Week of December 11 - 18

SCORES

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UEFA Cup

December 13

Blackburn Rovers 1-0 Nancy
PSG 0-4 Panathinaikos

December 14

Auxerre 0-1 Livorno
Heerenveen 1-0 Lens

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December 16

Nancy 2-0 Marseille
Le Mans 2-0 Toulouse
Monaco 3-0 Sochaux
Nantes 0-0 Bordeaux
Rennes 1-1 Troyes
Sedan 2-0 Lille
St. Etienne 3-0 Valenciennes

December 17

PSG 0-0 Nice
Auxerre 2-1 Lorient
Lens 0-4 Lyon

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On Wednesday Nancy made the trip across the channel to the north of England to meet up with Blackburn Rovers on the last day of UEFA Cup group stages. The two teams had both qualified for the next round with their current record, but a win from either side would place that team at the top of the group. It was a story of missed chances and great saves, especially by Blackburn keeper Brad Friedel. To their credit, Nancy kept up the pressure for the entire match, but third-string keeper Johan Lapeyre just didn’t have enough to stop Lucas Neill’s injury-time goal, to give the home side the 1-0 win. Blackburn top the group while Nancy finish in second.

Troubled PSG, in a horrible run of form and coming off a loss to Lyon on the weekend, hosted Greek side Panathinaikos at the Parc Des Princes. The match was a must-win for PSG, and even then it would not have guaranteed them a spot in the round of 32. Panathinaikos had qualifed already, and a such had nothing to play for but pride and a guaranteed top spot in the group. PSG had been struggling in all competitions even before the violence and racism surrounding the club came to a head with their postponed match with Toulouse two weeks ago. Fortunately for PSG, this was to be their day, as the Greeks, already qualified in first, didn’t seem to care what happened in this match. Braces by both Pedro Pauleta and Bonaventure Kalou and an unwillingness to care by Panathinaikos gave PSG the 4-0 win. The scoreline gives PSG the second place in the group, just ahead of Hapoel Tel Aviv on goal difference.

Auxerre’s match against Livorno was one that they needed to Win or Tie to move on the the next round, as their grip on third place in the group was tenuous at best. Their emphatic 4-1 win against Partizan Belgrade in the last matchweek was a big boost, but they needed another big result this week. The hosts were looking to win in the first half, with a few shots on goal, some hitting the woodwork, but it was not to be. In the 59th minute, Livorno’s Cristiano Lucarelli scored a headed goal off a corner. Auxerre, needing only a draw, pressed hard, but could not beat keeper Marco Amelia. The loss takes Auxerre out of the tournament, and Livorno advances in the third position.

Lens travelled to Holland to play Heerenveen, who had no choice but to win this match and then rely on other matches to even possibly get through. Lens had a slim chance of not going through with a loss, but a draw or win would take them through. Lens’ form of late has been outstanding domestically, but their European campaign had been a little more shaky, as their record of 1-1-1 was poorer than they would have liked. This one was in danger of playing out to a nil-nil draw, but as time expired Heerenveen’s Alfonso Alves scored off of a stunning free kick to give the home side the win. Nonetheless, Lens squeak through on goal difference, and Heerenveen drop out of Europe.

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Nancy’s second match of the week was played out in from of the home fans. Marseille came to visit, having won against Monaco the week before, and hoping the return of Djibril Cisse would continue to help them out of their run of mediocre form. Nancy’s last domestic fixture was a boring and disappointing draw with Nice that they should have gotten three points out of. This one was much more fast-paced though, to be sure. Both teams made valiant efforts in the first half, but it was Nancy who drew first blood. Benjamin Gavanon scored in the 43rd minute to give the home side the lead. A Marseille goalkeeping error followed by a poor defending job gave Kim a chance to make it 2-0, a chance which was pounced upon and converted. Despite a number of good chances and a furious pace, Marseille were unable to make anything happen, and they fell again.

Toulouse travelled to Le Mans with neither team posting much in the way of a result last week. Toulouse lost to on-form Lens, and Le Mans drew nil-nil with Nantes. Both teams seemed resigned to a mid-table finish, as results have been hard to come by, especially for Le Mans. That statement would not ring true today however, as Le Mans were the team with all the chances. Marko Basa scored a goal half an hour in, and completely dominated the pace of the game until Romaric Koffi got their second and final goal at 77 minutes to end this one at 2-0. Le Mans leapfrog Toulouse into 9th place.

Monaco were disappointed with their trip to Marseille last week, losing in the late stages and ending their run of good form. Sochaux’s visit to Monte Carlo would be a chance for them to get back on their feet and continue to battle for a spot above relegation at the end of the season. Sochaux played a scoreless draw at Valenciennes last week, and though they sat in 4th place, certainly needed to boost their goal differential. On the day, however, it was the Monaco of recent weeks that came out to play, despite Sochaux’ best efforts. Jerko Leko opened the scoring a mere 5 minutes in, beating Teddy Richert at the far post. After a spell where it looked like the visitors might get a break, Monaco began applaying a constant and deadly pressure, and they were rewarded again with goals from Jeremy Menex and big Yaya Toure. The healthy win ends Sochaux’ 9 game unbeaten streak, and Monaco move up to 13th, a long way from their bottom-table standing of the early season.

