Ligue 1 Superthread 2017/18

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results in full:

Monaco 2-0 Caen
Amiens 1-0 Bordeaux
Angers 0-1 Toulouse
Metz 1-2 Dijon
Nantes 2-1 Guingamp
Rennes 1-0 Lille

Monaco did what they had to do and Falcao got another goal from the penalty spot. Nantes have climbed to third place as their great run continues. Surprising loss for Bordeaux to Amiens.

Good to see Issa Diop got the winner for Toulouse away to Angers; he's a very promising centre-back and was recently named Toulouse captain despite being just 20 years of age. He's one to watch.

Lille suffer another disappointing result leaving them second from bottom and Bielsa under even more pressure. Metz meanwhile are now bottom with a record that reads 1 win and 9 losses.

I can't wait for the game of the weekend tomorrow in Ligue 1 as Marseille host PSG in the evening game. That will be a great atmosphere. Nice are at home to Strasbourg and Troyes host Lyon in the earlier games.

Mr.Nice Guy

Marseille vs PSG kicks off at 8 on BT Sport 1. Teams are in:

Marseille XI: Mandanda - Sakai, Rami, Rolando, Amavi - Anguissa, L. Gustavo - Thauvin, Payet, Ocampos - Mitroglou.

PSG XI: Areola - Meunier, Marquinhos, T. Silva, Kurzawa - Verratti, T. Motta, Rabiot - Mbappe, Cavani, Neymar.

I would be worried if I were a Marseille fan. PSG should get a lot of joy against that central defence and I expect PSG to win and win well.

Nice suffered another disappointing result earlier losing 2-1 at home to Strasbourg, while Lyon heavily beat Troyes 5-0 with Depay getting a hat-trick! Mariano Diaz and Bertrand Traore got the other goals.

Mr.Nice Guy

Marseille lead! Long range strike from Gustavo.

I thought when I saw it first that Areola should have done better but there was a wicked curl on the strike to be fair.

Mr.Nice Guy

Neymar equalises! Lovely finish.

Update: 1-1 at the break. It's been a good, competitive half. Marseille have battled well while PSG could offer more. Having said that, Cavani did miss a great chance from a few yards out. Gustavo has done well for Marseille. Mbappe had a difficult half.

Mr.Nice Guy

Mbappe has been very poor tonight. It might be the worst game I've seen him play (watch him get the winner now).

Mr.Nice Guy

Thauuuuuvvvvvvviiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnn.

Rabiot should have done better there. Njie did well against him.

Update: Di Maria on now for Mbappe. Emery should have made that change 15 or 20 minutes ago.

Mr.Nice Guy

Neymar has been sent off. Second yellow after an altercation with Ocampos who is also booked.

Ocampos had thrown himself to the ground as if he was given a headbutt. There may have been minimal contact but he made a meal of it.

Update: Here it is...

https://twitter.com/quickplaysportf/status/922203141881425920

Mr.Nice Guy

CCCCCCAAAAAVVVVVVAAAAANNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

F*CKING HELL! INCROYABLE!

2-2!

Mr.Nice Guy

It's all over. Fantastic entertainment. Neymar sent off and Cavani with an incredible free-kick equaliser in stoppage time.

I'd say a draw was the right result in the end. Credit to Marseille as I didn't expect them to fare well tonight. Gustavo was good in midfield and Amavi impressed at left-back.

PSG's weren't at their best and Mbappe had a shocker. Rabiot was probably PSG's best player, but then he was at fault for the Thauvin goal. PSG's lead at the top is now a 4 point one over Monaco.

Update: Here is the Cavani goal. It's stoppage time, his team are 2-1 down and also down to 10 men, then he does this:

https://twitter.com/Footy_Says/status/922204840691994624

- bo -

Nobody start a French League Cup megathread. Thanks

Mr.Nice Guy

- bo - wrote: »

Nobody start a French League Cup megathread. Thanks

I saw that result and was very surprised. Did Ranieri field a weakened team? I couldn't find info on the line-ups.

One of the most exciting games of Ligue 1 coming up on Friday as PSG host Nice. I think Nice have the players to cause problems but they're in such rotten form, and PSG will be looking to bounce back from the disappointing showing against Marseille. I think Favre will have a tough task getting anything from that.

- bo -

A weakened team alright bus still one that should easily be seeing off a team rooted to the bottom of Ligue 2 without a win all season. 2 goals down after 5 minutes and 3 down after 20 is disgraceful.

