Ligue 1 Superthread 2016/17

Jelle1880

That was unreal, 95th minute goal which caused Lens to lose that promotion spot.

Mr.Nice Guy

The last round of fixtures in Ligue 1 take place tonight at 8 pm and while it's highly unlikely to top the drama of the promotion battle, the relegation battle is very exciting.

Dijon, Caen, Lorient, Bastia and Nancy are all fighting for their lives. Nancy are bottom with 32 points and the best they can do is get to 18th and be in the relegation/promotion play-off. The others could survive depending on how things go.

Bastia are 19th with 34 points; Lorient 18th with 35 points. Dijon and Caen are 16th and 17th respectively with 36 points - Dijon ahead on goal difference.

BT Sport Extra 2 is showing Lorient vs Bordeaux and BT Sport 3 is showing Marseille vs Bastia. Both Bordeaux and Marseille have something to play for as both are battling to finish fifth.

Hard to know what will happen but I'm going to say the bottom three will be Caen, Nancy and Bastia.

Mr.Nice Guy

Sankhare puts Bordeaux 1-0 up away to Lorient. Harsh on the home side who almost scored themselves a few minutes ago.

Update: Half-Time scores:

Toulouse 0-0 Dijon
PSG 1-0 Caen
Lorient 0-1 Bordeaux
Marseille 0-0 Bastia
Nancy 1-0 Saint-Etienne

The bottom 5 as things stand:

16th - Dijon - 37 pts
17th - Caen - 36 pts
18th - Bastia - 35 pts
19th - Nancy - 35 pts
20th - Lorient - 35 pts

As things stand, Lorient and Nancy are going down on goal difference. Bastia scraping into the promotion/relegation play-off where they would face Troyes. I would expect this picture to change in the second half but I'm not sure in what way!

Mr.Nice Guy

Nancy just made it 2-0 against Saint-Etienne and that goal puts them into the relegation play-off at Bastia's expense. Everything is on a knife edge right now.

Update: Lorient have scored! 1-1 now! That takes Lorient from 20th to out of the relegation zone!

As it stands now:

16th - Dijon - 37 pts
17th - Lorient - 36 pts
18th - Caen - 36 pts
19th - Nancy - 35 pts
20th - Bastia - 35 pts

Mr.Nice Guy

Gomis has scored to put Marseille 1-0 in front. That could be lights out for Bastia. Current standings:

16th - Dijon - 37 pts
17th - Lorient - 36 pts
18th - Caen - 36 pts
19th - Nancy - 35 pts
20th - Bastia - 34 pts


Update: Saint-Etienne pulled a goal back away to Nancy. Even if Nancy win it won't be enough. They need Lorient to lose to Bordeaux. Just as I type that, Bordeaux went close with a header.

Meanwhile Lacazette has got his 100th Ligue 1 goal as Lyon lead Nice 3-2. It's his last game for the club.

Update II: Nancy make it 3-1 against Saint-Etienne but they still need Bordeaux to get a goal against Lorient.

A late equaliser for Caen away to PSG would secure their safety. Big ask though.

Mr.Nice Guy

Rodelin has equalised for Caen away to PSG! Unbelievable!

That makes Caen safe and means Lorient will be in the play-off.

Updated:

16th - Dijon - 37 pts
17th - Caen - 37 pts
18th - Lorient - 36 pts
19th - Nancy - 35 pts
20th - Bastia - 34 pts

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and Caen secure survival with a point away to PSG. A 91st minute goal from Rodelin was enough. Amazing.

Bastia and Nancy have been relegated. Lorient will take on Troyes in the promotion/relegation play-off.

Marseille pip Bordeaux to fifth place to secure the Europa League spot. Bordeaux can still get into the Europa League provided PSG defeat Angers in the French Cup final at the end of the month.

Monaco finish the season on top with 95 points, 8 clear of PSG.

What a season.

Richard Hillman

Fantastic ending. Caen kinda deserved it after all those chances.

