Ligue 1 Superthread 2018/19

Mr.Nice Guy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Tough game to call, this. I'm going with Lyon based on the fact they have a good record against Marseille, that of the two teams they had a positive game mid-week, and Caleta-Car could be a weakness I reckon. These two had a fiery game last season and there's a good chance this one could be ill-tempered; a red card wouldn't surprise me. I'll go for a 2-1 home win.

Caleta-Car gets a red card. :pac:

martyos121

Switched it on at 1-1 as I forgot about it, 10/10 entertainment since. Marseille down to 9 men here, N’Jie going off injured with all three subs used.

Mr.Nice Guy

These Sunday evening games always seem to deliver entertainment. 14 goals in all of the games today.

Ndombele with another great display today after his great match at the Etihad. Such a joy to watch him get better and better. Thought Fekir, Aouar and Traore were very good too. Payet probably the only Marseille player that emerges with any credit.

Mid-week action coming up in Ligue 1: double bill on Tuesday, starting with Monaco vs Angers from 6.

martyos121

It’s early days, but I doubt there’ll be a more painful moment in Marseille’s season than watching Lyon pass it around sympathetically in the closing seconds, and the ref blowing it up early.

Lyon have finally got going this season after the City result, really impressed by their attacking options.

Mr.Nice Guy

Three games in Ligue 1 this evening:

Monaco vs Angers (18:00) - live on BT Sport 3
Nantes vs Nice (18:00)
Toulouse vs Saint-Etienne - live on BT Sport 3

Monaco XI: Benaglio; Sidibe, Glik, Jemerson, Henrichs; Aholou, Tielemans; Grandsir, Golovin, Chadli; Falcao.

Angers XI: Butelle; Manceau, Pavlovic, Thomas, Bamba; Ndoye, Santamaria, Mangani; Capelle, Bahoken, Tait.

First Monaco start for Golovin. If he can bring his World Cup form he can be a big boost for them. He looked good when he came on as a sub against Nimes. Monaco desperately need a win. Flavien Tait looked good for Angers against Toulouse based on the highlights I saw. They'll look to him to create something.

Monaco have a good record in this fixture and a defeat would shock me. As bad as their form has been I think they'll get back to winning ways here. I'll say 2-0 to Jardim's side.

- bo -

Bright enough start, not giving Nice anything.

Which of course means this has a 0-0 or a 0-1 written all over it...

Mr.Nice Guy

Oh dear. Bahoken gives Angers the lead! It's not undeserved either.

Update: Angers lead 1-0 at the break. Monaco so poor. Falcao getting booked for an awful dive summed up the half. Tielemans giving the ball away so much. Golovin's been decent but expected more. Angers have been well organised and Bahoken is causing problems up front. The more I see of this Monaco side the more it looks like Jardim's greatest challenge. Doesn't look like they have suitable replacements for Fabinho and Moutinho in the centre.

Full-Time: Angers win 1-0. This is reaching full blown crisis levels for Jardim. Tielemans was awful and was hooked on the hour mark. Grandsir and Chadli poor too. Falcao had little to feed on but was disappointing. Golovin quiet. Angers were very good. Bahoken was a handful. Bamba and Thomas defended impressively. Monaco now in 16th and could fall further depending on other results.

Mr.Nice Guy

I see Nice have won away 2-1 at Nantes in the other 6pm game. Good win for Vieira, that.

Toulouse vs Saint-Etienne coming up. Teams:

Toulouse XI: Reynet; Amian, Jullien, Todibo, Moubandje; Bostock, Sangare; Dossevi, Manu Garc Gradel; Leya-Iseka.

Saint-Etienne XI: Ruffier; Gabriel Silva, Subotic, Saliba, Kolodziejczak; M'Vila, Diousse; Nordin, Cabella, Monnet-Paquet; Diony.

Gonna sit on the fence on this one and say draw.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saint-Etienne beat Toulouse 3-2 and are now up to third. I've only seen short highlights but all of the goals Toulouse conceded were bad; the last two were shockingly poor. Gradel scored a very nice curling effort though. Ruffier made a good stop near the end. The result puts Saint-Etienne up to third.

