Ligue 1 Superthread 2016/17

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and Monaco win it 5-0. Excellent performance from Monaco who were comfortable throughout. Mbappe was the MOTM for sure. Falcao and Mendy also played very well. Only downside for Monaco is it looked like Boschilia picked up an injury. Metz were awful and Didillon kept the score down with some good saves in the second half.

Total Saturday results:

Guingamp 2-1 Lyon
Nancy 0-3 Montpellier
Lille 1-2 Angers
Dijon 2-0 Caen
Toulouse 4-1 Bastia
Monaco 5-0 Metz

Toulouse are on a roll at the moment. Andy Delort's third goal in 3 games since he came back to Ligue 1 from Tigres. I heard Bastia had two sent off. They look in a lot of trouble. Surprising to me that Lille lost at home to Angers.

Here's the top 3 as it stands:

1: Monaco - 58 points
2: PSG - 55 points
3: Nice - 52 points (they play away to Rennes tomorrow)

Looks like Monaco are the team to beat. All those experts who said Man City landed an easy draw in the Champions League may want to rethink that view.

Johner

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Looks like Monaco are the team to beat. All those experts who said Man City landed an easy draw in the Champions League may want to rethink that view.

I had meant to put a few quid on Monaco to qualify at 3/1 last week but forgot. Best price 5/2 now.

Mr.Nice Guy

Nice drew with Rennes 2-2, leaving them 5 points behind Monaco and 2 points behind PSG. It could have been worse though because they were 2-0 down in the match.

Saint-Etienne beat Lorient 4-0 with Ruffier making his return in goal. Good news for them before the Europa League game with United.

Nantes vs Marseille is the evening game on BT Sport 3 tonight (kick-off 8 pm). Teams are in:

Nantes XI: Riou; Dubois, Djidji, Carlos, Lima; Pardo, Gillet, Rongier, Thomasson; Sala, Stepinski.

Marseille XI: Pele; Sakai, Fanni, Rolando, Evra; Lopez, Vainqueur, Sanson; Cabella, Gomis, Payet.

Thauvin is on the bench for Marseille. He was poor away to Metz when Marseille lost. Evra should make a difference at the back. Overall looks a strong enough Marseille side.

I thought Sala did good for Nantes away to Rennes a few weeks ago. They need a good game from him. I don't think Nantes have played since losing at home to Nancy so it will be interesting to see if that result has damaged their confidence.

I will go for Marseille to win it 2-0.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-0 Nantes! Diego Carlos. Awful defending from Marseille, faiiling to clear the ball when they had ample opportunity.

Update: 2-0 Nantes! Stepinski with a lovely goal! Nantes only scored 5 goals at home all season and they already have 2 inside 20 minutes. Here it is...

https://twitter.com/GeorgeBisharas/status/830876271760515073

Update II: Super save by Pele from a Stepinski header to keep Marseille in the game. Garcia looking to make a double change already and we're at just 28 minutes. Cabella off, Thauvin on; Lopez off, Zambo Anguissa on.

Half-Time and Nantes lead 2-0. Nantes have been great, applying a lot of pressure all over the park. Sala and Stepinski have been good. I've also been impressed with Djidji in defence who made some good challenges. Marseille have been woeful - no shots on target in that half for a team chasing a European place. If ever a team was guaranteed a bollocking at half-time, it's this one.

- bo -

This is great viewing I must say Stepinski has made an absolute show of them for the second.

Still far from over, Gomis has had a couple of sniffs of goal and is bound to put one away.

Also, shows how tight is in the bottom half when a win takes us from 17th up to 12th!

Mr.Nice Guy

Gomis gets his goal at last. Is the comeback on?

Mr.Nice Guy

OMG!

Nantes make it 3-1 almost instantly.

Thomasson scored it.

Johner

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Gomis gets his goal at last. Is the comeback on?

No. :pac:

Mr.Nice Guy

3-2. Gomis again.

Is the comeback o...wait, never mind.

Update: Now Gomis going off injured. Every time Marseille seem about to come back into it, something disastrous happens. Hope that doesn't end Gomis's season.

Johner

Very enjoyable game, there's a few more goals in this as well!

