Seko Fofana savior, crisis in Gironde and Monegasque panache

Sf the Ligue 1 stadiums were ringing hollow with gauges of 5,000 spectators, the spectacle was on the pitch this weekend for the 21^and daytime. Thus, Rennes and Monaco, respectively opposed to Bordeaux and Clermont, took care of their goal difference.

On the move on the lawn of the Parisian leader, Brest did not create a surprise. Behind, Nice takes a little margin on Marseille for second place. A little further on, in the race for European places, Strasbourg demoted Montpellier and Lens took advantage of it.

Lyon regained the taste of victory against Troyes, on the lawn of the Aube stadium. At the bottom of the classification, Metz obtained a precious victory on the lawn of Reims despite many absentees, in particular seven players who left to compete in the African Cup of Nations. And then, the weeks follow each other and look alike for Saint-Etienne and Bordeaux, monuments in danger.

The bad operation of the weekend for Marseille

Olympique de Marseille, despite having a numerical superiority for an hour, could not do better than a draw against Lille (1-1) on Sunday January 16 at the Vélodrome. OM, who have not won at home in the league since November 28, are now two points behind Nice, second.

Facing the reigning French champion, the Olympians were surprised by a goal from the head of Sven Botman, forgotten by the Marseille defense on a corner (15^and). After the exclusion of Lille midfielder Benjamin André (32^and) for two yellow cards in two minutes, Jorge Sampaoli’s team equalized through Cengiz Ünder who curled his shot perfectly (75^and). OM pushed but failed to turn the game around and saw Rennes come back to within three points.

Player of the Weekend: Seko Fofana

When he signed at Racing Club de Lens, promoted to Ligue 1 in the summer of 2020, when Atalanta Bergamo (Serie A) offered him the possibility of playing in the Champions League, we took him for a “crazy”. A year and a half later, Seko Fofana is fully blossoming in his role as “box-to-box” of a northern team at the top of the table. Saturday evening, the Ivorian midfielder – who favored the French championship at CAN with his national team – offered victory to the Sang et Or (1-2) by scoring in the 95^and minute on the lawn of the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne. And how !

We would have thought to see again his goal – already decisive in the 95^and – against Lille January 4 in the Coupe de France. Perfectly offset by David Costa on the left wing, the Lensois captain came back inside to wrap a strike with the right foot as powerful as it was precise. Cruel for ASSE who still led 1-0 with a quarter of an hour remaining.

“It is true that it is a relief. We struggled, we were patient and in the end we were rewarded.”, reacted Fofana, all in phlegm, at the end of the meeting at the microphone of Amazon Prime. Thanks to this second success in a row after a difficult month of December, RC Lens is back in fifth position. And the former Udinese player is establishing himself match after match as one of the best players in Ligue 1.

• The statement of the weekend

“We were almost afraid to be on the ground. »

6-0. The addition of the Girondins to Rennes is salty. A few days later the dismissal of his captain Laurent Koscielny, Bordeaux showed all its shortcomings in Brittany. The Vladimir Petkovic method questions. Landed on the banks of the Garonne last summer, the former coach of Switzerland, who had eliminated France at the Euro, could only sound the alarm at a press conference. “We refused to take responsibility in this game. We were almost afraid to be on the pitch”, he launched.

“From now on, we are in the fight to maintain it. We need to work together for that.”, hopes the Bosnian. It is clear, after only three successes in 21 days, that the scapular club is in crisis. Next Sunday, Bordeaux, penultimate in the standings, will host RC Strasbourg. With Vladimir Petkovic or not on the bench? The question remains unresolved.

It hovers for Ruben Aguilar and AS Monaco. The Principality club clearly beat Clermont 4-0 on Sunday at the Louis-II stadium. Entering the game on the return from the locker room, Wissam Ben Yedder quickly distinguished himself by scoring twice – first by cutting off a cross from Caio Henrique at the near post, then by converting a penalty he had himself caused.

This is Monaco’s first L1 victory under the leadership of Philippe Clement, the Belgian coach recruited from FC Bruges during the winter break to replace Croatian Niko Kovac. “With the new coach, we are trying to impose a more direct game with quick transitions”, Ben Yedder said after his team’s victory.

10

Without shining, but without forcing either, Paris-Saint-Germain dominated Brest 2-0 on Saturday evening at the Parc des Princes. Author of a sudden low shot that crossed the line with the complicity of the post, Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the 32^and minute (before a revival by Thilo Kehrer in the second act). Facing Finisterians, the tricolor world champion has already scored his tenth achievement in Ligue 1 in 2021-2022.

This is the sixth consecutive season that he has scored ten goals in L1. According to Opta, the statistics provider, no other player has achieved this more than three times over the period. In the ranking of top scorers for the current fiscal year, Mbappé is approaching two units from Jonathan David and Wissam Ben Yedder. The Canadian striker from LOSC and his tricolor counterpart from Monaco lead the dance as a duo with 12 goals.