I have a sneaky feeling Nice may cause PSG some problems later. Which means they'll probably be 4 down by half-time. I'll be keeping an eye on it from Dalymount tonight. God it's great being part of the title race :D

Mr.Nice Guy

Teams for tonight's game are in:

PSG XI: Areola; Dani Alves, Kimpembe, Thiago Silva, Berchiche; Verratti, Rabiot, Draxler; Di Maria, Cavani, Mbappe.

Nice XI: Cardinale; Jallet, Marlon, Dante, le Marchand, Burner; Mendy, Lusamba, Lees-Melou; Sneijder; Balotelli.

Disappointed that Saint-Maximin is on the bench for Nice but I wasn't expecting Favre to be too offensive.

Emery in contrast has picked a very attack-minded team despite Neymar missing out due to his red card against Marseille. Motta wasn't going to feature due to injury but starting the quartet of Draxler, Di Maria, Cavani and Mbappe surprises me. They obviously fancy putting this out of sorts Nice side to the sword and I reckon they will.

Mr.Nice Guy

Cavani scores after just two minutes. Di Maria with the set piece cross. This could be a long night for Nice.

Update: Cavani gets his second. Lovely goal as he takes down a lovely ball over the top from Di Maria, then rounds the goalkeeper to score.

Half-Time: PSG go in 2-0 in front and are in total control of the game. Nice have been restricted to off-target shots from long range. Di Maria has done well for PSG - 2 assists and he should have scored too after good work from Mbappe. Draxler has impressed as well. Nice have been very poor and aren't offering anything in attack. I think Saint-Maximin should be introduced to give them something going forward.

Mr.Nice Guy

3-0 to PSG. Looks like a Dante O.G. Dani Alves had claimed it. That should be the game although it already looked over at 2-0.

Update: Really bad miss from Mbappe after excellent work from Draxler. Mbappe has been better than he was against Marseille but still not great really.

Full-Time: PSG win 3-0 and the result never looked in doubt. Nice were very poor and their passing was so bad. Sneijder was disappointing. I thought Balotelli tried hard up top on his own but was feeding off nothing.

Di Maria played well for PSG and Draxler was always a danger. Cavani had a very good game too: 2 goals and an assist. PSG now go 7 points clear over Monaco, who have a tough game against Bordeaux tomorrow.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results:

Bordeaux 0-2 Monaco
Caen 1-0 Troyes
Dijon 1-0 Nantes
Guingamp 1-1 Amiens
Montpellier 0-1 Rennes
Strasbourg 2-2 Angers

Some decent results for a few of the bottom half teams. Dijon beating Nantes is a particular surprise, as is Rennes getting a win away to in-form Montpellier. It means Nice amazingly are in the position of 17th tonight.

Good win for Monaco away to Bordeaux. I thought that might be a potential banana skin. Keita Balde got another goal and seems to be settling in well.

Great chance for Lyon to go third tomorrow as you'd fancy them to beat Metz at home. The evening game with Bielsa's Lille taking on his former club Marseille now looks even more important as defeat for Lille leaves them 19th and with a 4 point gap to recover.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lyon beat Metz 2-0 in the earlier game as expected, while Toulouse and Saint-Etienne played out a goalless draw.

Lille vs Marseille is about to start. Teams are in:

Lille XI: Maignan; Ballo-Toure, Alonso, Amadou, Ie; Maia, Mendes, El Ghazi, Benzia, Araujo; Pepe.

Marseille XI: Mandanda; Evra, Rolando, Rami, Sakai; Luiz Gustavo, Zambo Anguissa, Ocampos, Sanson, Thauvin; Mitroglou.

I fancy Marseille to win by 2 goals.

Mr.Nice Guy

Sanson scores from a Thauvin set-piece. Nightmare start for Lille.

Update: Marseille lead at the break but Lille were the better team in that half. Evra has struggled and is on a yellow card and is running the risk of a red. Mandanda has had to make some good saves. I expected Lille to fold after the goal but to their credit they have responded well.

Full-Time: Marseille hold on to win the game 1-0. Lille played well and had some good chances but Mandanda made good stops and Gustavo headed a late chance off the line. I thought Gustavo had a better second half after a poor first half. Evra was a noticeable liability for Marseille and was substituted in the second half.

