Ligue 1 Round 1 Results: Lyon, Lille and Marseille get off to winning starts as Montpellier and PSG are held

Aug 12, 2012 9:40:00 PM

Goal.com rounds up the action from Ligue 1 with the opening weekend proving to be an entertaining affair despite six red cards

Ligue 1

Round 1 Results

League Table

MONTPELLIER

TOULOUSE

Montpellier began the defence of their Ligue 1 title with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Toulouse, in a tempestous encounter which saw three red cards brandished at Stade de la Mosson.

Souleymane Camara put Rene Girard's men ahead midway through the first half, latching onto a threaded pass from John Utaka before beating his man and finishing past Ali Ahamada in the Le Tefe ce goal.

Jamel Saihi was sent off after the 39th minute for a dangerously late tackle on Pantxi Sirieix, leaving the midfielder to be substituted by Wissam Ben Yedder.

Despite numerous chances for La Paillade to extend their lead, they would ultimately be pegged back when Ben Yedder headed in from Serge Aurier's cross.

The dangerous tackling continued when Alain Casanova's visitors saw both Adrien Regattin and Aurier shown a red card by referee Antony Gautier for late lunges on Daniel Congre and Henri Bedimo respectively, as both sides settled for a point.

EVIAN	2	3	BORDEAUX
Bordeaux commenced their Ligue 1 campaign with a 3-2 victory over last season's surprise package Evian in an entertaining clash on Saturday. The hosts went behind through Ludovic Obraniak after just 11 minutes, with the Polish midfielder firing an angled shot which evaded Bernard Laquait. Three minutes later, les Girondins' advantage was doubled when Yann Gouffran superbly directed a Fahid Ben Khalfallah cross past the goalkeeper. Daniel Wass reduced the deficit in the 17th minute, but in the second half Francis Gillot's men regained their two-goal advantage when Henri Saivet powerfully headed home to make it 3-1. Saber Khlifa ensured a nervy few minutes after setting up a grandstand finish with a well-taken goal in injury time, but the visitors held on to take provisional top spot.

AS NANCY	1	0	STADE BREST
Yohan Mollo converted a 90th-minute free-kick to hand Nancy an opening day victory over Brest in an otherwise turgid game at Stade Marcel Picot. Neither side could find their rhythm in a competitive first half, with neither goalkeeper troubled, as midfielders held sway. Thomas Mangani and Charlison Benschop had chances to break the deadlock, though Salif Sane's effort from a set-piece being cleared off the line by an alert Bruno Grougi. Nevertheless, it took an audacious long-range free-kick from Mollo which surprisingly beat Alexis Thebaux to steal all three points.

NICE	0	1	AJACCIO
Nice began the new league season with a frustrating 1-0 defeat at the hands of Ajaccio at Stade du Ray. The winning goal was scored in the 11th minute when Sigamary Diarra delivered a cross for Brazilian striker Eduardo, who calmly beat the defence to direct the ball past Joris Delle. Mehdi Mostefa saw red for Ajaccio, whose lead was threatened when Yohan Poulard brought down Alexy Bosetti in the area. Argentine defender Luciano Fabian Monzon scored seven from the spot last season, but failed this time around. Monzon had a great chance to level late on, but his free-kick flew into the side-netting to hand the visitors a hard-earned victory.

RENNES	0	1	LYON

Following on from their Trophee des Champions victory over Montpellier last month, Lyon began the new season in the best possible way, beating 10-man Rennes 1-0 in Brittany. After a competitive opening, it would be the visitors who would edge ahead. Jimmy Briand's cross was met with a powerful volley from Yoann Gourcuff after just 11 minutes. Mevlut Erding threatened for Les Rouge et Noir, but Frederic Antoinetti's men would be disadvantaged on the half-hour when Jires Kembo-Ekoko was sent off for a late challenge on substitute keeper Remy Vercoutre. The visitors had more chances to put daylight between their opponents, though in the end the solitary goal proved enough for Remi Garde's side.

ESTAC TROYES	0	1	VALENCIENNES
ESTAC's return to Ligue 1 football proved an unhappy one after they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat by Valenciennes at Stade de l'Aube. Pape Abdou Camara saw his free-kick hit the crossbar in the best of the first half action in Troyes, though it wasn't until the 34th minute when the game would witness its first goal. Camara provided the source once more, producing a cross which would embarrassingly be turned in by the hosts' Brazilian defender Rincon. Benjamin Nivet, a summer signing from relegated Caen, almost put Jean-Marc Furlan's men back into the game, but his finish flew agonisingly wide, as did an effort from on-loan Jean Christophe Bahebeck with Daniel Sanchez's side holding on.

SOCHAUX	2	3	BASTIA
Ligue 2 champions Bastia marked a happy return to the top-flight after edging a close encounter against Sochaux 3-2 at Stade Bonal. Sloan Privat handed an early advantage to the hosts, heading home past the outstretched hand of visiting keeper Novaes. Anthony Modeste, who was on loan at Blackburn earlier this year, scored the equaliser, chipping the ball over Pierrick Cros. Toifilou Maoulida, a longtime journeyman of French football, scored twice in the space of a few minutes to make it 3-1 for Bastia, rendering Thierry Doubai's 89th minute goal unimportant as Frederic Hantz's side secured a shock victory.

SAINT ETIENNE	1	2	LILLE

Lille struck late to record a 2-1 victory away to Saint-Etienne in the opening round of Ligue 1 at Stade Geoffrey Guichard. Both sides carved out decent chances in an attacking first half, with Max Gradel and Nolan Roux spurning opportunities to get on the scoresheet. Aurelien Chedjou rose highest to powerfully head home past Stephane Ruffier to give Les Dogues the lead, but new signing Romain Hamouma, with a perfectly executed chest of the ball and subsequent chip past Mickael Landreau. However, Lille's perseverance was to be rewarded, and their attacking play, despite the exit of Eden Hazard, proved too much for Les Verts. Dimitri Payet's stinging effort was well saved by Ruffier, whose luck run out when Benoit Pedretti slammed in the rebound in the 90th minute.

PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN	2	2	FC LORIENT

Match Report		Player Ratings

STADE DE REIMS	0	1	MARSEILLE
New-boys and two-time European Cup finalists Stade de Reims began life back in the big-time with a defeat, going down 1-0 against 2010 champions Marseille. The hosts, who have been promoted for the second time in two seasons, began well but were almost behind when Andre-Pierre Gignac saw his effort saved by Kossi Agassa. The second half saw both sides look to utilise space on the wings, with Andre Ayew's tame diving header almost creeping over the line. Reims weren't offensively limited, with an inspired Steve Mandanda keeping them at bay. At the other end, Gignac and Benoit Cheyrou spurned further chances to put L'OM ahead. Agassa's luck had run out late on, however. A curling Kabore ball picked out Cheyrou on the far side, and the midfielder struck an exquisite volley that nestled into the net as Elie Baup's men secured the win.

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