Harry Palmr

Oh dear

https://t.co/3Zv4ayRABY

Non è stata una mattinata facile per il Paris Saint Germain che, poche ore fa, ha visto piombare nella propria sede l'unita' della polizia nazionale contro la corruzione e reati finanziari (OCLCIFF). Le autorità non hanno rovistato solo tra i documenti degli uffici del club parigino ma hanno perquisito anche le abitazioni dei calciatori argentini Angel Di Marîa e Javier Pastore. Secondo quanto riportato dal sito Mediapart, queste perquisizioni rientrano nelle indagini preliminari della Procura Nazionale che, occupandosi dei reati finanziari, le ha messe in atto dallo scorso dicembre dopo le rivelazioni di 'Football Leaks' circa una presunta "frode fiscale aggravata dal riciclaggio". I due calciatori, inoltre, sono accusati di aver ricevuto denaro per i propri diritti di immagine attraverso società fittizie ubicate in Olanda. Quei proventi poi, per evitare che venissero tassati, venivano versati in istituti di credito con sede in paradisi fiscali come Panama ed Uruguay.

Basically the fraud squad are investgating

09_09_09

09_09_09 wrote: »

Poch mentioned during CL campaign Monaco are similar to Stoke . I do not know what kind of drugs he was taking that time.

I love to see Silva in PL though.

It looks like my wish is going to be fulfilled. Must play tonight Euromillions now:D.

Mr.Nice Guy

09_09_09 wrote: »

It looks like my wish is going to be fulfilled. Must play tonight Euromillions now:D.

Great signing for City. Interesting to see who plays there for Monaco next season. I actually hope this sees Allan Saint-Maximin get a chance. He did well on loan at Bastia even though the club were relegated, and he may flourish if Monaco use him. Massive shoes to fill though.

Troyes beat Lorient 2-1 at home last night in the relegation/promotion first leg. The second leg will be this Sunday. I'd actually like to see Lorient win and stay up. Moukandjo should start for them and he could be the difference maker.

Deub

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Great signing for City. Interesting to see who plays there for Monaco next season. I actually hope this sees Allan Saint-Maximin get a chance. He did well on loan at Bastia even though the club were relegated, and he may flourish if Monaco use him. Massive shoes to fill though.

They bought Youri Tielemans from Anderlech for 25 millions. I have seen some videos and he seems promising. However his style of play is completely different than Bernardo Silva.

Mr.Nice Guy

Deub wrote: »

They bought Youri Tielemans from Anderlech for 25 millions. I have seen some videos and he seems promising. However his style of play is completely different than Bernardo Silva.

I don't know much about him but I've heard he's very highly rated.

The Coupe de France final is on tonight at 8 between Angers and PSG. I didn't think it was being broadcast over here but it turns out TV5 are showing it. There will be French commentary, but it's better than nothing. :cool:

I don't fancy Angers' chances. I think PSG will win by 3 goals.

Mr.Nice Guy

PSG have won the cup after a 1-0 win over Angers. It was an own goal from Issa Cissokho that proved the difference. It wasn't the one-sided game I expected but PSG probably deserved the win, even though the goal was jammy. Cavani didn't have a great game and missed some decent chances.

It means 6th placed Bordeaux take Ligue 1's final Europa League place.

Mr.Nice Guy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Great signing for City. Interesting to see who plays there for Monaco next season. I actually hope this sees Allan Saint-Maximin get a chance. He did well on loan at Bastia even though the club were relegated, and he may flourish if Monaco use him. Massive shoes to fill though.

Saint-Maximin today scored both goals for France in their 2-0 win over New Zealand at the U-20 World Cup. The second goal was a contender for goal of the tournament:

https://twitter.com/JoeRazorback/status/868719094664761344

Very talented player.

Last significant action tonight as Lorient face Troyes in the second leg of the relegation/promotion play-off. It's live on BT Sport 1 tonight at 8. Lorient are at home and trailing 2-1.

Team news:

Lorient XI: Lecomte - Moreira, Ciani, Peybernes, Le Goff - Philippoteaux, Mvuemba, Lautoa, Mesloub - Waris, Moukandjo

Troyes XI: Samassa - Cordoval, Herelle, Giraudon, Obiang - Xavier, Azamoum - Grandsir, Dingome, Darbion - Niane

I think with Waris and Moukandjo starting up top Lorient can turn this around. I hope they stay up.

Mr.Nice Guy

0-0 at half-time. Moukandjo put a header against the post. Waris has been a threat too. Away goals apply in this game so a 1-0 win for Lorient would be enough. They have 45 minutes to save themselves.

Update: Full-Time and it ends 0-0. Troyes secure promotion and take the final spot in Ligue 1 next season.

