Ligue One Gameweek 26 Review: PSG Back To Winning Ways, As Thauvin Shines Again For Marseille

Ligue One Gameweek 26 Review: PSG Back To Winning Ways, As Thauvin Shines Again For Marseille
09:53, 19 Feb 2018

Could Newcastle have got more from Thauvin?

Florian Thauvin lasted only six months at Newcastle United, with Steve McClaren as manager and Alan Shearer criticising his choice of clothing. However, the winger has been exceptional since he made the return to Marseille permanent.

Thauvin scored the only goal of the game against Bordeaux, which ended Gus Poyet’s 100% record since arriving in France. He headed in his 15th league goal of the season from a Dimitri Payet corner.

The 25-year-old celebrated his goal by pointing to his name in Chinese on the back of his shirt, as Rudi Garcia’s men were commemorating the Chinese New Year. He has already matched last term’s total.

Marseille now have 17 points from a possible 21 since the winter break and are unbeaten in their last 11. Their points tally is only bettered by Paris Saint-Germain, who they will meet next week.

PSG bounce back

Jean Eudes Aholou gave Strasbourg a shock lead against PSG, but it didn’t last long as Julian Draxler, Neymar and Angel Di Maria struck back inside 22 minutes. Stephane Bahoken pulled one back in the second half for the visitors.

A brace from Edinson Cavani made it 5-2 and took his Ligue 1 tally to 23 in as many starts. Neymar’s goal was a mixture of persistence and technique, whilst he beat three players and played a no-look pass late on.

“The win was important after Wednesday's game,” admitted Emery. “We lost our aggression late in the game and conceded two avoidable goals,” added Strasbourg boss Thierry Laurey.

Lyon in danger of missing out on the Champions League

Two goals from Bertrand Traore put Lyon 2-0 up at half-time against Lille. Nabil Fekir was rested by Bruno Genesio, as Memphis Depay started after his spectacular goal in the Europa League against Villarreal last week.

The Great Danes were just beginning to get the upper hand, when their goalkeeper Mike Maignan spilled Depay’s cross and Traore had a simple tap-in. The winger scored his second when he finished on the turn, with Lucas Tousart’s clever run creating the opportunity.

However, they allowed Lille back into the match as their top scorer Nicolas Pepe hit the target in the 65th minute and then substitute Luiz Araujo rounded off an impressive display with the equaliser. Lyon striker Mariano hit the woodwork twice, whilst Houssem Aouar was so unhappy with his side throwing away the lead he blasted the ball off the back of a steward’s head.

Monaco find their groove once again

Monaco are now unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, as they defeated Dijon 4-0. It seemed like the away side were in for another hammering when Keita Balde opened the scoring with less than a quarter of an hour gone.

However, Olivier Dall’Oglio’s side were much more resilient than against PSG and illustrated a level of confidence following two successive wins. Monaco were without Radamel Falcao once again, but Thomas Lemar was back in the first X1 after not starting the last five games due to injury.

It wasn’t until the 69th minute that Monaco extended their lead, as Fabinho netted from the penalty spot. Rony Lopes and Kamil Glik scored in the last few minutes to make it appear a more convincing result.

“The team is making progress away from home, but we have not sorted that out yet,” said Dall’Oglio. “It is a good victory because Dijon like to play good football and have a lot of technical quality,” Leonardo Jardim confessed.

Nice and Nantes share spoils

Both Nice and Nantes have aspirations of a top six finish, although they have stumbled in recent weeks with just one win in their last five. Neither side could take advantage, as they drew 1-1 at the Allianz Riviera.

Dante put Nice ahead when the ball took a fortuitous rebound off Andrei Girotto and into the Brazilian defender’s path. Nice had lost their last two matches after taking the lead and they couldn’t hold on again.

Patrick Burner needlessly took Girotto’s legs from underneath him in a sliding challenge right in-front of the referee to give Nantes a penalty. Emiliano Sala sent his compatriot Walter Benitez the wrong way from the spot, as he netted his fourth goal in his last four games.

Honourable mentions

Saint-Etienne beat Angers 1-0 to make it 10 points from a possible 12 in Ligue One. Robert Beric scored the only goal of the game, with the Slovenian given the start following his late equaliser against Marseille last week.

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