This 12ᵉ day of Ligue 1 dedicated the arrival of a new runner-up from Paris Saint-Germain. RC Lens is the new second in the championship after winning for the third time in three seasons on the lawn of Olympique de Marseille on Saturday October 22.
PSG, for its part, strolled in Ajaccio, while Olympique Lyonnais blows a big blow with a first success in a month and a half. The very first for Laurent Blanc as OL coach.
On Sunday evening, Lille overthrew AS Monaco 4-3 at home after a spectacular encounter. This third success in a row in Ligue 1 brings the Northerners to sixth place ahead of their evening opponent.
At the bottom of the standings, Angers are the new red lantern after their defeat at home against Rennes, while Strasbourg, now 16ᵉ, gives itself some air by leaving the relegation zone.
Day 12 results
Ajaccio-PSG: 0-3
Montpellier-Lyon: 1-2
Marseille-Lens: 0-1
Angers-Rennes: 1-2
Reims-Auxerre: 2-1
Toulouse-Strasbourg: 2-2
Clermont-Brest: 1-3
Troyes-Lorient: 2-2
Nice-Nantes: 1-1
Lille-Monaco: 4-3
Confirmation of the weekend: Ruiz left to last at PSG
If the Messi-Mbappé duo, in the absence of Neymar, allowed Paris Saint-Germain to play Friday in Ajaccio (0-3), at the start of the 12th day, a player seems well on his way to establishing himself in the long term. the Parisian midfield. At 26, from the height of his eighty-nine meter, the Spaniard Fabian Ruiz, who arrived from Naples this summer, now appears to be much more than a simple replacement solution during the match.
For two games, PSG has been playing with a four-man defense. In this system, Fabian Ruiz moves to the right of the middle trident. Always on the move, head held high, the elegant left-hander delivered a masterclass against Ajaccio (118 balls hit, 75% of duels won), a week after his good match against Olympique de Marseille. While Renato Sanches and Carlos Soler are having a hesitant start with Paris, Fabian Ruiz is now applying for a starting spot. An option that could soothe the nights of Christophe Galtier, looking for lasting alternatives to the three-defender system.
The series of the weekend: Lens achieves the pass of three in Marseille
Since its rise in Ligue 1 in 2020, RC Lens knows that there is now a field where it is almost certain to win the three points each season: the Stade-Vélodrome of Olympique de Marseille. Already a winner two seasons ago (3-2) and in 2021 (1-0) on Marseille soil, the blood and gold club won on Saturday on the lawn of OM (1-0) thanks to a goal by David Pereira da Costa.
The Marseille domination in this meeting was not enough, and the Lensois took advantage of it to win a fourth victory on the smallest of margins this season. A small arms success, but not undeserved, according to Franck Haise, the Lensois coach: “We didn’t hold up either, we had chances. A hold-up is when you win with a single shot on target, playing 10 against 11. We beat a big team that played a very big game. »
By beating Marseille for the third time in a row at the Vélodrome, RC Lens also inflicted on OM their third straight defeat in Ligue 1. The Lensois, who relegated Marseille to four points, also benefited from the draw of Lorient on Sunday in Troyes (2-2) to take the place of PSG runner-up from Merlus, five points behind the capital club.
2 – Winner twice in 2021 (1-0 and 3-2) then last night (1-0), Franck Haise became the 1st coach to win… https://t.co/rTKjI3yAqK
The first of the weekend: White unlocks his counter
After six games without a win in Ligue 1, Olympique Lyonnais finally got the three points in Montpellier (2-1). This is the first victory for Laurent Blanc, appointed on October 9 at the head of OL, thanks in particular to his captain Alexandre Lacazette. The latter offered victory to the Rhone club at the very end of the match thanks to his seventh goal of the season. In the first period, it was also he who delivered an assist for Houssem Aouar on the first goal of the game.
Having left Arsenal to return to his training club this summer, at 31, the captain of Les Gones seems to be living again since the departure of Peter Bosz and his replacement by the former PSG coach. Even if Lacazette, before Montpellier returned to 1-1, had completely missed a very simple pass to his attacking partner, alone against the opposing goals.
“I have to give Moussa a better ball and the game was over. This one is for me. I apologized and apologized again. Now I owe him an assist.”, said Lacazette, who made up for it with the winning goal. A first success in a month and a half in Ligue 1 for Lyon, which finds itself 8th in the championship.
The bursts of pride of the weekend: Brest and Strasbourg still alive
Respectively 20ᵉ and 17ᵉ in Ligue 1 before the start of this 12ᵉ day, Stade Brestois and RC Strasbourg reacted outside. Brest, who had not won since August 21 in Angers (3-1), won their first success with Bruno Grougi on the sidelines. Appointed interim coach to replace Michel Der Zakarian on October 11, Grougi saw his players have fun in Clermont (3-1).
“It is sure that it does good, this victory. It’s good for confidence.”, welcomed Jérémy Le Douaron, author of the third Brest goal. Thanks to this success, Brest moved up to 17th place, just behind Strasbourg. In bad shape at the start of the season, after a successful 2021-2022 exercise, the Alsatians thought they had conceded a sixth defeat in the league when Toulouse led 2-0 at home. But thanks to goals from Lebo Mothiba and Kevin Gameiro, the RCSA snatched the draw at the Stadium (2-2).
“We showed the values of combativeness and self-sacrifice today. One point is not enough, that’s clear. But every point is important in the struggle in which we are engaged., explained Strasbourg Thomas Delaine after the match. Despite the ousting of several Ligue 1 coaches in recent weeks, Julien Stéphan for the moment retains the confidence of his management to keep the Strasbourg club in the top flight.