Championnat

A weekly North American review of French Football. Ligue 1, Champions League, and UEFA Cup action.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Week Of April 9-16

SCORES

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Ligue 1

April 14

Bordeaux 0-0 PSG
Le Mans 0-0 Rennes
Lille 2-0 Sochaux
Lorient 0-0 Monaco
Nantes 0-0 Lens
Toulouse 2-0 Auxerre
Troyes 0-0 Nancy
Valenciennes 0-0 Marseille

April 15

Nice 2-1 St. Etienne
Lyon 1-0 Sedan

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DISCLAIMER: This was one of the most boring weekends of French Football all season. 6 nil-nil draws and 8 goals scored over ten matches. You do the match and decide whether you want to be as bored reading my blog as the fans were in every stadium in the country.

PSG were coming of two big wins in a row when they travelled to Bordeaux to hopefully get a taste of three points again to keep them out of relegation danger. Last weekend they had overcome Le Mans at home 2-1 and gotten themselves into 16th place. Bordeaux had travelled to Auxerre only to manage a dull scoreless draw. They had dropped to 7th and were looking unlikely to get back into Europe. Unfortunately this is just the first of several nil-nil draws that I have to write about this week. Neither team had many quality chances but PSG were slightly better on the day despite less shots and less possession. THe result leaves PSG still just 3 points above the relegation zone, and Bordeaux are 7th on 46 points.

Le Mans had dropped points to PSG last week, and now sat in 12th on 42 points. They were looking solidly mid-table, and hosting Rennes would be tough, as Rennes would want the three points on this visit. The Visitors were only 4 points back of Europe, and would be wishing that they had been able to be more consistent earlier in the season.As it turned out, neither teams cared much about the points, as Le Mans made it the second week in a row without scoring, and Rennes missed out on a possible UEFA cup place by giving up 2 points. Both teams played a lot of keep-ball, and were justly rewarded with the share of the spoils. Le Mans are now 11th, and Rennes 9th.

Lille were at home to Sochaux, a team that were on fine form and now sat in the 4th place UEFA Cup spot. Lille had dropped off and had barely won a match since they dropped out of the Champions League at the hands of Manchester United, they were in 8th and falling fast. The match was rather dull for the first half, but Lille found their legs in the second. A goal from Nicolas Fauvergue in the 49th minute got things rolling, and Kevin Mirallas got his first of the season, beating Teddy Richert in the 66th minute. 2-0 was all that Lille needed to be one of the few teams to take all 3 points this week, and they move all the way to 6th, and Sochaux drop into 4th.

Lorient played host to Monaco in a battle that meant very little in terms of the end of the season. Both teams were likely to sit above the drop, mid-table and safe. Lorient had squeaked out a 1-0 result at Nancy last week, and Monaco hadn't even managed a goal against Troyes in their goalless draw. No surprise then that the Stade du Moustoir was the venue for another snooze-fest that left the fans wondering why they even bothered to show up anymore. Lorient were the better team, but that's not saying much. Monaco couldn't even put a shot on net despite having more possession. The result places Monaco in 13th, and Lorient in 10th.

At the heart of the relegation battle was Nantes, the team in 20th place. They had to play host to Lens, who although in 2nd, were on their worst form of recent memory. Both teams were in equally bad form, but Nantes needed the points much more desperately, and would play with desperation. This match had nothing at all going for it. Lens were absolutely dire, and their 5 shots couldn't even hit the target. Nantes did hit the target, but had no finishing. 0-0 was the predictable scoreline, and now Lens, who should be playing much better, drop to 3rd and out of the automatic Champions League spot, and Nantes stay in the basement on 30 points. A dire, dire result for both teams.

Auxerre took the trip to Toulouse to play a match that would surely not be easy, The hosts were challenging to make the 2nd place spot with a win here. 10th place was about good enough for Auxerre this season, they had been inconsistent and were deserving of their table position. Toulouse bossed the match, to the delight of the home fans. Cameroon international Achille Emana got his 7th of the year just 7 minutes in, giving the home side an early advantage. Despite dominating possession, Auxerre gave up another goal 20 minutes later, and Toulouse cruised to a 2-0 win. The result is great for Toulouse, as they now sit in 2nd place on 52 points, looking for Europe. Auxerre drop to 12th, but are still likely safe with their 43 points.

Troyes were sitting on 31 points in 18th place. The could possibly lift themselves out of danger for the time being if They could pull one over on AS Nancy at the Stade de l`Aube. Neither team were able to buy a win in recent memory, and Nancy were anything but safe in 15th place. As it turned out, this week neither team was able to win either, as they played to a nil-nil draw, just like nearly everyone else. The foul count is what set this match apart though, with 54 fouls committed total. Shots were at a premium, which is to be expected in a match so tight. The draw means that the teams keep their respective table positions, and are still in danger of relegation.

Marseille travelled north to Valenciennes knowing that with a win they could possibly make their mark on the European spots again. They sat in 5th, and Valenciennes sat in 14th. Valenciennes were still not safe themselves, but three points would go a long way towards ensuring that they would stay up. As both teams were patently pathetic, they had to make it a nil-nil draw so I would have to write about their boring matchup. Neither team was quality, but at least they had a few shots on the net. The result means that the teams stay 5th and 14th.

Sunday's first match saw St. Etienne make the trip to Nice. The teams were working with opposing fortunes, St. Etienne were in 6th just below Europe, and Nice sat only 2 points above the drop and could ill afford to lose here. A drawn first half gave way to a second half that St. Etienne began brightly by having Lamine Diatta score in the 47th minute. A late surge by the home side, however, was St. Etienne's doom. David Bellion scored in the 70th minute to draw things level, and then was asked to convert a penalty a few minutes later. 2-1 was the final, and the result puts Nice in 16th, one place safer from relegation. St. Etienne drop all the way to 8th on the day.

First vs. 19th? That's what Lyon vs. Sedan would be, and if any team had the power to surprise, it was Sedan, who had been playing good football just a little too late in the season. Lyon had nothing to worry about, the title was all theirs, with no team able to make a good challenge to their dominance. It was a tight match, but all it took for Lyon to take the points was a goal from rare starter Israeli striker Hatem Ben Arfa just before halftime. Sedan stay in 19th, and Lyon stay in 1st, a predictable result.


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