LParis SG, outnumbered, avoided the worst in Lorient (1-1) thanks to Mauro Icardi on Wednesday for the 19e Ligue 1 day, the last before the break, marked by the rise of Nice, new runner-up, and the missteps of Marseille and Lyon. Without Kylian Mbappé suspended, it was Mauro Icardi who played the saviors for Paris SG with a header in the very last seconds (90e +1). In a match that looked like a trap at Moustoir, Paris was scared: Lionel Messi found the post (26e) and struggled in vain against the penultimate of L1, who opened the scoring with a splendid stretched strike from Thomas Monconduit (39e).
Entered at the break, the experienced defender Sergio Ramos saw his match cut short by a red card (86e) and Paris seemed to be heading for defeat… until Icardi’s flash. Enough to save the day for his trainer and compatriot Mauricio Pochettino, who would have spent the holidays surrounded by rumors of departure in case of defeat … “See you next year”, launched the Argentine coach, all smiles after the meeting on Canal +, while the PSG, still under construction, ends the year alone in the lead (46 pts).
Nice ahead of OM on the podium
In the race for the podium, the great operation is for Nice, which erased three consecutive defeats at home by overcoming Lens (2-1). Here are the Aiglons installed in second place in L1 (33 pts) for the holidays, an enviable position, especially given the stunning scenario at the Allianz-Riviera with two goals from Mario Lemina (63e) and Justin Kluivert (79e) to answer Arnaud Kalimuendo (30e). If Nice was able to overtake Marseille on the wire, it is because OM contented themselves with a draw at home in front of Reims (1-1), which led 1-0 for a long time thanks to Hugo Ekitike (75e).
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In an electric end of the match where the young Marseille striker Bamba Dieng was excluded for a nasty tackle, Dimitri Payet was the victim of a foul in the area and himself converted the penalty (90e + 8), before putting on a Santa hat to celebrate. It is a lesser evil for Marseille (3e, 33 pts, one match less), especially as Rennes, beaten 2-1 in Monaco on goals from Wissam Ben Yedder (35e sp) and Kevin Volland (72e), finds himself thrown from the podium. It is also the business of Montpellier, which chained against Angers (4-1) a fourth victory in the league thanks to the essential Téji Savanier, scorer (14e) then passer (30e) on his 30th birthday.
Lyon struggling
Lyon is still woozy: in a complicated period for OL, between the announced departure of sports director Juninho and repeated outbursts of its supporters, Peter Bosz’s team could not do better than a 1-1 draw against Metz (18e, 16 pts). The young Castello Lukeba (19) had nevertheless opened the scoring with a header (56th) but OL immediately fell back into their shortcomings on the equalization of Boubacar Traoré (59th). Lyon was co-leader at the truce at the end of 2020? He will pass the holidays to a disappointing 13e place in 2021.
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On the other hand, Lille has recovered: at the end of a year 2021 rich in emotions, from the title of champion of France in May to the qualification for the 8th of the Champions League in December, the northern club overthrew Bordeaux ( 3-2), with a winning goal from Jonathan David, the championship’s top scorer. And the Canadian, flower in hand, celebrated his 12e goal of the season to hoist Losc to 8th place in L1 (28 pts). At the bottom of the table, the debut of Pascal Dupraz on the bench of Saint-Étienne in Ligue 1 ended in a new setback against Nantes (0-1), which complicates the operation to maintain the Greens, always last (12 pts) . In parallel, Troyes snatched a draw against Brest (1-1) thanks to his veteran Adil Rami (81e). As for the match between Clermont and Strasbourg, it was postponed due to thick fog and will have to be rescheduled.