Marseille vs Strasbourg and PSG vs Reims is the double bill tomorrow from 6.

Mr.Nice Guy

7 games in Ligue 1 this evening.

Amiens vs Rennes (18:00)
Bordeaux vs Lille (18:00)
Caen vs Montpellier (18:00)
Dijon vs Lyon (18:00)
Marseille vs Strasbourg (18:00) - live on BT Sport ESPN
Nimes vs Guingamp (18:00)
PSG vs Reims (20:00) - live on BT Sport ESPN

Marseille XI: Mandanda; Sarr, Kamara, Gustavo, Amavi; Lopez, Strootman, Sanson; Thauvin, Germain, Payet.

Strasbourg XI: Sels; Lala, Mitrovic, Martinez, Caci, Carole; Martin, Grimm, Corgnet; Mothiba, Thomasson

Marseille need to bounce back from their poor defeat to Lyon. Thauvin is in good goalscoring form - will he get another? Lala is an exciting RB and is a threat from set-pieces.

I'll go for Marseille to win 2-1.

Mr.Nice Guy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Lala is an exciting RB and is a threat from set-pieces.

He's just opened the scoring for Strasbourg with a well timed run, dinking it over Mandanda. Against the run of play too.

Mr.Nice Guy

Payet makes it 1-1 from the penalty spot but I really don't think that pen should have been given. I thought it was a blatant dive by Thauvin. They checked it with VAR and still gave it. I'm baffled by that.

Update: 2-1 to Marseille. Sanson with a beautiful low curling effort from just outside the box. No doubt about that one. Right before Half-Time too.

Half-Time: Marseille worthy of the lead based on overall play but I think the penalty was harsh. Payet and Thauvin look a threat.

In the other games, Moussa Dembele has opened his account for Lyon since his Celtic move and has scored twice. They lead 3-0 away to Dijon. Kamano has continued his impressive form for Bordeaux with a goal as they lead Lille 1-0. Caen vs Montpellier is 1-1. Other games still goalless.

Mr.Nice Guy

Red card for Amavi. Things just got interesting. He was deemed to be reckless and dangerous as he challenged with a high boot. Think it's a harsh call. Lala was the one on the receiving end and he made the most of it. Payet the one making way as Sakai comes on and the fans aren't happy.

Update: Late equaliser for Strasbourg. Nuno da Costa with a good finish, linking up well with Mothiba.

Mr.Nice Guy

GERMAIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNN

Marseille back in the lead with ten men!

Full-Time: It ends 3-2 to Marseille. Huge three points for Garcia's side. Strasbourg will be kicking themselves.

Another very enjoyable match. Been some cracking entertainment in Ligue 1 this season.

Mr.Nice Guy

All of tonight's results:

Amiens 2-1 Rennes
Bordeaux 1-0 Lille
Caen 2-2 Montpellier
Dijon 0-3 Lyon
Marseille 3-2 Strasbourg
Nimes 0-0 Guingamp
PSG 4-1 Reims

Lyon and Marseille have gone second and third respectively with their results tonight. Seems like the victory at Man City has sparked Lyon's season into life finally.

PSG with a predictable win, though I expected a bigger margin of victory. Didn't watch the game but Cavani got a brace, with Neymar and Meunier getting the other goals.

Guingamp have got their first point of the season but that's not a great help to Kombouare at this time. Lille's good run has been brought to a halt. Surprised Caen vs Montpellier had that many goals.

Weird thing about tonight was there were 6 red cards in the 7 games.

Next live game is on Friday as struggling Monaco have a tricky game away to in-form Saint-Etienne.

rekluse

Things seemed to have picked up for Lyon over the last couple weeks - cheers for the updates Mr Nice Guy always appreciate them !

Mr.Nice Guy

Monaco's woes continue as they lost 2-0 to Saint-Etienne tonight. I missed the first half but caught the second. Saint-Etienne deserved the win. Khazri with two goals and he looked a threat all evening, while Diony worked hard. Selnaes and M'Vila won the midfield battle. Ruffier also made a terrific double stop at one stage.

