Ligue 1 Superthread 2018/19

- bo -

Typical. Been all over Nimes and should be out of sight. Didn't let them out of their own half in the first 45. 2 minutes into second half and hey pull it back to 2-1.

- bo -

Unfcukingbelievable, this...

Mr.Nice Guy

- bo - wrote: »

Unfcukingbelievable, this...

Yikes, I saw the score at 2-1 and thought Nantes were on their way to a win.

I turned on the Montpellier vs Monaco game right when Montpellier had a pen in stoppage time to make it 2-2. Looked like Subasic had saved it but the ball just squirmed over the line. Delort so lucky.

https://twitter.com/SanchezZouhir/status/1094625413840756736

Mr.Nice Guy

All of Sunday's early results:

Montpellier 2-2 Monaco
Nantes 2-4 Nimes
Toulouse 1-1 Reims
Guingamp 0-2 Lille
Rennes 3-0 Saint-Etienne

This could be a dream day for Lille with them getting the 3 points they need and also seeing their rivals for the Champions League places Montpellier and Saint-Etienne dropping points.

Rafael Leao got on the scoresheet for Lille once again. That's 6 goals in his last 7 games and 7 goals in 14 overall. He's only 19 years old. Portuguese fans are very excited about him and he looks like a great prospect.

Rennes with that big win was a surprise and moves them 7th and just a point behind St Etienne. While the away side were missing Khazri and M'Vila you'd think that match would have been a lot closer. I do think losing their talented DM Ole Selnaes to that move to China could derail their season. Gradel with another goal for Toulouse; he's been immense for them.

Nice vs Lyon kicks off later at 8pm on BT Sport 1 and if the away side were to lose then Lille will stay 6 points clear in second place. Big game for Lyon. Team news:

Nice XI: Benitez; Burner, Herelle, Dante, Sarr; Cyprien, Tameze, Walter; Saint-Maximin, Maolida, Ganago.

Lyon XI: Lopes; Dubois, Marcelo, Denayer, Mendy; Aouar, Ndombele; Traore, Fekir, Depay; Dembele.

Maolida who came through Lyon's youth ranks starts for Nice.

Lyon team looks full strength. Let's see if they can build on their win over PSG or will it be another inconsistent performance from them.

I'll go for a 2-0 away win.

Mr.Nice Guy

0-0 at Half-Time. Hard to believe as both sides have had chances. Lopes had to make a good save from Ganago in the first minute. Benitez got down well to deny Traore. Marcelo and Depay have missed good opportunities. Herelle made a tremendous last ditch block to deny Memphis. Been impressed with Lyon's FBs Mendy and Dubois. Attackers need to be more clinical in the second half.

Mr.Nice Guy

Oh dear. Lyon, who have spurned lots of chances, have now conceded a pen via Ndombele's clumsy foul. VAR correctly intervened.

And Walter converts it. 1-0 Nice. Looking like another one of those days for Lyon.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and it ends 1-0 Nice. And so it turns out it is the dream day for Lille, they won and their rivals for the Champions League places couldn't do likewise. Herelle the MOTM for Nice I'd say, although Benitez also made good saves.

I swear Lyon are the most inconsistent side I've seen. Victories over PSG and Man City this season but you can never trust them against sides you'd expect them to beat. Wouldn't shock me if they dropped points to Guingamp and then went and beat Barca.

Mr.Nice Guy

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1095443434561781762

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1095444407548039169


Ligue 1's top side dominated the Premier League's 4th best side as they do most teams in France, but that will soon be forgotten about and the narrative will again be that their dominance in France signifies the lack of quality in the rest of the league (nevermind the fact Ligue 1's 3rd best side took 4 points off the team that finished 19 points clear top of the Premier league last season).

Saint-Etienne vs Strasbourg live on BT Sport ESPN tomorrow from 6pm. Nice appetizer before the Champions League games later. Winner will go fourth in Ligue 1. Caen vs Nantes also taking place tomorrow; a home win would move Caen out of the drop zone.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saint-Etienne leading 2-0 at Half-Time. Goal and an assist for Robert Beric. Home side totally dominant with Strasbourg badly missing Kenny Lala.

