Four clubs that stand in four points with five days to go: the French Ligue 1 championship cannot write a tighter and more intense scenario than the one that takes place in this season marked by the Covid-19 and the empty stadiums .
With the successes of PSG, Monaco and Lyon, Sunday April 18, the pressure increased on the Lille leader, held in check on Friday by Montpellier.
The Parisian miracle against Saint-Etienne
Should this be seen as mere luck or the success of the champion? By beating the Greens in extremis, thanks to a double from Kylian Mbappé and a saving goal from Mauro Icardi, Paris-Saint-Germain not only ended their worst series since 2007 at home in L1 – three defeats in a row – but also carried out a beautiful accounting operation.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team (2e with 69 pts) came back a short length behind the Lille leader. It was far from possible with a quarter of an hour of the end of the match when the heroes of the European exploit succeeded Tuesday against Bayern Munich, in lack of intensity, found themselves behind in the score on a goal of Denis Bouanga (1-0, 77e).
The insatiable Mbappé took charge of reversing the situation, with a splendid sequence (79e) then on a penalty which he himself obtained and transformed (2-1, 87e), bringing his record to the top of the Ligue 1 scorers’ standings to 23 goals.
But the opportunistic equalizer of Romain Hamouma (90 + 1) restarted everything, before Icardi, lacking playing time, remembers the good memory of Pochettino of a providential header (90 + 5).
“It’s a victory over the last action, I don’t know if it’s a champion’s victory, but it’s the victory of a team that believes in it”, relished the Argentinian technician.
Paris remains in contention on three tables this season: Ligue 1, Coupe de France with a quarter-final against Angers on Wednesday, and the Champions League with an enticing semi-final against Manchester City (April 28 and May 4).
Monaco still impressive
Monaco, by winning logically in Bordeaux (3-0), Sunday afternoon, responded from a distance to PSG, and glued to two points from Lille. On paper, there was a class of difference between these insatiable Monegasques in 2021 and these Bordeaux residents in full decline. This was confirmed on the field, from the start, with an impressive princely mastery, a serenity of almost every moment – first shot conceded to the 65e minute -, and technical accuracy.
Just before half an hour, on a pass from Benoît Badiashile breaking two lines, Ben Yedder deflected in the right tempo towards Kevin Holland who, after playing Baysse, rolled a ball right into the opposite skylight of Benoît Costil, to register his fifteenth goal this season.
On resumption, Tchouaméni, with the fall of a second balloon, launched perfectly in depth Gelson Martins for a victorious face to face in front of Costil (0-2, 47e), killing most of the suspense. For the road and to improve their goal difference a little, Stevan Jovetic also went from an achievement to the last minute, from the header to the conclusion of a three-way action with Caio Henrique in the center and Sofiance Diop in the return of the head (3-0).
With this thirteenth success in sixteen league games in Ligue 1 (only one defeat), the ASM looks like a machine of confidence and regularity, and makes a more than serious candidate for the title.
Lyon does not let go
Olympique Lyonnais, too, preserved their chances in the title race by winning 2-1 over Nantes always closer to relegation, thanks to a double from Memphis Depay, at the end of this 33rd Sunday.e Ligue 1 day.
With 67 points, Rudy Garcia’s men remain in the wheel of the leading trio, three points from Lille, two points from PSG and one point from Monaco. They who had taken only one point in three matches (draws in Reims and Lens 1-1, defeat against Paris 2-4) thus confirmed their victory last week against Angers (3-0), already signed by Depay and Paqueta.
The Lyonnais gave a lesson in technique and efficiency to Nantes people who were much more enterprising than usual but too often feverish. They have been running and pressing as rarely these days, with an untenable Randal Kolo Muani, but without succeeding in being dangerous in the last 25 meters, like Kalifa Coulibaly, who twice ran alone in the race. surface after getting rid of his defender … to stop and wait for support.
Opposite, the Lyonnais were clinical in the first period, with Lucas Paqueta in charge. The Brazilian conductor first resisted a defensive return from Moses Simon to serve a completely unmarked Depay, who only had to push the ball with the outside of his foot into the small net (0- 1, 5e). Then Paqueta launched Karl Toko Ekambi behind Charles Traoré on the right. Released late, Alban Lafont mowed down the Cameroonian striker and referee Benoît Bastien did not hesitate to designate the penalty spot. A punishment that Depay turned into force (0-2, 37e).
But while Lyon’s efficiency faltered in the second half, Nantes’ efforts were rewarded with a corner kick, Kolo Muani headed back and Anthony Lopes pushed the ball into the feet of Nicolas Pallois. The defender Nantes, who celebrated Sunday his hundredth Ligue 1 match in Yellow and Green, reduced the gap in the right (1-2, 60e).
But OL held and signed a capital success in the race for the title and for the Champions League, before pursuing an insane schedule: quarter-final of the Coupe de France Wednesday against Monaco, shock against the Lille leader, Sunday, in Ligue 1, and perilous trip to Monaco the following day. What to afford the right to dream of an improbable title, or, on the contrary, to see his ambitions reduced to nothing in a Ligue 1 with exceptional vintage.