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and Nantes win it 3-2. A very fun match. I didn't expect many goals in this one. Nantes deserving of the win. I think Gomis going off was a hammer blow for Marseille. If he is out for the rest of the season, I think they're screwed. Might be worth giving Robbie Keane a call!

A lot of players with big performances for Nantes: Sala, Rongier, Thomasson, most of them really. For Marseille, only Pele and Gomis will likely escape criticism. Maybe Zambo Anguissa as well.

Nantes jump up to 12th with the win. Really exciting in that bottom half of the table.

Mr.Nice Guy

It's being reported tonight that Marco Bielsa will be Lille's new manager from next season. Not sure how it will turn out but it should be interesting.

iroced

Just spotted this thread. Great to see some interest for my domestic league on boards :cool:.

callaway92 wrote: »

Man I've watched so much Ligue 1 over the last 5 years and this year quality wise is the worst season I can remember. Obviously it's nice for Nice/Monaco to give it a go but it's been really really poor.

I'm following L1 for 25/30 years as far as I can remember and I don't agree. This season is by far the most exciting and interesting in the last 15 years. With many teams playing nice attacking football and not the parking the bus tactics we've suffered from for ages...

Monaco are transformed this year (compared to last). Favre's Nice are a joy to watch. Emery's PSG is eventually clicking on (we've seen the best of it tonight against Barça). Garcia's Marseille is inconsistent (crap defence & decent attack) but will come good. Christian Gourcuff is expected to break the spell that impedes Rennes to progress (he's doing OK so far considering the inner mess at the club he's slowly but hopefully surely sorting out). Kombouaré is doing some great work in Guingamp. Lyon are yo-yoing but have great potential upfront. Saint-Etienne are interesting when they put in high intensity games (e.g. their recent wins over Lyon & Lorient). Even my Montpellier team, despite some crazy management from our outdated boss) can be exciting enough to watch upfront. etc...

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Surprising to me that Lille lost at home to Angers.

Yeah but it seems their coach "had to" play several of the many recent winter market signings they bought to the detriment of the balance of the team...

- bo -

Saw this during the week and thought it was interesting, the league table since Conceicao took over. Saw the full version but can't find it again, Rennes rock bottom with 0 wins.

Now if only Girard wasn't in charge for the 16 games prior to this...

Mr.Nice Guy

Bastia vs Monaco is the live game tonight on BT Sport ESPN (k.o. 7.45). Teams are in:

Bastia XI: Leca - Djiku, Keita, El Kaoutari, Marange, Bengtsson - Mostefa, Oniangue, Coulibaly - Danic, S.Diallo.

Monaco XI: Subasic - Toure, Jemerson, Glik, Mendy - Silva, Moutinho, Bakayoko, Lemar - Falcao, Germain.

I guess no Saint-Maximin for Bastia since Monaco are his parent club. Shame because I love watching him. No Squillaci, Cahuzac or Crivelli either.

Not a full-strength line-up from Monaco as Fabinho is on the bench, but still looks very strong. Mbappe is on the bench too; hopefully we get to see him at some stage.

I think Monaco will win this pretty well and they really ought to. I'll back the away team to win handily by 3 goals.

Mr.Nice Guy

Bastia take the lead! Diallo with the goal.

It's a deserved lead too. Monaco have been so bad. Can't even pass the ball properly.

Deub

Monaco is now playing better. It was about time.

Mr.Nice Guy

Half-Time and it's 1-0 to Bastia. Monaco have been a shambles. That's easily the worst I've seen them play this season. Mendy has been woeful at left-back; Bakayoko, who I've been a big fan of this season, doesn't look like his normal self - passes going astray, no fight, so bad; Germain has offered nothing. Lemar and Silva have been decent but overall Monaco were really poor. I don't know if they have one eye on the Man City game or what.

I think Jardim needs to act now. Get Moutinho and Germain off and put on Fabinho and Mbappe. If Mendy doesn't improve, take him off and put Sidibe on. Even a draw in this game has to be considered failure. This is a Bastia team in 19th position without their key players. Shocking stuff.

Mr.Nice Guy

Equaliser! Silva! Game on!

- bo -

Very good header for the equaliser there. Here's Mbappé...

