Strasbourg goes high with the Champions League on the horizon
Just over a decade after being forced into liquidation and relegated to the fifth regional tier, Strasbourg are pushing for a Champions League spot after an impressive debut season under Julien Stephan.
Champion of France in 1979, the club from eastern Alsace neighboring Germany and Switzerland is having its best season since winning the league trophy for the only time.
Buoyed by goals from veterans Kevin Gameiro, Ludovic Ajorque and Africa Cup of Nations winner Habib Diallo, Strasbourg are fourth in Ligue 1 and one point behind Nice.
They are the second top scorers in the division (46) behind Paris Saint-Germain and the only team in Europe’s top five leagues besides Manchester City with four players on at least seven goals, once Adrien Thomasson is added to the mix.
Seven wins from their last nine matches have propelled Strasbourg into Champions League contention, with Stephan recreating the success he enjoyed at Rennes two years ago when he led them to third place, the best finish ever. their story.
“We can say that we have fulfilled our first objective: to have enough points to be in Ligue 1 again next season,” said Stephan, 41, after the 1-0 victory against Angers last week.
Strasbourg are one point away from equaling last year’s tally of 42, when a struggling season saw the club’s fight against relegation come to an end last weekend.
“We are not going to win every game until the end,” Diallo said on Friday. “But we will do everything to get as many points as possible…
“We want to keep our momentum going and not let up just because we hit 41 points.”
Defender Frederic Guilbert recently said he felt Strasbourg were not “taken seriously”, but they can take matters into their own hands with Nice visiting next weekend.
The first, however, is a trip to resurgent Saint-Etienne, whose three-game winning streak under Pascal Dupraz lifted the 10-time French champions off the table.
Paris Saint-Germain, 13 points clear at the top, travel to Nantes on Saturday boosted by a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid thanks to Kylian Mbappe’s stoppage-time goal.
Marseille can strengthen their hold on second place against Clermont on Sunday while Nice host Angers.
David Guion begins his lifesaving mission down Bordeaux against Monaco after taking over for the rest of the season following the sacking of Vladimir Petkovic.
Player to watch: Kevin Gameiro
The former France international has scored five times in his last four games, including a brilliant volley last weekend against Angers, to lead Strasbourg’s assault on the top three.
Gameiro, now 34, returned to Strasbourg – the club where he made his professional debut in 2005 – in July after eight years in Spain with Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Valencia.
After a slow start to his second spell, the former PSG striker has nine goals for the campaign and is looking for a wise investment for a side that hadn’t been in fourth place this far in a season since 1997.
Key statistics
15 – PSG have won the most points in the last 15 minutes of games this season, including eight by goals in the 90th minute or later.
61 – Goals conceded by Bordeaux this campaign. It is the worst defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues.
6 – Arkadiusz Milik has scored six goals in as many games in Europe, one more than his total in Ligue 1 this season despite the Pole scoring four times in his last two outings for Marseille.
Calendar (all times GMT)
Friday
Lille v Metz (2000)
Saturday
Lens against Lyon (1600), Nantes against Paris Saint-Germain (2000)
Sunday
Nice v Angers (1200), Lorient v Montpellier, Reims v Brest, Rennes v Troyes, Saint-Etienne v Strasbourg (all 1400), Bordeaux v Monaco (1605), Marseille v Clermont (1945)
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