Mr.Nice Guy

Rennes vs Bordeaux is coming up at 7.45. Teams are in:

Rennes XI: Koubek; H. Traore, Bensebaini, Gnagnon, Baal; Bourigeaud, Lea-Siliki, Andre, Maouassa; Khazri, Mubele.

Bordeaux XI: Costil; Sabaly, Jovanovic, Toulalan, Gajic; Otavio, Vada, Plasil; Malcom, De Preville, Mendy.

The form would seem to favour Rennes but I think Bordeaux can get something. Bourigeaud is having a good season and is worth keeping an eye on. Maouassa played well in the game with Lille a few weeks ago. Malcom is the star man for Bordeaux and is capable of individual brilliance.

I'm going to sit on the fence and say a 1-1 draw.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-0 to Rennes. Captain Toulalan with an O.G.

Update: Rennes lead at the break. It's been an even game with little between the sides. Neither goalkeeper has had to anything of note. Malcom has threatened with some crosses for Bordeaux, although he's been a bit too casual in possession at times. Rennes have been better with the ball.

Mr.Nice Guy

All over and Rennes win it 1-0. Bordeaux weren't much better in the second half and created very little. They did have a good chance in injury time but Mendy put it wide. In fact Bordeaux didn't manage a single shot on target the whole game. Malcom looked the most likely to make something happen and he had a few free-kicks but they were disappointing.

Rennes are in good form and were worthy of the win. Gnagnon is a player I like a lot in defence. He looks like he has a bright future ahead of him. Bourigeaud had some nice moments. Maouassa didn't have a good game.

Tomorrow has some big games with Angers home to PSG and Monaco at home to Guingamp. The Monaco game will be on BT Sport.

Mr.Nice Guy

PSG have beaten Angers 5-0 away in the earlier kick-off. Mbappe and Cavani got two goals each and Draxler got the other one. That puts them 7 points clear of Monaco who are at home to Guingamp in a game that kicks off at 7 and which is live on BT Sport. Teams are in:

Monaco XI: Subasic; Toure, Glik, Raggi, Jorge; Fabinho, Tielemans; Rony Lopes, Ad.Traore, Keita Balde; Carrillo.

Guingamp XI: Johnsson; Martins-Pereira, Eboa Eboa, Kerbrat, Tabanou; Blas, Deaux, Diallo; Camara, Thuram, Coco.

Looking forward to seeing Keita Balde in action for Monaco as he is in good form. Worth keeping an eye on Guingamp striker Marcus Thuram too who is the son of the legendary Lillian Thuram. He got a goal a few weeks back in a game with Toulouse.

Other games kicking off at 7 are Montpellier vs Amiens, Nantes vs Toulouse and Troyes vs Strasbourg.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-0 Monaco. Carrillo gets the goal. Beautiful passing move finished off with a powerful header.

Update: 2-0. Adama Traore scores. It was the right-back Almamy Toure that set the goal up with some lovely skill. (He also provided the assist for the Carrillo goal)

Update: 3-0 Monaco now. Keita Balde scores after Rony Lopes sets it up for him on a plate. Replays show though that Lopes was offside.

Update: Peno to Monaco now. Carrillo working hard to win the ball in the box and was pushed over. And Fabinho scores (he rarely misses). 4-0 now and the game looks all over before half-time.

Half-Time: Monaco lead 4-0 and have been in complete control. They did major damage to Guingamp down the right flank with right-back Toure having a very good half and Lopes showing good skill too. Carrillo has worked well up top. Balde has used his pace nicely. Tielemans and Fabinho have dominated the midfield. As one-sided a half as you will see.

Mr.Nice Guy

5-0 to Monaco. Adama Traore gets a second goal. It came from that right flank again. Lopes to Almamy Toure who then plays it to Traore for the cool finish.

Update: 6-0 now! Sub Ghezzal - down the right hand side once again - crosses it for Carrillo to head his second.

Full-Time: Monaco win the game 6-0 and played the best football I've seen from them this season. This was reminiscent of the great football served up by Monaco last season. Jardim has done a great job considering all the departures in the summer. It's worth bearing in mind they achieved the win tonight without Falcao, Moutinho and Lemar.

Guingamp were awful and Monaco destroyed them down that right side. Guingamp left-back Tabanou was hauled off at half-time but Monaco continued to dominate there. Almamy Toure and Lopes were very impressive down that side.