Nantes came into Saturday’s match in 19th place, and needing to get something going fast. Manager George Eo thinks that former France keeper Fabien Barthez may be the answer to their problems, as current keeper Vladimir Stojkovic has been struggling to find his form all season. The chances of them getting Barthez are good, as he hasn’t had work since the World Cup, and could have a couple good years left. Bordeaux came into the match thinking that they could get a result, and after dropping all the points to Rennes last week they needed to get rolling for a change to make the European places. Though Bordeaux were the better team on the day, Nantes kept a solid presence and were able to shut out the Girondins. Unfortunately for Les Canaris they could not manage a goal themselves. The draw keeps Nantes firmly in Relegation territory, and Bordeaux stay in 8th.

Rennes had Troyes visit Orient Road Saturday afternoon on a terrific run of form. Losing only one of the last 5, Rennes are beginning to pick things up after a disastrous start to their season. Troyes seemed like a rollover result since the only match they’ve won since October has been against the only team lower than them in the table, Sedan. Troyes seemd eager to surprise and prove the detractors wrong however, with a goal from David Gigliotti coming only 6 minutes in. Rennes never looked like a team that would roll over with the result though, and after a multitude of chances, Jimmy Briand finally got his third of the season at 72 minutes. That was all the home side had in them though, settling for a 1-1 draw. The result keeps Rennes at 10th, and Troyes got the point they needed to move up into 17th.

Sedan, sitting at the bottom in 20th, were certainly not favoured to win against Champions League surprise story LOSC Lille. Sedan’s record of 1-9-7 was telling, and the newly-promoted side have shown that they haven’t got what it takes to play with the big boys yet. Lille, on the other hand, sit in third, but can’t afford to drop any points in what is sure to be a close race for European spots come the spring. Sedan decided they had nothing to lose in this one, however, shocking the visitors by scoring twice in the first half, a mere 6 minutes apart. Gregory Pujol and Nicolas Marin were the men of the hour, and though Lille had a few chances, a Sedan team with lots of heart were able to hold them to a 2-0 scoreline for the rest of the match. Lille drop to 4th, and Sedan pick up their second win of the campaign.

St. Etienne was at home to Valenciennes, and their 2-2 draw with Lille last week was a good result, as they couldn’t afford to drop all the points. St. Etienne had been slowly creeping up, and with a few good results could challenge for a top spot. Valenciennes’ draw with Sochaux last week sees them only one point up on PSG in 14th. St. Etienne came out firing on all cylinders, but looked ready to pounce at any second, but had to wait until Brazilian striker Aruajo Ilan beat Nicolas Penneteau in the 31st minute to take the lead. Valenciennes were never able to get much going in the way of pressure, and St. Etienne took full advantage of them, netting two more in the closing 10 minutes to make the final score 3-0. With the Lille loss to Sedan, St. Etienne now sit in third just behind Lens, while Valenciennes drop down to 15th.

One of the few teams sitting lower than PSG is Nice, who had the pleasure of coming north to Paris for a match early Sunday. Sitting only two points back of the Parisian club, Nice could concievably leapfrog them into 15th, and putting PSG that much closer to the danger zone. PSG also came in tired from their midweek match against the Greek side Panathinaikos. That emphatic result midweek raised the expectations for a big game at the weekend, but it was not to be. It was a tale of missed chances as both teams played serious defensive football, and Nice keeper Hugo Lloris made some marvelous saves, and in the end it remained a scoreless draw. Both teams keep their current table standings, 15th and 17th.

Midtable, Lorient met Auxerre in a match that had little implications on the shape of the League. Auxerre sat 4 points back of Lorient, and have been in mediocre form having been concentrating on their European campaign. Newly promoted Lorient have made the case for staying up, sitting in 11th, tied with Bretagne neighbors Rennes. It was Lorient who got things started on a goal from André-Pierre Gignac at the 14 minute mark, but an Auxerre team with a newfound focus got one back 8 minutes later at the hands of Kanga Akale. Ireneusz Jelen ended off the scoring right after halftime to give the home side the 2-1 win, and Auxerre move up to 13th.

Arguably the biggest match of the week was the fixture between Lyon and Lens. Lens’ home record has been outstanding this year, and they looked like the only team who could challenge Lyon for the title. As such, this match was a must-win for the Northerners. Lyon were more rested, having had no midweek European matches, and their emphatic win over bitter rivals PSG last week at home only strengthened their case for the title. This day would not belong to the home side, however, as Lyon took it upon themselves to score from all over the pitch, spreading the goals out and giving themselves a 17 point cushion over Lens, their nearest rivals. 2 free kick goals by Juninho, in addition to goals from Florent Malouda and Cris assured Lyon of victory, as they assaulted Lens 4-0.