Mr.Nice Guy

As poor as Monaco have been overall, Silva has been terrific.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and it ends 1-1. The point puts Monaco four clear of PSG, but really they should have been counting on all 3 points for this game. Monaco were so bad in the first half and while they picked it up in the second half, particularly in the last twenty minutes, a draw I'd say was the right result.

Silva impressed me with his urgency and he got a lovely goal as well. I was disappointed with almost all other Monaco players though. Mendy especially was awful. I think he even committed a foul throw at one stage.

I was cautiously optimistic about Monaco's chances against Man City but after that performance I'm concerned for them. If they play like this at the Etihad they will get smashed. PSG went into the Barca game in mixed form and they stepped it up so there is that to cling to...

Mr.Nice Guy

Balotelli was given a straight red card in Nice's game with Lorient, apparently for dissent. I haven't seen the incident but it's caused a lot of bewilderment online and many are saying it's harsh. I imagine we'll hear more on this. That red means no player has been sent off more times this season in Europe's top 5 leagues, but I'm pretty sure one of those reds was rescinded.

Nice still won the game 1-0 and are up to second place, 3 points behind Monaco; that should be temporary though as PSG play Toulouse at home tomorrow and a win will take them into second and a point behind Monaco. Here's all of Saturday's scores:

Caen 0-1 Lille
Angers 1-0 Nancy
Metz 1-1 Nantes
Lorient 0-1 Nice
Marseille 2-0 Rennes

Good win for Lille. They were in 17th, a place above Caen, before the game, but now they're up to 12th. I reckon Caen will be one of the teams to go down.

- bo -

It was an absolutely ridiculous end to the Metz-Nantes match last night. Metz are probably the worst side I've seen us play all season. Didn't threaten all night. Then one punt into the box in stoppage time, and for some bizarre reason Vizcarrondo puts his hand across the striker's face and he goes down for a peno. 1-1 and two points absolutely f*cked away.

HalloweenJack

Bielsa to be the Lille manager for next season. Will be interesting to see how long he lasts.

Mr.Nice Guy

Today's results:

Montpellier 2-1 Saint-Etienne
Lyon 4-2 Dijon
Bordeaux 3-0 Guingamp

Not been a good week for Saint-Etienne. Strong win for Bordeaux; I thought that game would be close. Lyon did well to turn things around against Dijon as they were 2-1 down going into the final ten minutes.

PSG vs Toulouse is the evening game on BT Sport 1 (k.o. at 8). Been looking forward to this one. PSG should be on a big high after the Barca game, but Toulouse have been in good form since Andy Delort signed for them. Teams are in:

PSG XI: Trapp; Aurier, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Maxwell; Motta, Nkunku, Rabiot; Lucas, Cavani, Draxler

Toulouse XI: Lafont; Amian, Diop, Jullien, Moubandje; Blin, Pi; Jean, Trejo, Braithwaite; Delort

Emery's made some changes from the Barca game. Different full-backs as Meunier and Kurzawa are left out. Verratti is injured. Di Maria isn't in the squad so makes way for Lucas.

Toulouse have some exciting youngsters. Lafont has done well in goal and is only 18; I'm a fan of Diop and Jullien and they're 20 and 23 respectively. I hope they give a good account of themselves. Oscar Trejo's been in good form, and Delort's got 3 goals in 3 games since arriving.

I'm hoping for a good game. I think it's impossible to imagine anything other than a home win, although Toulouse did beat PSG 2-0 in the reverse fixture earlier this season. My prediction tonight is PSG win by two goals.

Mr.Nice Guy

0-0 at Half-Time. Toulouse have defended well. Jullien and Diop have impressed. Verratti is actually on the bench. I thought he was nursing his injury. I'm sure Emery would prefer not to use him but his passing would be ideal to unlock Toulouse's defensive unit. We may see him at some stage. Rabiot has done well for PSG. Not a lot else of note though. I'd love it if Toulouse could hang on here.

Update: Verratti is indeed coming on, replacing Nkunku.

Update II: Lafont misses a cross from a corner and Marquinhos's header is going towards the goal - until his teammate Kimpembe inadvertently gets in the way and blocks it. Still 0-0. Pastore now on for Draxler.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and it ends 0-0. Emery was furious at the end. This was a great chance for PSG to go a point behind Monaco - instead they are 3 points behind them, and Monaco have a far better goal difference. PSG have gone ahead of Nice but only by goal difference. Very exciting up there at the minute.

