Strasbourg stay-up, as Lyon stumble
Strasbourg ended a run of 11 consecutive defeats in the league to get a surprise 3-2 win over Lyon. Bruno Genesio’s men were nowhere near their best, but they looked to have done enough when they were 2-1 in-front with just two minutes remaining.
The away side found it hard to find their rhythm in the opening 45 minutes, as Strasbourg defended well. They found themselves a goal down, when defender Mouctar Diakhaby made a mistake in the 22nd minute.
The 21-year-old misjudged the bounce of the ball and Stephane Bahoken pounced to put it through the legs of keeper Mathieu Gorgelin. It almost got worse for the away side when Benjamin Corgnet hit the crossbar with a spectacular overhead kick.
Nabil Fekir was upended at the start the second period and the Liverpool transfer target scored the resulting penalty, as he sent Alexandre Oukidja the wrong way. Lyon continued to look laboured in attack, but Houssem Aouar’s clever one-two with Memphis Depay opened up the space for the midfielder to curl them ahead.
Their longest winning run in 12 years came to a shock end, when Joia Nuno Da Costa headed the sides level. Then, Dimitri Lienard hit a stunning free-kick in the third minute of stoppage time to keep Strasbourg in the top flight.
Late penalty gives Monaco the three points
A stoppage time penalty from Fabinho gave Monaco a vital victory in the race for the Champions League. They have now moved into second and are three points ahead of fourth place.
Thomas Lemar and Rony Lopes provided a number of decent crosses in the first half, but they lacked aerial threat in forward areas with young Moussa Sylla leading the line. Leonardo Jardim’s men have scored 13 headed goals this term, which is the highest in Ligue One.
It’s a natural part of their attack, but without their three main strikers and Saint-Etienne’s commanding centre-backs they were always going to find it difficult. Saint-Etienne had their own chances with Jonathan Bamba and Remy Cabella forcing decent saves from Danijel Subasic.
Monaco centre-back Jemerson thought he had broken the deadlock when his header from Lemar’s corner was goal bound, only for Bamba’s outstretched leg to clear it off the line. Stephane Ruffier made a double save against his former club to deny both Lemar’s free-kick and then the follow-up effort from Sylla, but he could do little with Fabinho’s spot-kick after Mathieu Debuchy fouled Lemar.
Drama at the Stade de Roudourou
Marseille had to settle for a draw at Guingamp after a dramatic 3-3 encounter. They had led by two goals with Valere Germain and Florian Thauvin scoring inside the opening quarter of an hour.
Two goals either side of half-time from Clement Grenier levelled it up, then Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda was sent-off in only his second game back since injury. Grenier passed up the opportunity of a hat-trick when Jimmy Briand scored from the penalty spot with 20 minutes left, but Thauvin wasn’t finished and he equalised for the away side.
“We conceded two counter-attacks in the 40th and 45th minutes when we were 2-0 up,” said Rudi Garcia. “So, our front four were excellent, but in those last five minutes they forgot to help us out.”
Emery loses final home game
Rennes ended Paris Saint-Germain’s unbeaten home record of 42 matches in the league with a 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes. It was Unai Emery’s last game in the capital after securing the domestic treble, whilst Rennes have qualified for Europe for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
Favre going out in style
Nice boss Lucien Favre was confirmed as the new Borussia Dortmund coach this week, but he wants to leave the French side on a high. They won 4-1 against Caen, with an early brace from the reformed Mario Balotelli helping them to a comfortable victory.
Honourable mentions
Lille won for the third game in a row to ensure they won’t finish in the bottom three after a troubled season. However, they now face an even greater battle off the pitch to convince the authorities that they shouldn’t be relegated anyway due to their poor financial management.
