At a press conference this week, before this 11e day of the Ligue 1 football, Antoine Kombouaré had asked his players “Confirmation” after the draw brought back from Bordeaux (1-1) and the victory in Troyes (2-0). The Nantes coach was heard, his players winning 2 to 1 against Clermont, Saturday, October 23, thanks to goals from Andrei Girotto and Ludovic Blas.
At La Beaujoire, two teams separated by a small point in the standings competed against each other. Surprise at the start of the season, the Clermontois (14es) advanced in confidence after the victory obtained against the champion of France, Lille, last weekend (1-0). But against Nantes, ranked 9e before the meeting, the latter struggled to start, and the first half hour was reduced to an attempt countered by Mohamed Bayo in the eleventh minute, without danger for Alban Lafont and the defense of the Canaries.
The calm at the start of the match gave way to a real storm: in the thirtieth minute, the Clermontois Johan Gastien was excluded after a gesture of mood on Andrei Girotto. This red card provoked the anger of his trainer and father, Pascal Gastien, and led to a tense exchange with his Nantes counterpart Antoine Kombouaré. The pressure has not fallen: a few minutes later, Sébastien Corchia was also excluded, the Nantes player not mastering his tackle on Vital N’Simba (41e).
In the meantime, Andrei Girotto had found the loophole by victoriously taking over with his right foot an off-center free kick from Corchia (38e). “We lacked experience on this one. From the start of the match, we weren’t technically fair enough, we couldn’t hurt them ”, noted Clermontois Florent Ogier bitterly, at half-time, at the microphone of Amazon Prime.
Nantes settles at the top of the ranking
Upon returning from the locker room, his team was quick to react and equalize through Mohamed Bayo, adjusting Lafont with a strike with the right foot under the bar. But ten against ten, the spaces were necessarily more numerous in the defenses, and Randal Kolo Muani took the opportunity to send a center back to Ludovic Blas (61e), the attacker definitively giving the victory to his team with a strike from the left.
With this victory, Nantes confirms its excellent start to the season by settling at the top of the standings, at 5e square. Above all, Antoine Kombouaré’s players are now eleven points ahead of the 18e place, that of barrage. A small mattress on which the people of Nantes probably did not think they could count after eleven days, they who had finished in this 18e place during the last exercise.
“We knew it was a high-stakes game. With confidence and a positive mindset, it’s easier to play. Everyone has fun, and it’s great ”, was satisfied the Nantes captain, Alban Lafont, at the end of the meeting. Nantes will try to confirm its good form Sunday, October 31, during a trip to Montpellier. Clermont will host Marseille on the same day.