The game wasn't great from an attacking point of view, but as a fan of Diop and Jullien I enjoyed them do great against top class opposition. Moubandje at left-back also did well for Toulouse. For PSG, Rabiot performed well and Verratti was very good when he came on but they just didn't have the quality needed in the last third. Di Maria was missed; Draxler didn't do well. Great performance from Toulouse and they deserved their point.

chopperbyrne

PSG just let me down on a ten team accumulator.

Mr.Nice Guy

Nantes beat Dijon 3-1 today. I didn't see that game but I did catch the game between Nice and Montpellier. Nice have gone joint top tonight (behind Monaco on goal difference) after beating them 2-1.

It was quite a good game. Montpellier were the better side in the first half and deservedly went in front. Boudebouz caused Nice all sorts of problems and was a thorn in their side all game; he even hit the post late on with a great free kick. Nice were poor in the first half but picked it up in the second half. Cyprien was their best player I'd say. A few disappointing performances; I thought Belhanda was a liability. The big story of the night was Mickael Le Bihan coming on as a sub when Nice were 1-0 down after 15 months out with a broken leg, and then he scored both goals to win them the game. He might be a key player for Nice with Plea out for the rest of the season.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results:

Angers 3-0 Bastia
Lille 2-3 Bordeaux
Nancy 0-0 Toulouse
Rennes 1-0 Lorient
Guingamp 1-2 Monaco

Monaco are back on top with a lead of 3 points, which is effectively 4 points when you factor in their goal difference. Great win for Bordeaux who were leading 1-0 before Lille turned it around to lead 2-1, only for Bordeaux to win it with 2 Adam Ounas goals. Things continuing to look grim for Bastia's survival hopes.

Really looking forward to tomorrow's evening game between Marseille and PSG. I think that could be a very tricky game for PSG. Marseille's home form has been very good, although Gomis will be a big miss for them.

HalloweenJack

Depay having a stormer for Lyon, though he's driving himself nuts looking for a hat-trick. Lyon thrashing Metz here, Valbuena just made it 5-0.

Johner

PSG 4-0 up away to Marseille.

Johner

5-1 now.

Mr.Nice Guy

I was surprised PSG mauled Marseille the way they did. I thought that looked one of their trickier fixtures in the title run-in. Verratti orchestrated things beautifully and PSG played some lovely stuff at times. The second goal scored by Cavani was a lovely goal with a sublime assist from Pastore...

https://twitter.com/RoyNemer/status/835970196921847809

Evra had a very tough evening and was subbed early; the Marseille defence was awful and struggled all night with set-pieces. Fanni was particularly woeful, even though he later scored Marseille's goal. I thought Payet had a decent game, though he was defensively poor for the fourth goal. Defence needs to be the priority for Marseille's transfers in the summer; need some young blood brought in.

I didn't see the Lyon game but good to hear Depay is finding his confidence. I wonder can he rehabilitate his career the way Falcao has done at Monaco.

Saint-Etienne lost 1-0 at home to Caen too which was a big surprise. Perhaps their Europa League exit has hit them hard.

Mr.Nice Guy

Bordeaux and Lyon drew 1-1 tonight. It was quite a good game but the officials had a shocker. Bordeaux went in front through Vada but he was offside; then later in the half Malcom was fouled in the box but the ref booked him for diving. Lyon performed better in the second half when Valbuena came on and he crossed for Mammana to head in the equaliser.

I thought Kamano and Laborde played well for Bordeaux; Rafael was probably Lyon's best player - he was dangerous going forward and made some great blocks near the end of the game. I thought Depay was poor with his end product. Lacazette blew a good chance in the first half.

As for the title race, PSG are at home to Nancy tomorrow while Nice are away to Dijon.

Mr.Nice Guy

Kylian Mbappe scored two goals tonight as Monaco beat Nantes 4-0. The other goals came from Germain and a Fabinho penalty. It's great to see Mbappe doing so well. He had a chance to get a hat-trick but the keeper saved well. I think Bernardo Silva was the MOTM though. He was brilliant and the way he set up Mbappe's second was great. I thought Bakayoko and Fabinho in the centre were quite poor though. A lot of loose passes and getting caught in possession. That would be a concern with the Champions League 2nd leg not too far off.

