French Ligue 1: Matchday 4

 

Marseille's Valere Germian celebrates his goal against Monaco.

     The 2018/19 season of the Ligue 1 Conforama got off to a pretty hefty start, with the first few matchdays being loaded with goals. Now the Ligue is starting to settle down and Matchday 4, as you expect, has been a little passive.

       In the first match, Lyon faced OGC Nice at Parc Olympique Lyonnais, and lost to the Niçoises. The only goal of the game came from Nice's Allan Saint-Maximin at 50', and no further goals from either team meant that the match ended 0-1. Lyon are now at 9th place with two wins and two losses, while Nice have climbed up to the 17th spot with their first win of the season.

       Nîmes then went against Paris Saint-Germain in an epic showdown. PSG opened first with Neymar at 36', while Ángel Di María added another as he netted the ball from a corner kick at 40'. However, a superb goal by Antonin Bobichon at 63' and a bullet penalty by Téji Savanier at 71' leveled the playfield again. But a goal by Kylian Mbappé of PSG made it 3-2 for them, and Edinson Cavani topped it all with a nice finish at 90+2'. Meanwhile, Mbappé and Savanier received red cards at 90+4' and 90+5' respectively.

       Strasbourg then got defeated by Nantes at Stade de la Meinau. Strasbourg opened with Ludovic Ajorque at 21', but an own-goal by his teammate Stefan Mitrović at 34' equalised the score. Lucas Evangelista of Nantes added the second for them at 45+2', while Emiliano Sala made it 3 at 59'. Strasbourg's Nuno da Costa scored at 81', but no further goals meant the match ended 2-3. Strasbourg and Nantes are at spots 15 and 16 on the table respectively.

       Angers eased past LOSC in a relatively passive match. The only goal was scored by Angers' Ismaël Traoré at 60', while his teammate Thomas Mangani received a red card 4 minutes later. LOSC received their first loss after 2 wins and a draw, and are now at 4th position. Angers, meanwhile, got their first win after 3 losses and now sit at the 18th spot.

       Dijon were trampled by Caen at Stade Gaston Gérard. Caen's Enzo Crivelli and Claudio Beauvue were the goalscorers, netting the ball at 21' and 90+4' respectively. Dijon are at 2nd place, having received their first loss after 3 opening wins, while Caen sit at 12th place with a win, a loss and 2 draws.

       Stade Reims lost to Montpellier 0-1, with the sole goal coming from Montpellier's Ambroise Oyongo at 77'. Stade Reims are at 11th place with 2 wins and 2 losses. Meanwhile, Montpellier are in 7th place with 2 wins and a loss and draw each.

       Gunigamp were beaten by Toulouse 1-2, with Max-Alain Gradel opening for the Violets at 2' and Ibrahim Sangaré at making it two at 12'. Marcus Thuram scored for Guingamp at 45', but only one goal from their side was not enough to at least draw the match. The latter are at bottom place with 4 losses, while Toulouse are 3rd with 3 wins and a loss.

        St-Étienne drew 0-0 with Amiens at Geoffroy-Guichard, even though the stats were purely one-sided towards them. They had 64% possession, more passes and more shots on goal, but no magic was created by either team. Thus, St-Étienne ended up at the 8th spot with a win and three draws, while Amiens are 14th with a win, a draw and two losses.

       Rennes won over Bordeaux which was the second home win of the Matchday. A goal each by Benjamin André at 12' and Rami Bensebaini at 16' meant the match ended 2-0. In the table, Rennes are at 6th place with 2 wins and a loss and draw each, while Bordeaux are 19th with a win and 3 losses.

       In the last but surely not the least action-packed match was played between Monaco and Marseille. The latter's Konstantinos Mitroglou opened the scoring at 45+1', but was equalised at 48' by Youri Tielemans. Monaco then took the lead as Radamel Falcao scored at 53', but goals from Florian Thauvin at 74' and Valére Germain at 89' meant that Marseille won 2-3.