Lyon finding their feet
An emphatic 5-0 victory over bottom club Metz has put Lyon in the final Champions League place on goal difference. Memphis Depay was the star of the show once again, as he scored and created all four of Lyon’s other goals for Marcelo (2), Bertrand Traore and Mariano Diaz.
Bruno Genesio’s men will certainly feel that they have the momentum to outdo Marseille in the straight race. Four of their last six fixtures are at home, where they have only been beaten on two occasions in Ligue One.
Marseille lack squad depth
Marseille drew 0-0 with Montpellier, as Rudi Garcia’s team were without a number of key players once again. Florian Thauvin has yet to return from injury, whilst first choice centre-backs Rolando and Adil Rami were forced to watch the game from the stands.
The home side had an uneventful first half, with Dimitri Payet failing to provide any kind of inspiration. They did improve a little afterwards as Morgan Sanson showed excellent control to gather the ball before hitting the post.
Substitute Kostas Mitroglou had an effort saved by goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte from close range, whilst defender Hilton also swept the Greek striker’s legs away from him, but the referee was disinterested. Montpellier have now drawn seven of their eight matches against the top four sides in the league.
Debuchy own goal denies Saint-Etienne
A stoppage time own goal from Mathieu Debuchy gave Paris Saint-Germain a draw at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Etienne opened the scoring through Remy Cabella, although the on-loan Marseille attacker missed a penalty 14 minutes later.
PSG were reduced to 10 men down when Presnel Kimpembe picked up a second yellow card before the interval. Debuchy’s mishap was a shame for Jean-Louis Gasset’s side, who felt “pride” from his team’s performance.
“Everyone is down in the dressing room because the players were dreaming of beating the future champions,” said Gasset. “The equaliser is maybe a little unfair, but we deserve the point for the work we put in in the second half,” added Unai Emery.
Lopes inspires Monaco comeback
Claudio Ranieri aimed to take advantage of his old club’s lack of energy following Monaco’s win over Rennes in midweek, when Adrien Thomasson finished with a quality half-volley just after the half-hour mark. Nantes couldn’t maintain their superior margin, with Monaco illustrating their ability to recover yet again.
They have now gained an unbelievable 20 points this season when they have conceded the opening goal. Rony Lopes was heavily involved once more, when his mistouch allowed Radamel Falcao to equalise and then his fantastic curler three minutes later gave the champions the win and the Portuguese winger his eighth goal in his last seven league games.
“I'm happy with our little Lopes, he's gotten to this level thanks to a lot of work and by listening,” said Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim. “We played well, but for their goals, Falcao was a little lucky the ball came to him, but it's Falcao, he knows what to do,” admitted Ranieri.
Poyet gets much needed three points
Bordeaux halted a run of six games without a win, with a 2-1 victory over Lille at the Matmut Atlantique. It was Lille that surprised the hosts when they took the lead through Lebo Mothiba inside quarter-of-an-hour.
However, a brace from Francois Kamano in the space of three minutes before half-time completely changed the complexion of the result. Lille midfielder Thiago Mendes didn’t help Christophe Galtier’s hopes of turning the situation around when he was sent-off for two bookable offences separated by only three minutes.
Gus Poyet was pleased with his side after falling behind: “It was difficult after that, because you know we haven't won a game this season when we have conceded first, so a reaction before half-time was really important.” Lille have remarkably lost four out of their last five away games by that score and are now without a victory in nine, as their hopes of remaining in Ligue One are quickly diminishing.
Honourable mentions
Guingamp won back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of January, with only their third win in their last 13 games. It was an impressive 4-0 victory, although Troyes’ defensive errors certainly assisted the home side. Winger Nicolas Benezet scored the opener and the 27-year-old will be hoping he can find the consistency to finish the campaign in the starting 11.
