Ligue 1 SRL Round-Up | PSG hit roadblock, Stade Rennais keep Champions League hopes alive and more

Ligue 1 SRL Round-Up | PSG hit roadblock, Stade Rennais keep Champions League hopes alive and more

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In what was a surprising Saturday in the French Ligue 1, League leaders Paris Saint Germain were held to a 1- draw by Reims, with Stade Rennais prevailing after a late scare from Strasbourg. Meanwhile, LOSC Lille hammered Nimes, while Montpellier, Dijon and Nantes bagged three points each.

Nantes 3 - 1 Amiens

Nantes scripted a comfortable 3-1 victory over 19th-placed Amiens in the Saturday night fixture. The hosts titled the scorecard in their favour in the third minute of the game itself. Much to everyone's surprise, Amiens recovered from the initial jolt and managed to restore parity just 10 minutes later. They could have even taken the lead if they had converted from the spot a minute before the equalizer. They paid for their mistakes because Nantes took away the game in the second half with a couple of strikes in the 62nd and the 83rd minute respectively. 

Even though the first half was evenly shared between the two sides, Nantes showed their prowess in the second half to emerge victoriously. Overall, Nantes hurled in 72 attacks in the games compared to Amiens 37. They even had more shots-on-target with a count of 8, while the visitors managed half of it.

Reims 1 - 1 PSG

Paris Saint Germain were held to a shock draw in their title chase as they shared the spoils with Reims after trailing in the halfway mark. The French heavyweights and league leaders were far from being the best team on the pitch with Reims drawing first blood in the 28th minute of the game. PSG, with its star-studded line-up, managed to restore parity in the 53rd minute, but it was not enough for them to bag full points in the crucial tie. 

Reims had more shots on target but the number of threats were more from the other side, with PSG’s average attack time being 19 seconds against the hosts 17. The Parisians even created more attacks with a count of 64 compared to Reims’ 48 but while the hosts held PSG to a draw, the league leaders still hold their top position on the league table.

Stade Rennais 3 - 2 Strasbourg

By far the most intriguing match of the night, the five-goal thriller was a treat to witness. Stade Rennais owned the first half and maintained a two-goal cushion going into the first half. The game came alive in the final 10 minutes, with Strasbourg scoring back-to-back goals in a span of six minutes. Rennais were in no mood to give up and scored the equalizer in the 90th minute to seal the deal. 

Stade Rennais was the better team overall, with 8 shots on target while Strasbourg could manage only 4. The hosts managed to pile up 74 serious attacks during the game, which is quite remarkable, while the opposition could manage only 32. The win keeps Rennais in contention for the Champions League spot. 

Metz 0 - 1 Dijon

When all expected Metz to walk away with the three points, Dijon stunned the hosts with a 42nd-minute strike. Even though Metz sweated it out in the second half in search of the equalizer, they were unsuccessful in their pursuit. The hosts enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession, having spent an average of 17 seconds per attack compared to Dijon’s 12 seconds. But Dijon’s forward line was much effective, having taken 4 shots on target, converting one while Metz failed to convert the two shots they aimed at the net.

Nimes 1 - 6 Lille

Lille meant business from the word go as they shot one goal after the other, having taken a three-goal lead before the half-hour mark. Nimes was never going to get out of the mess, even though they pulled one back in the 39th minute, but only to see Lillee net the fourth one in the 56th minute.

The away side was not done by then and completed the rout by netting the fifth and the sixth goal in the 84th and the 87th minute respectively. The visitors had 9 shots on goal compared to Nimes’ 7, but they managed to convert six out of them, proving to be the main difference between the sides.

Stade Brestois 1 - 2 Montpellier

Montpellier overcame a one-goal deficit to grab all three points against Stade Brestois, a team placed four places above them in the standings. This was the game that picked up its pace in the second half, after an uneventful first 45-minutes. Stade Brestois broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, only to see Montpellier equalize just three minutes later. 

Normalcy prevailed soon after as Montpellier took charge of the proceedings and subsequently netted the winner in the 71st minute to reign supreme. As far as the stats are concerned, the away side was heads and shoulders above their opponents, with an average time of 26 seconds per attack compared to the latter's’ 17. They struck 4 shots at goal while Stade Brestois had one less.

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