Brest solid runner-up to PSG, Lyon violently stopped in its comeback by Lens

Stade Brestois firmly established itself as runner-up to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Ligue 1, Sunday March 3, after its victory against Le Havre (1-0), on behalf of the 24^e day of the French football championship.

Eric Roy’s team records its thirteenth match in a row without defeat, once again relying on its strong man, midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou, who scored his fourth goal of the season, without control and with force. The Bretons are four points ahead of Monaco (3^e, 42 points) and nine behind the Parisian leader (55 pts). The Champions League is getting closer and closer to the Francis-Le Blé stadium.

For Lyon, after four victories in a row in Ligue 1, the rise in the standings suffered a violent slowdown in the evening with a clear defeat at home against Lens (0-3). Florian Sotoca, heading in a cross from David Pereira Da Costa, opened the scoring just before half-time before, in the second half, Elye Wahi converted a penalty. Lyon finished the match with ten men after Maitland-Niles was sent off for destroying a scoring opportunity for Wesley Saïd on a counter-attack. In the process, Lens added a third goal scored by Kevin Danso.

Racing clings to sixth place, one length behind Nice (5^e), two from Lille (4^e) and three from Monaco (3^e). Revisiting the Champions League is therefore not a mirage for the Artesians. On the other hand, if some OL supporters started to dream of Europe thanks to their rise in the championship, this setback reminds them that the road will be steep and that, ultimately, survival is not yet assured. The Lyonnais remain tenth in the ranking with five points ahead of Montpellier, 16^e and dam operator. The surest way for OL to return to the European scene will be to win the Coupe de France, of which they are semi-finalists, against Valenciennes (L2).

A seventh rout for Nantes at Beaujoire

The dynamic is broken for OGC Nice, beaten in Toulouse (1-2) and which is moving a little further away from the podium. With this defeat, the third in five matches, the Aiglons (40 pts) fall to 5^e place in Ligue 1. Francesco Farioli’s players have still not won a match during a trip since the start of 2024, despite Terem Moffi’s opening score (8^e). The Niçois confirmed a bad statistic: they are the only team in the five major European championships not to have gleaned a single point after being behind this season.

With their victory, the Toulouse residents (10^are, 29 pts) have had a third success in Ligue 1 after the victories against Lille and Monaco. A first since 2018. By knocking out a third club from the top 5, TFC also gave itself some breathing room. He is moving away from the relegation zone, especially after the defeat of Nantes – the seventh in a row at Beaujoire – in the afternoon.

Men by Jocelyn Gourvennec (14^are25 pts) lost (0-2) to the relegated Metz (17^e20 pts), which comes within three points of the new barrage Montpellier (16^e), saved by Arnaud Nordin during the draw (2-2) against Strasbourg (12^e26 pts).

By bringing down Rennes (8^e35 pts) at home (2-1), Lorient carried out a very good operation in this 24^e daytime. The Merlus are no longer barrages and even go back to the 13^e place (25 pts) tied on points with Nantes. For their opponents of the day, who are aiming for the qualifying places for Europe, it is a big setback with a second match without success, far from their six victories in a row in Ligue 1 in previous weeks.