Despite the scoreline, I thought Nantes did okay. Nakoulma caused Monaco plenty of problems up front. Nantes had chances but they weren't able to take them, whereas Monaco were ruthless with theirs.

PSG beat Nancy 1-0 yesterday while Nice won away 1-0 at Dijon so things remain the same at the top with Monaco keeping a 3 point lead over PSG and Nice.

Marseille beat Lorient 4-1 earlier as well. I didn't see the game but Payet got on the scoresheet and was said to have played very well. Lorient look certs to go down now. They're in bottom place, 3 points behind Bastia, and their next game is home to PSG.

Overall, things are looking very interesting going into the final 10 games of the season.

Richard Hillman

With a name like Kylian he must have some Irish in him. Sign him up

- bo -

Bit sick watching that last night, I though Nantes more than matched Monaco for the first 43/44 minutes, then two sucker punches in the last two minutes of the half killed the game. After that it was a case of trying to keep the scoreline down. Mbappe is something else, can't give him an inch.

Not been a great week between that hammering and failing to beat a 10-man Bastia midweek in the rearranged fixture. Montpellier next weekend is the third away fixture in succession before a run of games that includes playing Nice, St. Etienne and Bordeaux in the space of 3 weeks - always improving but still not safe yet...

Mr.Nice Guy

Nice lost some ground in the title race earlier, drawing 2-2 at home to Caen. On the plus side they were 2-0 down so they got something. Balotelli got one of Nice's goals. He had a quiet game overall. Worst moment for Nice was an awful-looking injury to one of their best players this season, Wylan Cyprien. He landed awkwardly and you could see his leg buckle horribly. I groaned when I saw the replay. Really hope it doesn't turn out to be a bad one but I'd fear the worst.

Marseille beat Angers 3-0 in the evening game. I didn't see that one but Payet got a few assists I believe.

Monaco are at home to Bordeaux tomorrow. That should be an interesting one as Bordeaux are in decent form.

Johner

Lovely goal from Cavani there.

Mr.Nice Guy

Johner wrote: »

Lovely goal from Cavani there.

Looked like it but it was an own goal from Jeannot. I caught this game and PSG weren't great. Maybe they were still thinking about the Barcelona game. Lorient played some decent stuff at times but PSG were worthy of the win. Biggest talking point from the game was Aurier taking an absolute age to come on as a sub. Genuinely must have taken him 4 or 5 minutes to make sure he had his kit on and his jewellery off.

Depay scored a goal of the season contender for Lyon against Toulouse. I didn't see this game and I instantly regretted that after seeing the strike:

https://twitter.com/lanadawood/status/840981409007357953

I did catch Monaco's 2-1 win over Bordeaux on Saturday. Mbappe got another goal for himself. I think that's 10 for him now in the league which is great for a teenager who spent most of the season as a sub. Moutinho was Monaco's best player I thought, and he scored a beautiful goal:

https://twitter.com/pbarata95/status/840614159511355394

One big concern though was Subasic was involved in a mistake for Rolan's Bordeaux goal and that's the last thing you want with Man City on the way, who he had a howler against in the first leg. With Glik suspended, and Subasic's form being poor, I don't have much hope of Monaco progressing. I think they can win the leg, but not the tie as I can't see them keeping a clean sheet.

In some of the other results, Guingamp destroyed Bastia 5-0 and Bastia are looking likely to go down. They had another player sent off in the game and their red card tally is ridiculously high this year. Good win for Nantes away to Montpellier, winning 3-2; Nakoulma got a brace and I remember he impressed me in the last Nantes game I saw. Lille winning away to Nancy boosts their survival hopes and leaves Nancy in trouble.

Next week's fixtures look very exciting. Nice away to Nantes is going to be tough and Nice can't afford to drop more points if they want to stay in the title hunt; Monaco away to a Caen side fighting to stay up is another potential banana skin; Nancy vs Lorient has big implications at the bottom; and then there's the big evening game on Sunday: PSG vs Lyon, which could be a cracker. It might be a big ask for Lyon though so soon after the Europa League 2nd leg away to Roma. Plenty to look forward to.