- bo -

After being on top for the first half hour, Girotto decided getting one yellow wasn't enough so decides to jump with elbows up and gets himself a second one. What absolute thick. This is only going to go one way now...

- bo -

I'll probably jinx it but Caen look absolutely toothless going forward and the home crowd have been getting on their backs even from 10-15 minutes after the sending off. We might just end up with something out of this...

Mr.Nice Guy

St Etienne have beaten Strasbourg 2-1 to go 3 points clear in fourth. Da Costa got a goal back for the visitors and he went close again but the home side deserved it. Strasbourg stay 9th as their European challenge looks to be fading.

- bo -

Penalty for Nantes!

Rongier...

GOAL

- bo -

All over. MASSIVE 3 points that.

Didn't give them a sniff despite the man advantage for almost an hour. Could've actually scored a couple more second half actually before the eventual breakthrough.

I take back every bad word I said about Pallois. Fella is a machine and has put in some great performances the past couple of months. Actually just saw earlier he got the club January Player of the Month award.

Mr.Nice Guy

Caen looking in big trouble. Five defeats on the bounce as they stay 19th. Some tough fixtures over the next few weeks too.

Mr.Nice Guy

Tonight's results:

Nimes 2-0 Dijon
Lyon 2-1 Guingamp

Lyon have cut the gap to three points on second-placed Lille with their win; Lille now face a tricky game against Montpellier on Sunday. Fekir with a lovely winning goal.

https://twitter.com/CarvalhoJTElite/status/1096507311827443712

I only caught the final ten minutes. Guingamp almost managed to grab a point in stoppage time as Nolan Roux's header smashed against the crossbar. The big story is Jason Denayer going off injured with what the commentator described as a groin issue. Looks like he's a massive doubt for the Barca game now. He'll be a huge loss as he's been Lyon's best defender this season. Jeremy Morel against Barca is going to get real ugly, real fast. Fekir is suspended for the first leg as well.

Dijon remain in trouble with their defeat and stay 17th; Nimes up to 9th.

Bordeaux vs Toulouse the live game at 7pm tomorrow on BT.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results:

Marseille 2-0 Amiens
Angers 3-0 Nice
Monaco 1-0 Nantes

Thauvin and Balotelli got on the scoresheet to help Marseille go 4th. They've really turned a corner the last few weeks. Amiens now sit in 17th.

A blow for Vieira's European hopes as Angers beat Nice comfortably. Monaco are now out of the bottom three thanks to Gelson Martins' winner. He's been a brilliant signing by Jardim.

Some exciting games tomorrow live on BT: Lille vs Montpellier from 2pm, Reims vs Rennes from 4pm, and the evening game of Saint-Etienne vs PSG from 8pm.

Mr.Nice Guy

Mourinho was in attendance to watch Lille's game with Montpellier which ended goalless. Wonder was he there to scout Pepe who played pretty well. Decent point for Montpellier. Caen vs Strasbourg also ended in a stalemate; good point for the home side but they stay 19th.

Reims great season continues as they beat Rennes 2-0 to leapfrog them and go 7th, as Rennes slip to 11th. Reims with a decent shout of a European place. Bordeaux also beat Toulouse 2-1.

Here are the teams for the evening game of Saint-Etienne vs PSG (live at 8pm on BT Sport 1):

St Etienne XI: Ruffier; Debuchy, Perrin, Gabriel Silva, Kolodziejczak; Ait Bennasser, M'Vila; Monnet-Paquet, Cabella, Hamouma; Khazri.

PSG XI: Areola; Kehrer, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Bernat; Diaby, Dani Alves, Paredes, Di Maria; Draxler, Mbappe.

Fancy a solid PSG win but I'd love Khazri to spearhead a win.

