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Ligue 1 Top & Flop: Round 8
It was all change this weekend at the summit of Le Championnat with Olympique Lyonnais usurping Girondins de Bordeaux. Goal.com’s Robin Bairner takes a look at the tasty and the tasteless among last weekend’s action…
| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.00 | Draw £40.00 | APOEL £75.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.40 | Draw £42.00 | APOEL £75.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.44 | Draw £40.00 | APOEL £70.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.40 | Draw £43.30 | APOEL £75.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Lyon £14.50 | Draw £38.00 | APOEL £68.00 |
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Oct 6, 2009 10:00:19 AM
TOP
Olympique Lyonnais: After a six month hiatus, OL are back leading the league and therefore deserve praise. General manager Claude Puel noted, after Saturday’s 2-0 success over Racing Club de Lens, that his side had shown particularly resilience during an awkward period, and few could argue with that. While Olympique de Marseille and Girondins de Bordeaux have stumbled with the increased fixture congestion, les Gones have marched on, perhaps not playing their best, but finding an energy and a determination not displayed by their title rivals.
Saint-Etienne: A turgid start to the campaign had fans of the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard club worrying for their Ligue 1 lives, but after an explosive evening in Le Chaudron on Saturday night, feelings around the club could barely be any more polemic from the ones felt a month ago. Girondins de Bordeaux visited the Loire club boasting a 22-match unbeaten run, but they left with nothing, deservedly beaten 3-1. The late-summer signings have made a big impression, with Gonzalo Bergessio and Augusto Fernandez both playing prominent roles in the victory. There is no more in-form club in France at present.
Didier Olle-Nicolle (Nice coach): Only a couple of weeks ago, Nice were perceived to be in crisis. Indeed, 50 minutes into their weekend fixture against Valenciennes, they certainly were. At that time they trailed 2-0 at the Stade du Ray and looked unlikely to draw themselves back into the game. However, a bold triple change from the coach completely altered the course of the match. Chaouki Ben Saada, Eric Mouloungui and Habib Bamogo all came forth from the bench to help turn the game in les Aiglons’ favour. OGC would run out 3-2 winners.
FLOP
Antony Gautier (referee): An intense match between Sochaux and Le Mans was a keenly contested affair, largely dominated by les Lionceaux. However, MUC seemed to be holding onto a 0-0 scoreline with some degree of comfort when referee Gautier erroneously awarded a penalty to the home side for handball. In fact, the ball had clearly struck Joao Paulo’s face, and the resultant protests meant that Cyriaque Louvion was dismissed for a second yellow card, leaving the midfielder stunned. Le Mans goalkeeper Didier Ovono may have made a heroic penalty block, but his efforts did not help the guests to a point as Sochaux were able to shift the ball about more easily and eventually prise a winner.
Carlos Bocanegra (Stade Rennais): Just 16 minutes into Rennes’ Ligue 1 encounter against Auxerre, Dennis Oliech accelerated away from the Bretons’ defence. Bocanegra was in hot pursuit, but instead of allowing the Kenyan to sprint through on goal, he elected to give a little tug on the forward’s shirt, which was enough to see him crash to the ground. The net result was a red card, which left the home side in deep trouble considering there were still 74 minutes to play and they were already defensively depleted. To make matters worse, Benoit Pedretti converted direct from the resultant free kick, the goal that condemned Rennes to their first home defeat of the campaign.
Toulouse: Superb last season, le Tefece have toiled fruitlessly in the early stages of this campaign, with only eight points accrued from their opening eight fixtures. Indeed, this was a bad week all round for them. A late Ivan Perisic goal in the Europa League allowed Club Brugge to steal a point away from the Pink City, but on league duty things would deteriorate even more against a Lorient team shorn of their first choice striking duo and also a fair chunk of their regular midfield. Olivier Monterrubio would convert a last minute penalty to give les Merlus all three points, condemning Toulouse to a worrying international break, hovering just about the drop zone.
Robin Bairner, Goal.com
Olympique Lyonnais: After a six month hiatus, OL are back leading the league and therefore deserve praise. General manager Claude Puel noted, after Saturday’s 2-0 success over Racing Club de Lens, that his side had shown particularly resilience during an awkward period, and few could argue with that. While Olympique de Marseille and Girondins de Bordeaux have stumbled with the increased fixture congestion, les Gones have marched on, perhaps not playing their best, but finding an energy and a determination not displayed by their title rivals.
Saint-Etienne: A turgid start to the campaign had fans of the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard club worrying for their Ligue 1 lives, but after an explosive evening in Le Chaudron on Saturday night, feelings around the club could barely be any more polemic from the ones felt a month ago. Girondins de Bordeaux visited the Loire club boasting a 22-match unbeaten run, but they left with nothing, deservedly beaten 3-1. The late-summer signings have made a big impression, with Gonzalo Bergessio and Augusto Fernandez both playing prominent roles in the victory. There is no more in-form club in France at present.
Didier Olle-Nicolle (Nice coach): Only a couple of weeks ago, Nice were perceived to be in crisis. Indeed, 50 minutes into their weekend fixture against Valenciennes, they certainly were. At that time they trailed 2-0 at the Stade du Ray and looked unlikely to draw themselves back into the game. However, a bold triple change from the coach completely altered the course of the match. Chaouki Ben Saada, Eric Mouloungui and Habib Bamogo all came forth from the bench to help turn the game in les Aiglons’ favour. OGC would run out 3-2 winners.
FLOP
Antony Gautier (referee): An intense match between Sochaux and Le Mans was a keenly contested affair, largely dominated by les Lionceaux. However, MUC seemed to be holding onto a 0-0 scoreline with some degree of comfort when referee Gautier erroneously awarded a penalty to the home side for handball. In fact, the ball had clearly struck Joao Paulo’s face, and the resultant protests meant that Cyriaque Louvion was dismissed for a second yellow card, leaving the midfielder stunned. Le Mans goalkeeper Didier Ovono may have made a heroic penalty block, but his efforts did not help the guests to a point as Sochaux were able to shift the ball about more easily and eventually prise a winner.
Carlos Bocanegra (Stade Rennais): Just 16 minutes into Rennes’ Ligue 1 encounter against Auxerre, Dennis Oliech accelerated away from the Bretons’ defence. Bocanegra was in hot pursuit, but instead of allowing the Kenyan to sprint through on goal, he elected to give a little tug on the forward’s shirt, which was enough to see him crash to the ground. The net result was a red card, which left the home side in deep trouble considering there were still 74 minutes to play and they were already defensively depleted. To make matters worse, Benoit Pedretti converted direct from the resultant free kick, the goal that condemned Rennes to their first home defeat of the campaign.
Toulouse: Superb last season, le Tefece have toiled fruitlessly in the early stages of this campaign, with only eight points accrued from their opening eight fixtures. Indeed, this was a bad week all round for them. A late Ivan Perisic goal in the Europa League allowed Club Brugge to steal a point away from the Pink City, but on league duty things would deteriorate even more against a Lorient team shorn of their first choice striking duo and also a fair chunk of their regular midfield. Olivier Monterrubio would convert a last minute penalty to give les Merlus all three points, condemning Toulouse to a worrying international break, hovering just about the drop zone.
Robin Bairner, Goal.com
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