Week of January 25 - 28

SCORES

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Ligue 1

January 27

Le Mans 2-0 Marseille
Bordeaux 0-1 Lille
Lyon 1-1 Nice
Nantes 0-2 Lorient
PSG 0-0 Sochaux
Rennes - Valenciennes
Sedan - Monaco
Toulouse - Troyes

January 28

Auxerre 2-0 Nancy
Lens 3-3 St. Etienne

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There was little in the way of a break for any team this week, with all teams playing Ligue 1 matches on Wednesday and Thursday as well as Saturday and Sunday. Early Saturday saw Le Mans play host to in-form Marseille, who won despite playing in front of an empty stadium on Wednesday against Auxerre by a 3-1 scoreline. Le Mans had been lucky to come away from Valenciennes with a point courtesy of a goal as time expired. A win for Marseille would surely put their case forward for the second place spot, and a win for Le Mans would keep them in the top half of the table. The home side started off slow, with Marseille getting the bulk of the chances and being denied a goal early on. Le Mans’ James Franchome opened the scoring 38 minutes in after Marseille conceded a corner. The visitors played a listless game in the second half, capped off by giving away a penalty, which was all Le Mans needed to seal this match. Marseille’s winning streak ends, and they fall to 3rd.

Bordeaux contributed to Lyon’s mini dip in form on Wednesday, beating them at the Gerland 2-1. Lille’s win against PSG boosted them into 4th on the day, and the were looking to keep pace in the European places. Both sides had been consistent for most of the season, but Lille had more to lose in this match, as they wanted to start gelling before going back to Europe and their Champions League draws against Manchester United. Unfortunately for Bordeaux, this was not to be their day. It looked as though this one was headed to a nil-nil draw until defender Maromane Chamakh got it all wrong and put the ball in his own net. Lille leapfrog Marseille into 2nd, and Bordeaux keep their 7th place spot.

The second home fixture in four days for Lyon saw Nice travelling north to meet the team that was still 4 points above their nearest rivals, Marseille, despite dropping their last two matches. Nice were unable to beat Toulouse at home Wednesday, a result which saw them keep their dire 19th place spot, and they knew that the best they could hope for here would be a draw. To the surprise of the home fans, it was Nice who struck first as Bakari Kone beat Coupet in a moment of mass confusion. Lyon’s new boy Milan Baros drew things level 5 minutes later as Lyon surged to try for a comeback. Despite dominating the play, Lyon were held to one goal and missed a penalty to give Nice the draw they wanted. Lyon drop points for the third match in a row, and Nice keep their place in 19th.

It was another Bretagne derby as Lorient travelled the 120 KM down the E60 to Nantes, who had just returned victorious from Troyes. Lorient had also been fortunate midweek, however, as they sent Lens packing, beating them 1-0. Nantes needed the points more to be sure, as they saw themselves languishing in the danger zone just above relegation territory. It was to be the visitors day as Fabien Barthez let goals in from Andre-Pierre Gignac and Fabrice Abriel despite Nantes having the better of the possession and shots on net. Nantes continue to be dire, and they drop into 18th, back into the danger zone. Lorient hold up well in 11th.

There was nothing in the air that would suggest that PSG would be able to secure a win against Sochaux on Saturday afternoon at the Parc Des Princes. Paul Le Guen’s arrival had done nothing to inspire the club, with only a draw and a loss since he came down from Rangers not two weeks ago. Sochaux’ draw with Sedan midweek had been disappointing, but that said, they still stood tall in 5th and would have to fancy their chances against a side fraught with problems. The man of the match in this one was Sochaux’ keeper Teddy Richert, who frustrated the capital club time after time after furious pressure from PSG in the first half. Things settled into a rhythm after the half though, and the result was inevitablly nil-nil.

Rennes were back at Orient Road after sunning themselves midweek in Monaco and beating the principality side 2-0. Valenciennes’ home fixture with Le Mans had been less successful, dropping two points late in the match. Rennes saw themselves in 11th on the day, but knew that stringing together some results would mean they could climb the table rapidly, and Valenciennes needed points to stay above relegation danger. It was a scrappy match that saw Rennes’ Romain Danze score his first Ligue 1 goal only 6 minutes in. Rennes applied wave after wave of pressure, and Valenciennes were forced to play defense for most of the match. The one goal was all Rennes needed to take all three points, and they move up into 10th. Valenciennes drop to 15th on the day.

Sedan hosted Monaco after surprising Sochaux with a draw midweek, and though destined for Ligue 2, would have to feel they could get at least a point against Monaco, who slipped up against Rennes on Wednesday. Monaco needed all three points and were not about to take Sedan lightly, as the side had surprised better teams so far this season. All that Monaco needed to recover from last week’s slip up was a Jan Koller strike in the 2nd minute. Sedan were unable to make any headway in this match and they stay bottom of the table, and Monaco move back up into 13th.

Toulouse, sitting in 8th and moving up, had beaten a bottom table team and a top table team in their last two, and were on a bit of a run going into their home match against Troyes, who sat in 18th. Troyes knew with a win they might be able to leapfrog PSG out of the relegation territory, but they would also need a couple of goals to improve their differential. Troyes had beaten Nantes midweek, but would face a tougher challenge in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Troyes started well when Cedric Barbosa got his first of the season early on to get them the surprise lead. Toulouse’s Dominique Arribage drew things level 20 minutes later, but it was the home side who were frustrated as the match ended drawn. Toulouse’s bid for Europe hits a snag and they find themselves in 8th, while Troyes leapfrog into 17th.