Mr.Nice Guy

MBAPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Spectacular finish. He hasn't had a good game but he's produced a quality goal on the volley. 1-0 PSG with a little over 15 minutes remaining.

https://twitter.com/JimmyLCP/status/1097249235693699072

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and it ends 1-0 to PSG. Wasn't a vintage performance from Paris but they were rarely troubled by the home side. Mbappe's goal was the best bit of quality in the game. Thiago Silva is a monster in defence this season. Beric, who is not a small man, couldn't trouble him in the aerial duels. I'd have him in the discussion for best defender in the world right now.

Mr.Nice Guy

There were two Ligue 1 games tonight.

Bordeaux 0-0 Guingamp
PSG 5-1 Montpellier

Decent point for bottom club Guingamp but they need to start picking up some wins fast. Still six points from safety.

Normally wouldn't surprise me seeing PSG win at home by that margin but Montpellier are normally strong defensively. Di Maria scored a sensational free-kick in the game. This is right up there with Sane's effort tonight vs Schalke:

https://twitter.com/otcpod/status/1098330365561835529

dr.kenneth noisewater

Thought the top leagues couldn't games on the same time as CL games?

Mr.Nice Guy

Rennes coach Julien Stephan enhanced his reputation further tonight as Rennes won away at Real Betis to advance to the last 16. He's looking like French football's best young coaching prospect atm. Done an excellent job since taking over a couple of months back. Even has Ben Arfa putting in a shift!

The Ligue 1 sides have done themselves proud in three very tough European ties this past fortnight:

Manchester United 0-2 PSG
Lyon 0-0 Barcelona
Real Betis 1-3 Rennes (4-6 on aggregate)

Mr.Nice Guy

Dijon vs Saint-Etienne kicking off at 6pm on BT Sport 3. Big game at both ends of the table. Dijon 18th and in danger of relegation, Saint-Etienne 5th with aspirations of a Champions League place. Team news:

Dijon XI: Allain; Aguerd, Coulibaly, Yambere, Chafik; Abeid, Marie; Kwon, Sliti, Said; Tavares.

Saint-Etienne XI: Ruffier; Kolodziejczak, Subotic, Perrin; Polomat, M'Vila, Ait-Bennasser, Gabriel Silva; Cabella; Khazri, Diony.

St Etienne normally have a good record against Dijon but they did lose 6-3 in a freak result in the French League Cup a few months ago. I'll go for a narrow away win in this one. Keen to see how Kwon, Sliti and Khazri get on.

Mr.Nice Guy

Subotic has given Saint-Etienne the lead from Khazri's corner. A little over twenty minutes remaining for Dijon to get something.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and St Etienne edge out Dijon 1-0. Looked like defender Yambere had nicked a point for Dijon in stoppage time but VAR confirms he was just offside. Think St Etienne just about deserved it. Khazri played well.

Strasbourg vs Lille has kicked off a few minutes ago. Team news:

Strasbourg XI: Sels; Lala, Kone, Martinez, Caci; Thomasson, Sissoko, Prcic, Fofana, Goncalves; Ajorque.

Lille XI: Maignan; Pied, Jose Fonte, Gabriel, Kone; Thiago Mendes, Thiago Maia; Pepe, Ikone, Bamba; Leao.

Good to see Lala featuring for Strasbourg; that Lille front four always worth a look. Home side can go fifth with a win while Lille can go 8 points clear of Lyon in second place with a victory.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-0 Lille. Ikone converts Leao's through ball.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-1 now as Goncalves fires home from close range. A little over twenty minutes to go.

Mr.Nice Guy

It ends 1-1 between Strasbourg and Lille. Good point for the home side and deserved. Lyon can now close within 2 points of Lille for the automatic Champions League spot if they beat Monaco away on Sunday.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results:

PSG 3-0 Nimes
Amiens 1-0 Nice
Guingamp 1-0 Angers

Some big results at the foot of the table. Guingamp stay bottom after their win but they're now just a point behind Caen, 2 points off Dijon in the relegation/promotion place, and 4 points off Monaco and safety. Amiens also move up to 16th after beating Vieira's Nice. Since beating Lyon 2 weeks ago, Nice have lost to bottom half Angers and Amiens. Sums up their erratic season.

