Brest consolidated its place as runner-up to PSG, by winning in Strasbourg (3-0), thanks to a hat-trick from Mahdi Camara, Saturday February 24, during the 23rd day of Ligue 1, while Nantes escaped from the red zone after his victory (1-0) in Lorient, new barrage.
Sensation of the season, Brest, solid winner of Strasbourg – a club which however recorded its fourth consecutive defeat in Ligue 1 – will be able to calmly watch the Nice and Lille matches scheduled for Sunday.
Whatever the results of Nice against Clermont and the trip from Lille to Toulouse, the Bretons, with 43 points, and now twelve games without defeat, are guaranteed to finish the 23rd day in second place in the championship behind the inaccessible Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Faced with apathetic young Strasbourg players, the Brestois, thanks to a hat-trick from their midfielder, Mahdi Camara, completely mastered the match, folding it in less than ten minutes at the half-hour mark. After Strasbourg lost the ball and a ping-pong game in the Alsatian area, Camara took the ball without control with his right foot, and deceived Moroccan goalkeeper Alaa Bellaarouch for the first time (1-0, 33rd). Seven minutes later, he doubled the lead after a cross from Martin Satriano (2-0, 40th), then his teammates gave him the first hat-trick of his career by letting him take a generous penalty after a Strasbourg handball in the area (3-0, 60ᵉ).
Patrick Vieira, the Strasbourg coach, will have to find very quick solutions to shake his players out of their torpor. The Alsatians face Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France on Tuesday.
FC Nantes catches its breath
Earlier in the day, by winning (1-0) in Lorient, which remained on three consecutive victories, Nantes did well in the fight for maintenance. This victory allows the Canaries to temporarily jump to eleventh place with 25 points, three better than Lorient, which once again becomes sixteenth and virtual play-off, and above all eight more than Metz, seventeenth and first direct relegation.
Under the leadership of the Nigerian Moses Simon, for his first start since his return from the African Cup of Nations where he was an unfortunate finalist, Nantes perfectly applied an effective tactic, developed by its coach, Jocelyn Gourvennec. Positioned in a 5-3-2 which seemed very defensive on paper, its players blocked all Lorient spaces and knew how to take advantage of a few transitions to create the most dangerous opportunities. They were rewarded by the goal scored by defender Jean-Charles Castelletto, present at the right time to acrobatically take over an untenable cross from Simon (1-0, 49th).
FC Nantes must now validate this success next week at home against Metz, before experiencing a tough schedule with Rennes, Lyon, Monaco, Brest and Paris over the following six days.
Alberth Elis of Girondins de Bordeaux (Ligue 2) placed in an artificial coma
At the same time, in Ligue 2, Alberth Elis, Honduran striker for the Girondins de Bordeaux, was placed in an artificial coma, according to France Bleu Gironde, after a big shock to the head during an aerial duel with a player from Guingamp , at Matmut Atlantique, on the occasion of the 26th day of the championship. After his evacuation at the very start of the match, Elis was transported, conscious, to hospital for examinations.
According to information from France Bleu Gironde, it was during his transfer to hospital that the player was placed in an artificial coma by doctors. “A decision made due to his agitation at the time. He has since been taken care of by the intensive care unit of the Bordeaux establishment”said the radio.
The match between the Girondins and the Guingampais was interrupted for eight minutes while Elis, very stunned, was treated on the pitch surrounded by his teammates and En Avant players. The player was then evacuated on a stretcher.
The shock took place barely forty seconds into the game when Elis headed in a cross from Clément Michelin. The ball then found the crossbar before bouncing in front of the line and hitting the bar again. But on this action, Elis hit the head of Guingamp defender Donatien Gomis. If the latter quickly regained his senses, Elis was seriously stunned and treated for many minutes before being evacuated.