Finally. We had to wait until the sixth day to witness Lensoise’s first victory this season. The RCL got the better of Toulouse (2-1) this Sunday, while Le Havre resisted the awakening of Clermont (2-1). Earlier, Strasbourg won the Eastern derby on the Metz pitch (1-0).
Lens revives
The RCL concludes its week in style. After a good draw from Seville on Wednesday in the Champions League, Morgan Guilavogui’s goal transformed the Lensois’ on-site operation into a plan to revive Artesian ambitions. First led by Toulouse, Franck Haise’s men struggled for a long time against the opposing goal, as if Lens’ technical qualities evaporated once in the zone of truth.
But Wesley Saïd allowed himself a juggling session in the heart of the Toulouse area to equalize in added time of the first act. Guilavogui therefore propelled a second ball into the opposing net, at the same time as he extricated his club from the red zone.
The gap could have been greater, if Deiver Machado had not served the improbable call of Elye Wahi, who spent the entire action in an offside position, while Lens had a three against one to play… against the only Toulouse goalkeeper. An action symptomatic of the messy start to the Sang et Or season. The main thing was elsewhere. Racing is 16th.
Le Havre pushes Clermont
Only Toulouse have let two points slip away against Clermont this season. Auvergne supporters assured the players of their support last weekend, despite another defeat against Nantes (1-0), but they did not provide sufficient momentum to their team to triumph in Normandy. Worse, the Clermontois suffered from the start, the time to pass under the crampons of the untenable Nabil Alioui (4th) and to be stabbed by the former of the house: Mohamed Bayo (7th), on loan from Losc.
The HAC gradually retreated until Cheick Oumar Konaté’s off-center strike, synonymous with reducing the gap (45th + 2). Le Havre then played to scare each other, like this hand from Gautier de Lloris on the edge of the penalty area. Muhammed Cham’s free kick dented Arthur d’Esmas’ bar. The Auvergnats pushed. The Normans held. They achieved a second success in the championship. They are fifth, two points off the podium and far ahead of Clermont, bottom of the standings.
The Eastern derby for Strasbourg
Metz and Strasbourg are close on the map of France. They were also in the Ligue 1 standings, before this Grand Est derby played at the Saint-Symphorien stadium. At kick-off, the Alsatians trailed their host by one point in the standings. 90 undynamic minutes and a late goal from Habib Diarra (83rd) later, Racing supplanted its neighbor and entered the first quarter of the ranking with 10 units.
Metz still maintains a six-point lead in the red zone, but the Garnets have lost their unbeaten streak at home. For more than a year, no one had come to pick them up at home, not even Marseille (2-2), nor Reims (2-2), the two clubs they have challenged since their return to the elite this summer.
Rennes and Montpellier neutralize each other
On a pitch in terrible condition, Montpellier and Stade Rennais parted with a goalless score (0-0), which does not suit anyone. On both sides, it was mainly the goalkeepers who stood out in a balanced match. Benjamin Lecomte notably saved the Héraultais against Fabian Rieder, with a nice reflex save (68th) On the Breton side, there were fewer saves to be made, but Steve Mandanda was still decisive on a strike from the right ‘Akror Adamas (35th).
For the two teams, who had the ambition to launch their season this Sunday, the result, although logical, is disappointing. If Rennes is still undefeated in the league, the club has just had four draws in a row and is only in eighth place (8 points). As for Montpellier, which remains in four matches without success and remains stuck in 13th place, the current period is probably the worst since the return of Michel Der Zakarian to his bench last February.
