In the hard, Rennes fell Sunday in Toulouse (3-1), a third defeat in four Ligue 1 games which benefits Lille, new fifth in the championship behind their regional rival Lens, who fall from the podium after being beaten 2- 1 with a progressing Lyon team. At the bottom of the table, Montpellier gave themselves some air against Brest (3-0) for the first of the ghost Michel Der Zakarian on the bench. The red lantern, Angers, and the penultimate, Auxerre, were neutralized 1-1 during this 23rd day.
The World Cup-related truce has cut off the momentum of Rennes, which was previously in contention for the podium and has since found itself on a slippery slope. The Bretons have just lost the fifth of their last eight games. “If I wasn’t worried, I’d be unconscious. We now have to show that we are a real group, ”projected coach Bruno Genesio, unhappy with the “rookie mistakes” made in 90 seconds flat on the first two goals conceded.
The promoted Toulouse, for its part, sees life in pink. The Téfécé, although deprived of its master to play Branco Van den Boomen, injured, took sixteen points out of twenty-one since the beginning of the year, enough to become embedded in the middle of the table (11th). Lille took advantage of the windfall and took fifth place, European at the end of the season, thanks to a double from Jonathan David against Strasbourg (2-0). Losc is within five points of its regional rival Lens, who fell from the podium, overtaken by Monaco, after being punished in Lyon (2-1). The Bloods
For its part, the team of Laurent Blanc, sick and replaced on the bench by his deputy Franck Passi, is living again after weeks of tension, especially with his supporters. On Sunday, OL signed a third victory in four games thanks to Rayan Cherki, scorer and assist for Alexandre Lacazette, who was injured before the break.
Beaten at Pierre-Mauroy, Strasbourg remains in a relegated position in 17th place. But the Alsatians took advantage of the setbacks of their direct competitors. Troyes, 16th with one more point, broke his teeth on Reims (4-0) and his insatiable scorer, Folarin Balogun, the best artificer in the championship with a fifteenth goal on Sunday.
Behind, the red lantern Angers failed to dominate the penultimate Auxerre (1-1). The SCO did well, moreover, with a penalty from the young Matthis Abline pushed back by the crossbar of Paul Bernardoni in added time. “I see it as a sign of fate, because if we had taken that penalty, I think it was over (for maintenance), the carrots were cooked”, commented Angevin coach Abdel Bouhazama. Auxerre are three points behind Strasbourg which, with eighteen points, remains ahead of Ajaccio (beaten 3-0 on Friday in Nice) thanks to a better goal difference.
Among the badly classified, the only good operation is to be credited to Montpellier, winner 3-0 of Brest, a direct competitor for the maintenance. The MHSC doubles its opponent in the standings and is in 14th place, with a small mattress of five points ahead of the red zone. With this clear success, the Héraultais are starting the new era in the best possible way. Der Zakarian, ex-coach of La Paillade (2017 to 2021) returned to the bench this week to try to straighten out the team.
“Credit goes to the players,” praised Der Zakarian, looking forward: “You have to keep fighting, keep showing that mindset. We must not have any slack otherwise we will take slaps”. Montpellier, beaten in the last two days, had not won in front of their home crowd at La Mosson since September. In the race to maintain, Nantes also achieved a salutary performance by overcoming Lorient (1-0) at La Beaujoire with a goal from Ludovic Blas. The Canaries have five points more than Montpellier.