Mr.Nice Guy

All Saturday's results:

Angers 0-5 PSG
Monaco 6-0 Guingamp
Montpellier 1-1 Amiens
Nantes 2-1 Toulouse
Troyes 3-0 Strasbourg

Aside from the obviously impressive Monaco and PSG results, I think that's a very good win for Nantes over Toulouse. I thought Nantes might struggle to get a win in that one as Toulouse have notched up a lot of clean sheets of late. Troyes got a very good win over Strasbourg too and they're not far off the top half now.

Big game tomorrow is the evening derby between Saint-Etienne and Lyon. Other games are Nice vs Dijon, Marseille vs Caen and the bottom two clash of Metz vs Lille. If Lille lose that I think Bielsa is a goner.

Mr.Nice Guy

Plenty of interesting results from today. Marseille beat Caen 5-0, Balotelli got the winner for Nice in their 1-0 win over Dijon and then got sent off near the end, while Bielsa got a huge win as Lille beat Metz 3-0 away.

Saint-Etienne vs Lyon is kicking off at 8. Teams are in:

Saint-Etienne XI: Ruffier; Pierre-Gabriel, Theophile, Lacroix, Mbengue; Pajot, Selnaes, Maiga; Hamouma, Bamba, Monnet-Paquet.

Lyon XI: Lopes; Tete, Marcelo, Morel, Marcal; Tousart, Aouar; Fekir, Traore, Memphis; Mariano.

Looking forward to this game. Bamba will be a threat for Saint-Etienne but I can't go against Lyon on current form. Been very impressed with Aouar of late. Going to say Lyon to win by two goals.

martyos121

That La Haine banner at the Stade Guichard is absolutely brilliant.

martyos121

Depay scores from a ASSE corner.

Mr.Nice Guy

OMG Depay scores!

I tell you what that may just be the worst ever corner I have ever seen. It set up a counter attack!

Mr.Nice Guy

Fekir makes it two with a lovely strike.

Mr.Nice Guy

Memphis Depay:

https://twitter.com/philousports/status/927273987704487938


Half-Time: Lyon go in 2-0 in front and are worthy of the lead. Fekir has caused a lot of problems. Still can't believe that corner from Saint-Etienne that resulted in the first goal. Talk about making things difficult for yourself.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lacroix sent off for Saint-Etienne after a bad challenge on Fekir. Terrible start to the half for the home side. Hope Fekir is okay.

Update: 3-0 to Lyon. Mariano Diaz scores from close range. Game over surely.

Update II: 4-0 now! Bertrand Traore with a nice finish with his left foot cutting in from the right.

Mr.Nice Guy

5-0 as Fekir slots home. He does the Messi celebration in front of the Saint Etienne fans, taking off his shirt and showing it to them. They ain't happy to say the least. Game has been halted to get angry fans off the pitch.

These commentators going on about banning Fekir. Please. It's literally the exact same celebration as Messi did in front of the Madrid fans. Supporters are responsible for their own behaviour.

https://twitter.com/fuboTV/status/927294200378482689

Mr.Nice Guy

This game has been suspended for over ten minutes now. There's only a few minutes left of the actual match so they might as well blow the whistle and wrap up the result now. Massive anti-climax to what has been a dramatic game.

Mr.Nice Guy

The match has been abandoned. Wow.

The fifth goal was scored in the 86th minute so I don't know if that result will stand or is the whole thing now a write-off?

martyos121

Just after catching up on it and it’s ridiculous that the BT commentators were blaming Fekir for this.

That celebration was started by Messi and copied a few times since, with no pitch invasions or unruly fans that I can recall. The result should stand and the only punishment that should arise from this is solely on the St. Etienne fans. They were abusing Fekir all game long by the sound of things, you can’t expect a footballer not to react to that.

Jelle1880

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

The match has been abandoned. Wow.

The fifth goal was scored in the 86th minute so I don't know if that result will stand or is the whole thing now a write-off?

Pretty much guaranteed St Etienne will be punished for this, and rightly so. 3-0 forfait to Lyon I'd wager.

Maybe a fine to Fekir to 'even things up'.

Mr.Nice Guy

I was surprised to learn that the match did restart after the TV cameras had stopped rolling. There was a delay of 37 minutes and the referee brought the players out for a few minutes and then blew the whistle. So the 5-0 result may stand after all.

- bo -

Super match, super weekend... right in the middle of it :cool:



Great to have this many points on the board, next 4 games are PSG/Rennes/Monaco/St.Etienne...