Monaco just don't look a team at the minute. Falcao had an off night, missing several chances. The attacking players offered little. Golovin came on at the hour mark and didn't provide much. He was easily brushed off the ball at one stage. It's early days but I'm starting to wonder if he's going to turn out to be another Tielemans: a lot of hype but not enough quality. He's not looking like the guy that looked so good with Russia at the World Cup.

This is panic station time for Jardim. Monaco will be 18th whatever happens the rest of this round. Only 1 win in 8 games. Need to start putting wins on the board pronto.

Lyon vs Nantes is the live game tomorrow evening on BT Sport 3 at 7pm. Lyon are in great form of late while reports suggest Nantes plan to sack coach Miguel Cardoso. I would like to see Cardoso get more time as I like the style of play he wants to implement, but the chairman has branded it "tippy tappy nonsense" so it looks like the writing is on the wall.

Mr.Nice Guy

PSG have won 3-0 away at Nice. Wylan Cyprien was sent off for the home side on the hour mark. Neymar scored twice with Nkunku getting the other.

Other games this evening from 7 pm:

Angers vs Guingamp
Caen vs Amiens
Lyon vs Nantes
Reims vs Bordeaux
Strasbourg vs Dijon

Lyon vs Nantes is the live match. Team news:

Lyon XI: Lopes; Dubois, Marcelo, Morel, Marcal; Diop, Aouar; Traore, Fekir, Depay; Dembele.

Nantes XI: Tatarusanu; Fabio, Mbodji, Miazga, Lima; Toure, Krhin; Evangelista, Rongier, Boschilia; Waris

Genesio has rested some key players ahead of the Champions League game. Denayer and Ndombele on the bench. No Mendy. As a result, that defence looks dodgy to me, particularly at LB. The attack looks good though.

Nantes pretty much playing for their coach Cardoso's job here. I like their attack but not sure they can keep Lyon at bay.

I'll say 3-1 to Lyon.

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday's results in full:

Nice 0-3 PSG
Angers 0-1 Guingamp
Caen 1-0 Amiens
Lyon 1-1 Nantes
Reims 0-0 Bordeaux
Strasbourg 3-0 Dijon

It's been a good day for the struggling managers in Ligue 1. I watched the Lyon/Nantes game and was impressed with Nantes. They obviously want coach Cardoso to stay as evidenced by Boschilia and the players going to him when they scored the equaliser. This result may have bought him some time, although reports suggest he will soon be sacked. I hope he stays as he tries to play good football. Lyon, meanwhile, could still have won it but Fekir had his penalty saved by Tatarusanu. They had lots of chances but didn't have their shooting boots on. Things looked much better for them when Ndombele came on at the hour mark. Draw the right result in the end for me.

Bottom side Guingamp have secured their first win of the season with a surprise win away to Angers. Pleased for Kombouare whose job was looking under threat. Good result for Strasbourg too, following their 3-2 loss to Marseille mid-week. They're now up to seventh.

Games tomorrow are Rennes vs Toulouse, Montpellier vs Nimes and Lille vs Marseille. The Lille/Marseille game interests me a lot with Lille currently level with Marseille on points. They also have one of the best players in the league in Nicolas Pepe who has been on fire so far this season. The Sunday evening games have been fantastic entertainment the last few weeks so here's hoping that one continues the trend.

Mr.Nice Guy

Rennes vs Toulouse coming up on BT Sport ESPN from 2pm. Team news:

Rennes XI: Diallo; Traore, Da Silva, Mexer, Bensebaini; Andre, Lea Siliki; Bourigeaud, Grenier, Sarr; Ben Arfa.

Toulouse XI: Reynet; Amian, Todibo, Jullien, Moubandje; Sangare, Bostock; Dossevi, Garcia, Gradel; Leya Iseka.

Four talented attacking players up top for Rennes. Particularly keen to see how Sarr fares as he is capable of special things.

Toulouse defender Jullien is a good defensive prospect but he had a bad game mid-week against Saint-Etienne. Keeper Reynet was poor too. If they play like that again they will concede a few. Young midfielder Ibrahim Sangare is worth keeping an eye on. Englishman John Bostock has started the season well too. Gradel has been their best player and can cause problems.

