belhanda as the half finished goalless. If the first half was anything to go by, the second was to start in a rather different manner. Foued Kadir raced out of the trips less than a minute after the interval to give Daniel Sanchez's men the lead. David Ducourtioux's impressive defensive performance might've saved his side a few goals, as they held on for a shock victory. |
| Olympique de Marseille |
0-0 |
Bordeaux |
|
The home side, fresh from its qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League, started off the better of the two. Benoit Tremoulinas was overrun by Morgan Amalfitano who's connection with Benoit Cheyrou saw the ball flash just over Cedric Carrasso's goal. Loic Remy threatened the former OM keeper on occasions, but Didier Deschamps' men failed to gain any other clear-cut chances in a rather turgid first half. After the break, it was les Girondins who flushed out more openings. Though none were converted, Nicolas Maurice-Belay and Jussie combined to threaten Steve Mandanda, but the ball harmlessly sailed over the bar. Late on, Mandanda was again the hero as he kept out Anthony Modeste's effort in which the forward got the better of Souleymane Diawara. Despite the late surge, neither side could break the deadlock as Didier Deschamps' men settled for a 0-0 draw. |
| Auxerre | 2-1 |
OGC Nice |
| Auxerre's relegation fears were eased to some extent as the team saw off the challenge of Nice 2-1. Ben Sahar would be AJA's star man early on, getting by Francois Clerc after 11 minutes to center for Dennis Oliech to send a powerful header into the net. Nice responded quickly. Eric Mouloungui, back in the squad after suspension, fired superbly into the top corner after he met Renato Civelli's header. Rene Marsiglia's side might even been ahead at the break, but the usually reliable Fabian Monzon missed a penalty. Three minutes after being brilliantly denied by David Ospina, Sahar gave Auxerre the lead for a second time, knocking home an Oliech center. Just before the end, Olivier Sorin preserved his side's lead with a good save from Mouloungui, whose shot was deflected onto the post. |
| Lille |
2-0 |
Dijon |
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The early stages saw both sides go close, with Benjamin Corgnet brilliantly denied by Mickael Landreau before Moussa Sow had a goal chopped off due to offside. Two minutes later, last season's top scorer fired LOSC into the lead, given an easy job to finish after a delicious center from Mathieu Debuchy. Dijon remained very much in the game, with Landreau looking sharp on several occasions to deny the visiting team its chances. Lille, however, moved two goals clear just before the hour mark when Eden Hazard finished a lovely team move involving Joe Cole and Moussa Sow. The home side pressed late for a third goal, with Cole cracking the post with an acrobatic effort, but the club had already done the crucial damage. |
| Lorient |
0-1 |
Olympique Lyonnais |
Olympique Lyonnais became just the second side in 15 months to earn maximum points at the Stade du Moustoir, defeating a depleted Lorient outfit.
The first half was dreadfully short of offensive action, with Dejan Lovren passing up the best opening for the visiting team following a Yoann Gourcuff free kick.
Within eight minutes of the start of the second period, both goalkeepers were called into action, though in the next attack Alexandre Lacazette gave OL the lead after a scramble in the box resulted in the ball breaking kindly to him.
Remi Garde's side created several more scoring opportunities before time was up, but though it didn't add to the tally, it remains right in touch with the top three sides, only four points shy of co-leaders Montpellier and PSG.
| Saturday DECEMBER 9 | KO | Sunday DECEMBER 10 | KO |
| Nancy - Ajaccio | 19.00 |
Auxerre - OGC Nice | 17.00 |
| Stade Rennes - Brest |
19.00 | Lille - Dijon | 17.00 |
| Saint Etienne - Caen |
19.00 | Lorient - Olympique Lyonnais | 21.00 |
| Sochaux - PSG |
19.00 |
||
| Toulouse - Evian | 19.00 | ||
| Valenciennes - Montpellier | 19.00 | ||
| Marseille - Bordeaux | 21.00 | ||
| all times in CET |
|
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