Mr.Nice Guy

Rennes have sacked Christian Gourcuff despite the fact they won their last four games and are sitting in tenth. They don't play attractive football and that's one of the reasons a lot of Rennes fans don't seem to be bothered by his dismissal but it feels like a harsh one to me. They have replaced him with Sabri Lamouchi who has been managing in Qatar, has never managed in European football, and whose highest profile job was managing the Ivory Coast at the last World Cup. Talk about a gamble.

Mr.Nice Guy

Amiens are leading Monaco 1-0 at Half-Time. This will be a big blow for Monaco if they lose. Amiens have played some good stuff at times. It's been heavy on fouls but the ref is hardly ever blowing his whistle. Kakuta has been very good for Amiens and got the better of Jemerson for the first goal, providing a lovely assist for Gakpe. Falcao probably had Monaco's best chance firing at the keeper from a tight angle.

In the earlier game, Lille beat Saint-Etienne 3-1. That's a big boost for Bielsa. Saint-Etienne have really gone off the boil the last few weeks.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-1. Jovetic equalises for Monaco after nice work and an assist from Fabinho. Just over twenty minutes to go.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and it ends 1-1. Great result for Amiens and one I'd say they deserve. Kakuta and Konate were impressive.

Monaco were disappointing. They had a chance to cut PSG's lead to one point with PSG playing Nantes tomorrow. Instead it means PSG can go 6 points clear of them now with a win.

- bo -

Lucky for Monaco, PSG are up against Nantes so the lead will remain at 3 points :cool:

*ahem...*

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results:

PSG 4-1 Nantes
Dijon 3-1 Troyes
Guingamp 1-1 Angers
Strasbourg 2-1 Rennes
Toulouse 0-0 Metz

Impressive win for PSG that takes them six points clear. Toulouse's result was particularly disappointing considering Metz were reduced to ten men.

Tomorrow's games are Caen vs Nice, Lyon vs Montpellier and the evening game of Bordeaux vs Marseille. I'm interested in seeing the last game as Bordeaux are coming off three losses and need a win but they're taking on a Marseille side that have been in good form and scoring plenty of goals. I think that could be the game of the weekend in Ligue 1. (Unless I've now jinxed it!)

Mr.Nice Guy

Caen vs Nice ended 1-1 and Lyon vs Montpellier was a stalemate. Caen missed a penalty in their game. I fancied Lyon to take all 3 points in the other game given their scoring exploits of late.

Bordeaux vs Marseille is coming up at 8 pm. Teams are in:

Bordeaux XI: Costil; Sabaly, Toulalan, Lewczuk, Pellenard; Otavio, Lerager, Sankhare; Malcom, De Preville, Kamano.

Marseille XI: Mandanda; Hiroki Sakai, Rami, Rolando, Amavi; Zambo Anguissa, Sanson; Thauvin, Payet, Ocampos; Mitroglou.

Looking forward to seeing how Malcom, Kamano, Thauvin and Ocampos get on. Marseille now know they can go third with a win but they haven't won in Bordeaux in 40 years.

Mr.Nice Guy

What a start for Bordeaux. 1-0 as De Preville scores after Marseille give it away cheaply.

Update: 1-0 at Half-Time. It's been a disappointing half. Sloppy passing from both sides. Payet has had some chances to find a teammate but has been selfish and tried unsuccessfully to do it himself. The viewing experience isn't helped by Jonathan Pearce being on commentary. I find him so annoying.

Mr.Nice Guy

Sanson grabs a stoppage time equaliser. He's probably been Marseille's best player. It was the last kick of the game too.

Bordeaux shot themselves in the foot. Malcom had the ball and rather than take it into the corner he went for goal, got dispossessed and Marseille went the other end and scored. Draw was probably the right result tonight.

I thought it was a disappointing game overall despite the exciting ending. Marseille look short of several players to truly challenge at the top. Mitroglou isn't the kind of striker to be relying on.

No doubt about the big game coming up next weekend: Monaco vs PSG is the Sunday evening game. That one is not to be missed.

Mr.Nice Guy

Amiens beat Lille 3-0 tonight in the rearranged fixture. Big setback for Bielsa following Friday's win over Saint-Etienne. I wouldn't be shocked if tonight's loss turns out to be his last game in charge of the club. They are 19th.

ERG89

https://twitter.com/JuanG_Arango/status/933452646194843648