Ligue 1 SRL Round-Up | PSG and Stade Rennais register wins, Strasbourg shocked and much more
In the weekend kick-offs Paris Saint Germain maintained their lead at the top by a comfortable victory while Stade Rennais did the same to cement their position in the third spot. Nimes shocked Strasbourg with a 1-0 win, while Bordeaux and Angers shared points in their respective matches.
Olympique Lyon 1 - 1 Reims
Reims maintained their one-point cushion over Olympique Lyon by denying them a victory at their own den in the weekend kick-off. While many expected Lyon to blow away the game with the home advantage in play, it never went that way in reality, with Reims making their hosts' lives miserable from the moment go. A 22nd-minute strike from the visitors forced Lyon to go into the break behind especially with the hosts struggling to register a comeback in the time left.
The half-time pep talk also did not make an impact on Lyon, with Reims hurling in attacks at regular intervals. Lyon’s resurgence in the final 10 minutes and a strike in the stoppage time helped them salvage a point and escape a defeat. Overall, Reims was the better team, having taken 12 shots on goal, out of which 8 were on target, while they created 64 dangerous attacks compared to Lyon’s 61.Â
Toulouse 1 - 3 PSG
Paris Saint Germain maintained their lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Toulouse. Not surprisingly, the league leaders started in their ultra-offensive mode while Toulouse could hardly put up a fight. The goals were coming for sure, but PSG would have expected to take the lead in a much better fashion than a spot-kick. Piling on Toulouse’s misery, they forced a second penalty in the 39th minute and it meant that the hosts were trailing by 2 goals at the halfway mark.
Four minutes into the second half, PSG were three goals up and finally this time, they did not score via a penalty. It was an impossible task for the bottom-placed team to produce a comeback and even though they pulled one back in the 70th minute, the game was over by then. And yet you wouldn’t believe that Toulouse had stitched up 62 attacks in total, compared to PSG’s 48.Â
Bordeaux 1 - 1 Angers
Bordeaux was held by a jubilant Angers side at home, thus reducing the gap between the two teams to just four points. It was the visitors who started the game with a high tempo, while Bordeaux found their groove later. The first half was evenly poised with both sides enjoying equal possession of the ball, but failing to net the first goal.
The second was much more lively than the first period, with Angers earning a penalty in the 54th minute which they converted. The lead was short-lived as Bordeaux levelled the scores just three minutes later. The rest of the match saw box to box action, with the hosts having the better share, but neither of them managed to score the winner.Â
Nimes 1 - 0 Strasbourg
It was an upset indeed, with relegation-threatened Nimes managing to edge past Strasbourg by a 1-0 margin at home. The lacklustre first half saw the hosts chipping in with few attacks, but they were not effective enough to change the score board. Strasbourg, on the other hand, were subdued throughout the first period having registered a couple of shots on goal.Â
The second half was no exception with Strasbourg failing to change the tide of the game. Nimes scored the winner in the 65tth minute of the game and it was their game from then on. The visitors succumbed to the pressure and never looked like scoring the equalizer, losing three points in the process. Statistically, the hosts' were the better team, having taken 13 shots at the goal, keeping 3 on target and converting 1.
Reims 2 - 2Â Amiens
Looking at the game, it was supposed to be the contest of the weekend, but scores can be deceiving sometimes. Reims was by far the better side in the game, having accounted for more shots on goal, more dangerous attacks, more percentage of time spent in dangerous attacks, but still managed to salvage only a single point from the fixture. The 19th-placed Amiens were on the front foot in the first having scored two goals in the 27th minute and in the stoppage time respectively, even though Reims managed to play equally good football throughout.Â
The second half restored normalcy, as Reims started to dominate the game and even came close to scoring a few times, but failed to convert. After pressing hard for more than 40 minutes, they finally pulled one back in the 87th minute, following with the equalizer in the dying minutes of the game to sneak out a point when they were expected to walk away with full points.
Stade Rennais 1 - 0Â Dijon
Stade Rennais scripted a 1-0 victory over Dijon and are well in course to qualify for the Champions League next season. As far as the first half was concerned, the hosts could have easily conceded a goal with the way Dijon went about their business. But luckily for Rennais, they held onto the score till the end of the first half.
The half time pep talk did the hosts wonders and it showed immediate effect as they scored in the 49th minute to take the lead. After that things moved smoothly for Rennais and they never let Dijon take control. Even though Stade Rennais never managed to add to their lead, they had enough to see off the game to bag all three points on offer.