- bo -

Another great result on Saturday evening. Conceded to an 85th minute free-kick to level it, so down the other end we go on 89 minutes to clinch it :cool: decent game that.

This weekend I've seen Bohs come back from 0-2 to win 3-2, Nantes win by the same scoreline. Rovers lose, Bordeaux lose and Rennes only nick a draw at home - it's been a cracking football weekend

I'll be missing Nantes-Nice next Saturday unfortunately though - made plans and the kick-off then got changed to the Saturday 4pm slot. It's one thing I don't like about the league, they don't confirm the TV games far enough in advance and often within a couple of weeks of the fixtures.

Mr.Nice Guy

Mbappe got two goals for Monaco today as they beat Caen 3-0. I didn't see the game but that's a great result for Monaco. Puts a lot of pressure on PSG who will face Lyon at 8 pm tonight. Lyon will be on a high after beating Roma on Thursday and Monaco are 6 points clear of PSG with a much better goal difference, so PSG can't afford to slip up.

Amazing result yesterday as bottom club Lorient came from 2-0 down away to fellow strugglers Nancy to win 3-2. They would have looked doomed with a loss but they're now in with a shot of survival. Looks like Nice are out of the title hunt after a 1-1 draw with Nantes. They're seven points off Monaco now. I think they just need to make sure they secure third place which they should, providing they don't collapse.

Mr.Nice Guy

Ligue 1 action returned tonight with Guingamp beating Nancy 1-0. It was a pretty dull game in truth. Diagne was sent off for Nancy in the first half which I thought was harsh, and that killed the contest. Guingamp eventually got the goal in the second half through Privat. Nancy keeper N'Dy Assembe played well and made some good stops. Salibur did well for Guingamp. Marcal impressed at left-back too. Between Marcal and Monaco's Mendy for best left-back in the league I'd say.

Heads up that tomorrow is the French League Cup final between PSG and Monaco. The game will be live on BT Sport 3, with kick off at 8 pm. Fabinho will be missing for Monaco I believe through suspension; Moutinho should replace him in midfield. Going to be very interesting to see what happens and there's a lot of pressure on Emery at the minute. There should be plenty of talent on show: Mbappe, Cavani, Bakayoko, Verratti, Silva, Draxler. I can't wait. I want Monaco to win but I have a feeling PSG will do the business. I'll predict 2-1 to PSG.

irishman86

The race for the title in Ligue 2 is amazing this year

- bo -

irishman86 wrote: »

The race for the title in Ligue 2 is amazing this year

Absolutely. 38,000 sell-out for Lens-Brest earlier today. Hoping that ex-Nantes man Der Zakarian can take Reims up, they're 4th at the moment but only 5 points separating the top 4.

ERG89

PSG have been very impressive here. 2 lovely Cavani goals too.

irishman86

- bo - wrote: »

Absolutely. 38,000 sell-out for Lens-Brest earlier today. Hoping that ex-Nantes man Der Zakarian can take Reims up, they're 4th at the moment but only 5 points separating the top 4.

Have a soft spot for Lens since they challenged back in the day when I was a young lad in France. Them and Nantes would be the two teams I like to see do well

Mr.Nice Guy

I fancied PSG to win the trophy but 4-1 I didn't expect. The opening goal shouldn't have stood because it was offside but PSG were deserving winners. Verratti was outstanding. He had a great assist for one of Cavani's goals with the outside of his foot...

https://twitter.com/Footy_Says/status/848295036034969600

I also thought Di Maria was excellent; he looked iikely to cause problems every time he got on the ball. Cavani scored two great goals but also missed a sitter which is pretty much Cavani in a nutshell. :pac:

Moutinho was largely anonymous in the game and Fabinho was badly missed. I'd say Bernardo Silva was Monaco's best player.

What would worry me from Monaco's point of view is they seemed to be fatigued after the hour mark and I recall that being an issue vs Man City. They have some tough games coming up in April and a trickier run-in than PSG do - who won't have to worry about the Champions League. I really hope Monaco don't run out of gas on the home stretch in the title race.