Hoping for a few goals here. I'll say a 2-2 draw.

Update: Sarr going off after just 24 minutes. Looks like he hurt himself trying to control the ball. Pity because he had a good moment where he used his pace to get past Jullien. Replaced by Niang who presumably will go up front with Ben Arfa shifting wide.

Red card: Leya-Iseka sent off. Gets a yellow card for dissent and then talks back to the ref and gets another yellow. Not an expert in French but I believe he called the ref a bitch. Brainless.

Half-Time: Goalless at the break. Rennes have looked more likely to score. Pity Sarr had to go off as Niang hasn't offered much since coming on. Ben Arfa looking lively. Lea-Siliki passing it well.

Goal: Rennes finally break the deadline via Niang from the penalty spot. Think that's a harsh call on Toulouse. I thought it was a fair challenge and not a pen. Thought VAR would intervene but nope.

Equaliser: Todibo makes it 1-1! He was the one deemed to have fouled Niang in the penalty area (harshly imo) and he's levelled things here with a header. A point would be a great result for Toulouse if they can see this out.

Full-Time: It ends 1-1. Second half was entertaining. MOTM for me was Toulouse GK Baptiste Reynet. He made several great stops to get his side a point. Good result for Toulouse since they played most of the game with 10 men. Rennes will be disappointed they weren't more clinical. I think a draw was a fair result.

Johner

Nasty incident in the Montpellier game, hope everyone is okay.

https://twitter.com/KaznowskiG/status/1046423271644844039

Mr.Nice Guy

Seems like there were no serious injuries which is good.

That was a mad first half. Montpellier lead Nimes 2-0 at the break with the half concluding nearly an hour after kick-off. Montpellier getting and scoring a penalty via VAR at the end of 9 minutes of stoppage time.

First time this derby has happened in 9 years and first in the top flight for 25 years. Obviously means a lot to the locals. Great atmosphere.

Update: Laborde makes it 3-0 with a little over ten minutes remaining, heading in a Mollet cross. Montpellier worthy of the scoreline. Mollet a few minutes ago hit the crossbar with a spectacular free-kick effort.

Mr.Nice Guy

Now the game has another stoppage due to Montpellier fans. Smoke bombs going off following the goal. The ref has taken the players off and the riot police have been called on.

Mr.Nice Guy

Looks like the game is finally about to resume.

I wonder where this game ranks in terms of longest league games ever. The game kicked off at 4pm and we're now approaching 6:20 and possibly having to play another ten minutes whenever this gets going again.

Feel sorry for the commentator Wayne Boyce who is working this game for BT on his own. He's done a good job.

Update: And at 6:33pm this game which kicked off at 4 finally ends. Montpellier win it 3-0. Home side deserved the win. Mollet was particularly eye-catching. Wonder what sanctions Montpellier will get for the trouble. Maybe a game or two behind closed doors I'm guessing.

Mr.Nice Guy

Damn, seems like Miguel Cardoso's fate has been sealed despite getting a point away to Lyon.

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/1046446560035438594

I wish he had been given more time. He had encouraged Nantes to pass the ball more and they currently have the third-highest possession stats behind only PSG and Lyon. The players seemed to be enjoying his style too. I know he's had some defeats but this team was playing in a totally different way under Ranieri last season. It was always going to take time for the players to adjust. It's all congested in the bottom half at the moment anyway.

Sad to see a guy with positive ideas get sacked after just 8 games. He'll probably go back to Portugal now. I hope he can get another shot at a top 5 league club in the future.

Mr.Nice Guy

Team news for Lille vs Marseille:

Lille XI: Maignan; Celik, Fonte, Dabila, Ballo-Toure; Thiago Mendes, Xeka; Pepe, Ikone, Bamba; Remy.

Marseille XI: Mandanda; Sarr, Luiz Gustavo, Kamara, Sakai; Strootman, Sertic; Thauvin, Radonjic, Ocampos; Germain.

Very excited for this game. Hoping to see Pepe carry on his sensational form. He could cause Sakai a whole host of problems tonight. Xeka and Mendes are good ballers too. Surprised Payet starts on the bench for Marseille.

Tough game to call but I'm going to say Lille to win because of the Pepe factor. Game kicks off at 8pm and is live on BT Sport 1.

Update: 0-0 at Half-Time. Lille have been the better side and Ikone, Pepe and Bamba have worked hard. I was most excited about seeing Pepe but I'd say Ikone has played the best so far. Marseille not looking good at all. Only RB Bouna Sarr stood out. They badly need Payet on and I'd be surprised if he doesn't come on at some stage.

Mr.Nice Guy

Penalty to Lille. Pepe attacks the Marseille defence and gets past Mandanda who trips him. Pepe will take it.

And he buries it in the corner. Well deserved lead for Lille.

Payet's introduction must be imminent now. Marseille have been second best all night.

Update: He's coming on now with Mitroglou as Ocampos and Germain make way. A little over 20 minutes for Marseille to rescue this.

Mr.Nice Guy

Pepe wins another penalty! Gustavo fouls him as he is through on goal.

He's not taking this one. Bamba will take it. And he scores for 2-0.

Mr.Nice Guy

3-0! Bamba gets another! Great strength by the LB Toure who brushes Sarr off the ball and puts in on a plate for Bamba.

Some statement being made here by Lille.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and Lille beat Marseille 3-0. Thoroughly deserved victory for the home side. Pepe, Ikone and Bamba were so exciting tonight. All very young players too. In fact, there's a lot of promising youngsters in this Lille team. Galtier has done a tremendous job since taking over from Bielsa's relegation-threatened outfit. Lille are definitely worth keeping an eye on this season and they're up to second now.

As for Marseille, they were shocking. They've lost 3 of their last 4 games and have conceded 9 goals in their last 3 outings. They need to sort out these defensive frailties quickly.

Big Sunday evening game next week as PSG host Lyon.

Mr.Nice Guy

Been watching Toulouse vs Nice with the scoreline 1-0 to Nice at Half-Time. Srarfi got the goal in what's been an enjoyable game with both sides having chances. Toulouse's Mubele had their best effort just before the break but Benitez saved well. Saint-Maximin and Srarfi have looked a threat for Nice. No Balotelli as Vieira's dropped him from the squad - not looking like those two will have a fruitful relationship.

Update: 1-1. Dossevi slides the ball in from close range. Nice goal. Home side playing well with 35 minutes to go. Nice have butchered a great opportunity to take the lead with keeper Reynet beaten. Vieira turned away in disgust over it and you can't blame him.

Full-Time: It ends 1-1 which I think was a fair outcome. Nice didn't offer much in attack in the second half. The influence of Saint-Maximin and Srarfi faded. I was impressed with Nice's Youcef Atal who looks a good prospect. Main moment of the second half was the chance Nice failed to take:

https://twitter.com/Le_prgm_sport/status/1048303042423136256

Mr.Nice Guy

Saturday results:

Lille 3-1 Saint-Etienne
Amiens 1-0 Dijon
Angers 2-2 Strasbourg
Guingamp 1-1 Montpellier
Nimes 0-0 Reims

Lille have gone second place after their win. Two goals from Bamba and one from Pepe. They're such an exciting team this season. Wonder can they sustain this?

Some interesting games tomorrow: Bordeaux vs Nantes, Marseille vs Caen, Monaco vs Rennes and then the big evening game - PSG vs Lyon.

Mr.Nice Guy

Sunday's earlier results:

Bordeaux 3-0 Nantes
Marseille 2-0 Caen
Monaco 1-2 Rennes

More misery for Monaco as they remain without a win since the opening day of the season. They're now 18th in the table, 4 points off Reims in 17th. Incredible contrast to the last two seasons and Jardim has a massive job on his hands salvaging this season. I caught some of the Bordeaux/Nantes game. The match was over in the first ten minutes as Nantes conceded early. Miazga looked poor at the back for Nantes. Didn't see any of Marseille vs Caen but Mitroglou and Thauvin got the goals. They're up to third for the time being.

PSG vs Lyon is the big evening game coming up on BT Sport 1 at 8pm. Team news:

PSG XI: Buffon - Meunier, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat - Verratti, Marquinhos, Di Maria - Mbappe, Cavani, Neymar.

Lyon XI: Lopes – Rafael, Denayer, Morel, Mendy – Tousart, Ndombele – Traore, Fekir, Aouar – Depay.

Bit surprised Buffon plays over Areola who I think has been in good form. Rabiot misses the game through suspension. Big task for Marquinhos to perform well in midfield against strong opposition. Mainly it's as we'd expect.

Lyon's team selection surprises me with Morel preferred to Marcelo at the back; not convinced by Morel and I feel he'll struggle tonight. I think Rafael over Dubois is the wrong choice too. Depay over Dembele is another big call but I'd agree with that one based on the amount of chances the latter missed in the Champions League mid-week. Depay's finishing hasn't been good this season though and he'll need to improve. I've seen Ndombele have some big games against PSG so I hope he can do so again.

I'd love to see Lyon get something but I think PSG's attack is too strong. I can see Neymar giving his compatriot Rafael a tough time and wouldn't have faith in Morel keeping Cavani quiet. I'll say 3-1 PSG but I hope to be wrong.

Looking forward to this. I think this game will have a good few goals.

martyos121

That’s surely going to be a cracker. I’ll go for 3-2 PSG, possibly coming from behind to win it. That Lyon attack is too good not to score. Traore should be causing problems for PSG up against the weak link in their defence, Bernat.

Mr.Nice Guy

Damn, looks like Fekir rolled his ankle. Off after just 5 minutes. Huge blow for Lyon.

And within a minute Mbappe earns a pen. Stupid from Lopes.

And Neymar puts it away. 1-0. Nightmare start for the away side.

martyos121

Kimpembe sent off after a VAR review! There’s a way back for Lyon now.

Really badly timed tackle. Not sure there was malicious intent, but it’s a red all day long tbf.

Mr.Nice Guy

Now Tousart given a red. Lyon haven't done themselves any favours this evening.

martyos121

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Now Tousart given a red. Lyon haven't done themselves any favours this evening.

Such a scrappy, ill-disciplined performance from both sides, a huge let down.

Verratti is lucky the Lyon player pulled out after he went in with studs showing (don’t recall who was on the receiving end). Only a yellow but with a fuller contact he’d likely have walked as well.

10v10 suits PSG a lot more than Lyon, especially with a lead to defend.

Mr.Nice Guy

martyos121 wrote: »

Such a scrappy, ill-disciplined performance from both sides, a huge let down.

Verratti is lucky the Lyon player pulled out after he went in with studs showing (don’t recall who was on the receiving end). Only a yellow but with a fuller contact he’d likely have walked as well.

10v10 suits PSG a lot more than Lyon, especially with a lead to defend.

Yeah, it's been more about the fouls than the football so far which is a pity.

Cornet blowing a great chance there to equalise early.

Update: 2-0 as Lopes is finally beaten. Good work from Neymar leads to Mbappe's finish off both posts.

Johner

Mbappe scores after about 5 chances.

Mr.Nice Guy

3-0 and that should be that. Mbappe gets a second after a Marquinhos assist.

Update: 4-0. Mbappe gets the hat-trick with an emphatic finish. This could get ugly for Lyon.

Mr.Nice Guy

5-0 PSG. 4 goals for Mbappe.

Update: Almost a lovely goal from Depay but denied by a super save from Buffon.

Mr.Nice Guy

Full-Time and it ends 5-0 to PSG. As the commentators said, it was a strange game. Lyon held their own in the first half despite being a goal down due to Lopes giving away a silly pen. PSG then turned on the style in the second half and blew Lyon away. Mbappe and Neymar caused all kinds of problems. For Lyon, I thought Ndombele did well; Depay worked hard too.

Makes you wonder what would have happened had Fekir not gone off injured early on, or had Tousart not got himself sent off and given away the one-man advantage. Still think PSG would have won but that it would have been closer.

Hope Lyon can recover from this when they return from the international break.

Edit: Was watching highlights of this round's games and Lille are playing some smashing football at the minute. Really enjoyed this goal from Nicolas Pepe and the interplay with Bamba:

https://twitter.com/SecondPoteauFC/status/1048615708127625217

Pepe is level with Hazard and Messi for goal involvement this season (10 goals). One of Ligue 1's gems. Bamba's damn good as well.

Mr.Nice Guy

Jardim has been sacked by Monaco.

https://twitter.com/AS_Monaco_EN/status/1050347613604761600

Very saddened to hear this. The 16/17 Monaco side was one of the most exciting I've seen and I think overall he did a tremendous job dealing with a club that was constantly selling key players. He was managing a game of Jenga each season having to take out important figures and then try his best to keep the structure intact. I saw a good article a few days ago on the Get French Football News site talking about the challenges he faced and I agree with pretty much all of it.

Reports suggesting Thierry Henry will replace him and I've seen Ranieri's name mentioned too. Whoever gets it has a tough job on their hands.

As for Jardim, not sure what his next step will be but I like the idea of him getting to work with Lyon's exciting squad. Not sure if they will part ways with Bruno Genesio any time soon but if they did, and Jardim was available, that would be an exciting combination.

ERG89

Mr.Nice Guy wrote:

Jardim has been sacked by Monaco......Reports suggesting Thierry Henry will replace him and I've seen Ranieri's name mentioned too. Whoever gets it has a tough job on their hands.

Who knew selling nearly an entire title winning team would catch up on them eventually. Replacing him with Henry is a bit odd to put it mildly but I think not being able to motivate the players there the last 15 months is an issue too.
I think player recruitment has been an issue also as there isn't a lot of players brought in that you could sell tomorrow on the merit of their form.

Mr.Nice Guy

Thierry Henry appointed as Monaco coach.

It's a great opportunity for him and I can understand him taking it, but he's facing a big task lifting this group of players. I'm interested to see can he actually get something out of Tielemans who he'll know from the Belgium squad. I'm not convinced by him so I remain sceptical.

It will generate a bit more interest in Ligue 1 at least, which is a positive.

monkey9

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Thierry Henry appointed as Monaco coach.

It's a great opportunity for him and I can understand him taking it, but he's facing a big task lifting this group of players. I'm interested to see can he actually get something out of Tielemans who he'll know from the Belgium squad. I'm not convinced by him so I remain sceptical.

It will generate a bit more interest in Ligue 1 at least, which is a positive.

I take it he'll be leaving his role from the Belgium squad?

Mr.Nice Guy

monkey9 wrote: »

I take it he'll be leaving his role from the Belgium squad?

Yeah, it's a clean break. Martinez searching for a replacement.

martyos121

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Yeah, it's a clean break. Martinez searching for a replacement.

Word is that Shaun Maloney will be promoted to that role. Sounds bizarre, but he’d already been coaching in the Belgian setup, and apparently Martinez rates him very highly as a coach.

I’m sure he’s good at his job, but the thought of Shaun Maloney coaching the likes of Hazard, De Bruyne and Lukaku is making me giggle. :pac:

Mr.Nice Guy

Lyon vs Nimes on BT Sport 3 tonight from 7:45pm. Teams are in:

Lyon XI: Lopes; Mendy, Marcelo, Denayer, Marcal; Ndombele, Diop; Terrier, Depay, Aouar; Dembele.

Nimes XI: Bernardoni; Alakouch, Briancon, Harek, Maouassa; Bobichon, Savanier, Valls; Bouanga, Depres, Thioub.

Looking forward to this one. Lyon need to bounce back from that heavy defeat to PSG before the break. Surprised Depay and Ndombele play as I thought they might be rested after the internationals. Depay had back-to-back MOTM showings so hopefully he can continue that form.

Berardoni is a good goalkeeping prospect. He did well against Monaco a few weeks back and should be regularly tested tonight. Bobichon and Briancon link up well as a set-piece threat. Bouanga and Thioub can be exciting in attack.

Hoping for goals tonight. I'll say a 3-0 home win.