Soccer. Ligue 1: Nantes breathes, Monaco suspended
Nantes breathes
Nantes gave themselves some air by finding their way to the nets to dispose of Brest, very unlucky red lantern (4-1), Sunday during the 11e Ligue 1 day.
With this success that took time to take shape, the Canaries, 19are at kick-off, go back to the 14e place, with two lengths ahead of the red zone, and remove a little pressure on the shoulders of Antoine Kombouaré, who risked joining the four coaches sacked last week.
For Brest, who named the team to a trio of old time to find a replacement for Michel Der Zakarian, it is a new disappointment. The Ty’Zefs are last, two points behind the trio in front and three behind.
They were, however, off to a good start. Marco Bizot repelled a penalty from Ludovic Blas (12e ) and Noah Fadiga, served by Mathias Mereira Lage, opened the scoring with a clear shot close to the post (0-1, 18e ).
But the tide turned when Alban Lafont repelled a point-blank header from Pierre Lees-Melou (23e ). Ignatius Ganago obtained a generous penalty and that one, Moses Simon placed it perfectly (1-1, 35th). And on the throw-in, poor control from Achraf Dari at the entrance to his area was enough for Ganago to give Nantes the advantage (2-1, 36e ).
Joined shortly after, Moussa Sissoko, disappointing since the start of the season, showed a new face. He came to steal the ball from the feet of Haris Belkebla, to serve Mostafa Mohamed, whose shot close to the pot gave Bizot no chance (3-1, 71e ).
A new head from Lees-Melou could have revived the Brestois (75e ) but Sissoko, very comfortable on the right side, confirmed his great form by coming to take over a cross from Blas (4-1, 89e ).
Lyon beaten in Rennes for the 1re white on the bench
Laurent Blanc had come looking for points at all costs for his debut with Lyon but if his players showed more training, they were punished 3-2 by the former Gones de Rennes.
Despite a double from Alexandre Lacazette (23e 72e ), the Lyonnais showed too many shortcomings in defense recorded and their fifth defeat in six matches on goals from Martin Terrier (38e 78e ) and Amine Gouiri (47e ).
With this success against another contender on the podium, Rennes, which is pushing its current run to 11 unbeaten matches, continues to nibble on the top of the standings, temporarily climbing to fifth place, three lengths from the podium.
The Lyonnais, on the other hand, sink in the 10the , with just 14 points in 11 games. To make matters worse, they also lost Corentin Tolisso, released at the end of the first period after what appeared to be a thigh strain.
For his return to an L1 bench after more than six years of absence, Laurent Blanc remained upright at the limit of his zone, cap screwed on his head, arms crossed, hand under his chin, often impassive.
For the operation to boost Lyon’s confidence, we will have to wait for Montpellier next week.
Monaco must settle for a draw against Clermont
Monaco, who played more than 70 minutes 10 against 11, failed to beat Clermont (1-1). This draw at the Stade Louis-II puts an end to a series of five consecutive victories in the league for players from the Principality.
Of its six league matches at home since the start of the season, Monaco will therefore only have finished twice in numerical equality with its opponent, against Nantes (4-1) and Lyon (2-1).
Once again, Philippe Clément’s men have complicated the task. Following Youssouf Fofana’s loss of the ball in the center circle, Camara broke the opposing block by stepping on the ankle of Saîf-Eddine Khaoui. The referee Mr. Buquet did not hesitate: exclusion of the Malian (17e ).
On its only opportunity of the first period, Monaco managed to score. Maximiliano Cauffriez and Yohann Magnin also made mistakes, in their surface, on the imposing Embolo. The Swiss first saw Mory Diaw push back his penalty, but he resumed victoriously (1-0, 31e ).
Tired by their trip and their big defeat in Trabzon on Thursday in Turkey (0-4), they plunged physically. And it is very logical that the formation of Pascal Gastien came back to score. Nübel repelled a first attempt from Khaoui, but not the strong one from Kommen Andric (1-1, 53e ).