Mbappe scored a brace and Nkunku got the other as PSG won comfortably. Mbappe now the youngest player in 45 years to reach 50 goals in Ligue 1.

5 games take place tomorrow. Rennes vs Marseille from 4pm looks interesting. Rennes fresh off their win over Betis can jump from 10th to 6th and go a point behind Marseille with a win; Marseille can move up a spot to fourth with a win. Pick of the games tomorrow looks to be the evening one from 8pm between Monaco and Lyon. BT showing both of these games.

martyos121

Monaco vs. Lyon kicking off at 8pm, should be a cracker.

Lineups:

Mr.Nice Guy

Sunday's early results:

Montpellier 2-4 Reims
Nantes 1-0 Bordeaux
Toulouse 1-1 Caen
Rennes 1-1 Marseille

Incredible result at Montpellier as promoted side Reims leapfrog their opponents into 6th place. Oudin with two goals as he continues his great season. Pallois with a big moment for Nantes to help them win the derby; Marseille stay fifth with their draw at Rennes.

Caen were seconds away from a win and leaving the relegation zone but a Gradel free-kick leaves them 18th. Gradel should be at a stronger club imo.

Teams for Monaco vs Lyon which kicks off at 8pm (live on BT Sport 1):

Monaco XI: Subasic - Sidibe, Glik, B. Badiashile, Ballo-Toure - Adrien Silva, Fabregas - G. Martins, Golovin, Rony Lopes - Falcao.

Lyon XI: Lopes - Dubois, Marcelo, Denayer, Marcal - Ndombele, Tousart, Aouar - Traore, Dembele, Terrier.

That's a good looking Monaco team and Martins is on fire. Good chance of excitement in this one as the last 6 meetings have had an average of four goals per match.

I'll go for a 2-2 draw.

martyos121

Monaco take the lead, great strike from Martins on the edge of the box.

Mr.Nice Guy

1-0 Monaco. Martins again contributing. Great finish.

Mr.Nice Guy

2-0. Lovely finish from Lopes. Lyon looking very poor so far. Dubois losing it cheaply.

Mr.Nice Guy

2-0 to Monaco at the break. Poor half from Lyon, although they finished it well. Ndombele with a half-decent chance from a header. They look better since Depay has come on. Monaco looking threatening whenever they get into the final third. Lyon so good in defence against Barca but look shaky so far. Next goal all important.

Mr.Nice Guy

Penalty to Lyon after Glik brings down Dembele. Chance for Lyon to get back into the game.

And Subasic saves from Depay! I wasn't confident in Memphis there. Reckon Fekir would have scored if he were featuring.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and it ends 2-0 to Monaco. Great result for Jardim's side. Perhaps if Depay had scored the pen it might have shifted the momentum somewhat but I don't think Lyon deserved anything from the game.

Golovin and Fabregas performed well and Rony Lopes the standout I'd say. Moves Monaco up to 16th in the table. Lyon were as bad as I've seen them all season. Can't really think of any of their players worthy of praise. Maybe Dembele for working hard off scraps. Big fan of Mendy but he was awful today. Not sure if Ndombele was fully fit but he struggled to have his normal impact. Lyon stay third, 5 points off Lille.

- bo -

Great win yesterday. First half almost bored me to tears, but a much improved second half where we could've put 4 or 5 past them. Missed some absolutel sitters to seal it but Costil in the Bordeaux goal - the goal side - was in inspired form and for me it was him or Pallois for MOTM. Guingamp away next weekend and hopefully 3 points to take some form in the last 8 of the cup...

Mr.Nice Guy

I was watching the highlights show earlier and in the Marseille game with Rennes Valere Germain took a blow to the head that left a big bump.




To my surprise he ended up completing the game. Is it not dangerous to let a player carry on with that kind of swelling when we're supposed to be taking head injuries more seriously these days? Maybe I'm overreacting but I found it odd that he was allowed continue.

Mr.Nice Guy

Bordeaux have sacked manager Ricardo. One win for them in their last 6 games. New manager apparently lined up...

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1100475859931185153

Didn't think Thierry Henry would be linked with it this time.