In retrospect that header against the post from Moukandjo proved crucial. They had other chances in the second half but Troyes just about deserved it.

Mr.Nice Guy

I did a Team of the Half-Season back in December; now that the season is officially over I decided to do my overall Team of the Season. Here's what I went with:


Goalkeeper: I am sticking with Stephane Ruffier. While the second half of the season wasn't as strong as his first, he was still very reliable whenever I saw him. Trapp did well when he came in for Areola at PSG but he missed too many games overall. Subasic did well but had some clangers in him. Pele, Reynet, Lopes, Cardinale and Lafont all had good performances, but Ruffier takes it for me.

Right-back: Again I am sticking with Ricardo Pereira of Nice who impressed me. Sidibe had some good moments for Monaco but I find him suspect defensively. Meunier is a player I like but doesn't always feature for PSG.

Centre-backs: Yet again I am sticking with the two I went with back in December: Kamil Glik and Dante. Both have been great signings for their clubs (Glik was the signing of the season imo) and I think they were instrumental in their teams finishing 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Left-back: Here's one where I've made a change. I went with Guingamp's Fernando Marcal back in December on the back of his high number of assists. While he's done well going forward, I've decided to give the spot ultimately to Monaco's Benjamin Mendy. I left out Mendy last time because of his temperament issues, which are still a concern, and I do think he has lapses in his defending, but he's too good offensively to leave out.

Wingers: I've stuck with Thomas Lemar and Bernard Silva. Both players were a joy to watch this season, in particular Silva. I think Man City got a great deal in acquiring his services next season.

Central midfield: This was the hardest position to pick from. There were four outstanding candidates that particularly stood out: Seri, Fabinho, Bakayoko and Verratti. Last time I went with Seri and Bakayoko. I honestly think a case can be made for all of them.

In the end I went with Jean-Michael Seri and Marco Verratti. In truth, one of the reasons was that it's hard to choose between Fabinho and Bakayoko over who was more influential so I decided to leave them both out. :pac: I do think Seri was exceptional for Nice though with the way he pulled the strings for them this season. And I think Verratti has been world class for PSG this season.

Strikers: With two to choose, one spot was straightforward: you can't leave out Edinson Cavani. He was top scorer and deserves it for that alone. I do have reservations about his finishing as he does miss a lot of chances by the standards of elite strikers, but his movement and instincts are most definitely elite level.

The final spot in December I gave to Nice's Alassane Plea but he suffered a season-ending injury shortly after that so he's out of the equation. There are a number of other contenders: Mbappe was immense for Monaco, especially considering he was used sparingly for a lot of games. Falcao had a great season too. Gomis did well.

But I've decided to go for the second top scorer in the league: Alexandre Lacazette. He had a great second half of the season for Lyon and got his 100th goal for the club in what looks like his final game for them. I look forward to seeing where he ends up, assuming he moves on.

My team of the season 2016/17:

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S. Ruffier (Saint-Etienne)

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R. Pereira (Nice)----K. Glik (Monaco)---Dante (Nice)---B. Mendy (Monaco)

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M. Verratti (PSG)

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J. M. Seri (Nice)

---

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B. Silva (Monaco)

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T. Lemar (Monaco)-

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A. Lacazette (Lyon)

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E. Cavani (PSG)

---

My Manager of the Season: Leonardo Jardim (Monaco)

I think it has to be Jardim. He broke PSG's dominance and did it playing some exceptional football, as well as taking Monaco to the last four of the Champions League.


My Player of the Season: Bernardo Silva (Monaco)

Such a clever footballer, technically superb, who produced big moments for Monaco when they were needed.


My Young Player of the Season: Kylian Mbappe (Monaco)

I think it has to be Mbappe. I hoped to see him make strides this season and he did way better than I ever expected. Brilliant player. I probably should have had him in my team of the season.


My Disappointment of the Season: Grzegorz Krychowiak

Hasn't contributed anything of note and a lot of that is down to lack of opportunities. Makes you wonder why PSG pay big money for players to just be spectators.


Most looking forward to next season: I'm keen to see what other players Marseille bring in. They have talked a big game so let's see who arrives in the summer.

Also interested to see how PSG respond to a disappointing league season and a humiliating exit in Europe.

What players will still be there at Monaco? Will Jardim still be there? Can they mount a strong title defence?

It should be a great season again in 2017/18. Can't wait. :cool: