Lille finally grasp Bielsa’s plan
Lille won their second consecutive match with a 3-1 victory over Saint-Etienne, with goals from Nicolas Pepe, Thiago Mendes and Ezequiel Ponce. Marcelo Bielsa’s men are beginning to grasp the coaches ideas and are now expected to rise up the table.
“We played well and came out with the win, so it's certainly one of our best performances of the season,” said Bielsa. A win over second from bottom Amiens on Monday evening in the rescheduled game, would see Lille climb out of the bottom three.
Oscar Garcia quit Saint-Etienne during the international break, with the players failing to understand both his philosophy and tactics. Former captain Julien Sable has been tasked with reinvigorating the squad, although they are still in the decent position of 7th.
Jovetic rescues Monaco
Monaco were held 1-1 at the Stade de la Licorne, with Amiens drawing their third match in a row. It could have been worse for the reigning French champions, as Amiens took the lead in the 31st minute through winger Serge Gakpe’s first goal of the season.
Stevan Jovetic equalised with only 23 minutes remaining, after arriving from the substitutes bench just six minutes earlier. The Montenegro forward had plenty of time to finish, with Fabinho providing the pull-back following a clever run.
“We didn't control possession, we failed to complete a lot of passes, we didn't play collectively,” admitted Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim. “We were able to stop Monaco from playing, and that's not nothing,” added Amiens boss Christophe Pelissier.
Cavani is proving his among Europe’s best
Paris Saint-Germain beat the normally resilient Nantes 4-1, with Edinson Cavani bagging a brace. The Uruguayan already has 19 goals across Ligue 1 and the Champions League, whilst he has scored an incredible 68 goals in 67 games since the start of last season.
His opener came after Claudio Ranieri‘s side backed away from Javier Pastore on the counter-attack, with the Argentine midfielder playing in the striker. Cavani’s first touch took him inside before a customary powerful strike into the bottom corner.
Angel Di Maria added a second when his attempted cross beat everyone, but substitute Prejuce Nakoulma pulled one back for Nantes on the hour mark. The afternoon got worse for goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu as his attempted parry of Pastore‘s shot looped over his head and into the net.
The comedy defending didn’t end there, when Cavani’s through ball was attempted to be cleared. It rebounded off another Nantes defender and fell back to Cavani, who duly obliged with the gift.
Former French national team manager Raymond Domenech was critical of Nantes’ defensive strategy on Twitter. The social media team for FCN responded by saying, “not sure that you are the best placed to talk about the bus.”
Lyon miss an opportunity
Lyon’s six game winning streak in all competitions came to an end, as they drew 0-0 with Montpellier. Bruno Genesio was under severe pressure before the run, but these victories have put Lyon into a great position both domestically and in Europe.
Had Lyon beaten Montpellier they would be just one point behind Monaco, although they shouldn’t be to disheartened having only lost to PSG this term. Montpellier are also difficult to beat, with their four defeats coming from a solitary goal.
Lyon’s defence has been solid in recent weeks and this was their fifth consecutive clean sheet in all competitions. Genesio has settled on his first 11, whilst he has credible options in reserve. The Lyon crowd also produced this incredible display to salute Nabil Fekir's celebration against rivals Saint-Etienne
Marseille leave it late
Bordeaux led for 91 minutes against Marseille, but had to settle for a draw. Nicolas de Preville scored the opener in the 3rd minute, as the home side exerted their authority.
Marseille were uncharacteristically sloppy in possession, whilst their passing lacked pace and tempo. They looked destined for their first league defeat since the start of September, but Morgan Sanson netted in stoppage time.
Rudi Garcia opted for Kostas Mitroglou to lead the line, with Clinton N’Jie remaining on the bench throughout. Marseille were also without the suspended Luiz Gustavo, which may have partly explained the lack of control in the central areas.
Honourable mentions
Bottom club Metz gained only their fourth point of the season, when they drew 0-0 with Toulouse. They are still eight points adrift of Amiens, but just seven points separate the team that are 19th and 6th in the league.