Mr.Nice Guy

PSG unsurprisingly are into the Coupe de France semi-final after beating Dijon 3-0 at the Parc des Princes.

Rennes vs Orleans (5.30pm) and Lyon vs Caen (8pm) taking place tomorrow. Both games live on Eir Sport 2.

- bo -

I just noticed the past couple of days that FreeSports are showing Coupe de France match live from here on in. Vitré-Nantes on the 6th is being shown, as well as both semis and the final.

Mr.Nice Guy

Rennes have beaten Orleans 2-0 to reach the Coupe de France semis. A Bourigeaud free-kick and a Niang finish made the difference. Ben Arfa with a nice assist for Niang's goal. Hope to see more of that against Arsenal.

Lyon have named a strong side against Caen for the later cup tie. No Aouar, Fekir, Traore or Dubois starting but other than that pretty much full strength. It would be a big upset if they don't advance as Caen are in very poor form.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lyon have advanced to the Coupe de France semis with a 3-1 win over Caen. Goals from Denayer, Cornet and Depay.

So that's PSG, Rennes and Lyon in the final four with either Vitre or Nantes to join them next week.

Would be happy for any of these teams to win it apart from PSG.

Mr.Nice Guy

Draw for the semi-finals of the Coupe de France was made:

Lyon vs Rennes
PSG vs Vitre or Nantes

Disappointed to see PSG get another home draw.

Lyon vs PSG looking a likely final but could see Rennes causing Lyon problems.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results:

Caen 1-2 PSG
Angers 2-2 Monaco
Reims 2-2 Amiens

Interesting results affecting the bottom of the table. Caen threatened an upset as they took the lead over PSG early in the second half but Mbappe found an 87th minute winner in what was his second goal of the match. He can't stop scoring at the minute.

Monaco looked to be returning to more misery as they found themselves 2-0 down to Angers but a Falcao brace earns them a point. They stay 16th.

17th place Amiens looked to be about to pull off an upset going 2-0 ahead of 5th place Reims, but Dia and Cafaro come off the bench and made it 2-2 in the final 20 minutes.

Tomorrow's televised games on BT are Lille vs Dijon, Lyon vs Toulouse and the evening game of Marseille vs Saint-Etienne. If Marseille win they'll leapfrog their opponents into 4th place.

Mr.Nice Guy

Teams for Lille vs Dijon (2pm k.o. on BT Sport 3):

Lille XI: Maignan; Celik, Gabriel, Jose Fonte, Kone; Xeka, Thiago Mendes; Pepe, Ikone, Luiz Araujo; Leao.

Dijon XI: Allain; Chafik, Yambere, Aguerd, Haddadi; Abeid, Marie; Said, Sliti, Kaba; Tavares.

Dijon will need some magic from Sliti to get anything but it's a big ask. Fancy a solid home win. Hoping for a goal or two from Pepe.

Mr.Nice Guy

Lille have taken the lead with less than 20 minutes remaining. Wesley Lautoa with an awful howler of an O.G. Dijon had defended well up to that point.

Mr.Nice Guy

Guingamp and Nantes have played out a goalless draw. Nantes had a pen in the final seconds but Rongier's effort was saved. Result leaves Guingamp bottom but could prove to be a precious point in the long run.

Patrick Vieira's Nice have beaten Strasbourg 1-0 thanks to a goal from Youcef Atal. Nice climb to seventh. Strasbourg's form has dipped badly the last few weeks.

Lille have beaten Dijon 1-0 to go 8 points clear of Lyon in second place. Was a deserved win but they made hard work of it. Vital now for Lyon to beat Toulouse which is coming up next. Teams:

Lyon XI: Lopes; Dubois, Marcelo, Denayer, Mendy; Ndombele, Tousart; Traore, Fekir, Depay; Dembele.

Toulouse XI: Reynet; Amian, Shoji, Jullien, Sylla; Cahuzac, Sangare, Sidibe; Dossevi, Gradel, Jean.

I'd expect Lyon to win but they'll probably make hard work of it. I can see Gradel causing problems. Interested to see how Sangare fares as he's looked good of late.