Neymar double ensures another PSG win
Paris Saint-Germain scored four goals away from home for the second time in a week, as they beat Rennes 4-1. Neymar and Kylian Mbappe started in emphatic fashion to give PSG a 2-0 advantage within 17 minutes.
Rennes pulled one back early in the second period through Firmin Ndombe Mubele, but Benjamin Andre picked up two yellow cards in the nine minutes after. Two quick goals from Edinson Cavani and Neymar once again guaranteed a comfortable finale for the leaders.
“We talked before the match about maintaining our level, about being competitive for 90 minutes, because this was a strong opponent who beat Marseille in the Coupe de la Ligue on Wednesday,” confessed Unai Emery. “We played more like we wanted to in the second half but it was too late by then,” added Rennes boss Sabri Lamouchi.
Monaco make easy work of Saint-Etienne
Saint-Etienne continued their troubles, as they faced a resurgent Monaco. Djibril Sidibe scored the opener for the away side and then Thomas Lemar added a second just after the half-hour mark.
Monaco scored a controversial third, when Rony Lopes’ volley back into the area was directed towards goal by Radamal Falcao, but goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier pushed the ball into the path of Fabinho. The Brazilian prodded the ball into the back of the net from an offside position and Ruffier naturally took objection to the officials giving the goal.
His protests were a little a strong, although it was still a huge surprise to see the shot-stopper given a straight red card. Keita Balde made it 4-0 on the hour.
“ASSE gave us a lot of space and we took advantage. We played well, we combined down both wings,” said Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim.
Favre turning things around at Nice
Nice won their fourth consecutive match with a 1-0 win over Bordeaux. Mario Balotelli got the winner once again, with the Italian scoring his seventh goal in as many matches in all competitions.
Lucien Favre’s side are now up to sixth in the table, whilst they have only lost once in the league in November and December. The players and manager seem to be managing to adapt to the demands of his style and the added games due to Europa League.
Lyon win the battle of Olympiques
Lyon defeated Marseille 2-0 to put them level with Monaco. Lyon’s club shop was broken into this week and the culprits were six 15-year-olds, but this was certainly no robbery.
Nabil Fekir’s free-kick gave them the lead in a moment that Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda will want to forget. The 32-year-old was unable to hold onto the shot that went straight into his arms, as it inexplicably bounced out and into the net.
Marseille had their moments in the first 45 minutes, with Anthony Lopes called into action to thwart Adil Rami and Lucas Ocampos. Mariano scored his 13th of the season from a free header, after he was initially denied by Mandanda on this occasion.
There were more saves from Lopes, although Lyon were good value for the victory. It was the first time that Marseille have failed to score in the league this term and their first defeat in 13 games domestically.
Can Metz survive?
Metz won for only the second time this season, as they came from behind to beat Montpellier. It was coach Frederic Hantz’s eighth league game in charge and it was inevitable that his first win would come against the side that sacked him almost a year ago.
When Jerome Roussillon gave Montpelier the lead it seemed like it would just be another routine win against Ligue One’s bottom club. However, Renaud Cohade equalised eight minutes later and then Emmanuel Riviere put Metz ahead with just six minutes remaining.
Nicolas Basin added another deep into stoppage time to give the away team some hope for the remainder of the campaign. Metz have lost 14 of their 18 games and are still 11 points from safety, but this result will give them confidence.
Honourable mentions
Strasbourg beat Toulouse 2-1 to make it their third win in the league in a row. They are now unbeaten in their last six in Ligue One, although they did lose to PSG in the cup in midweek. Thierry Laurey’s men have lost just once in the league in the last 11.
