Lille keep pace with PSG. They responded to the Parisians’ victory on Friday against Montpellier (4-0), by defeating another well-ranked team, Rennes (1-0) on Sunday January 24. Lyon, under the pressure of the leading duo, made short work of Saint-Etienne and thus remains a short distance from its competitors.
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Rennes-Lille 0-1
Christophe Galtier’s men did not manage their best match of the season, but came out of a trap match against Rennes, fifth, with three points. The Canadian Jonathan David, already a decisive scorer against Reims the previous week, scored the only goal of the match at the start of the match. Rennes goalkeeper Romain Salin was only able to extend the ball after a corner shot in front of the goals, and David, well placed at the far post, pushed him into the net. If Rennes had possession, Lille obtained almost every opportunity in the match.
The Canadian forward also almost got a penalty in the first half but, after long minutes, the video referees confirmed the decision of the assistant referee, who had raised his flag for an offside of a few millimeters. In the standings, the LOSC comes back up to the Parisians, and pushes the Rennais back to nine points.
Lyon-Saint-Etienne 5-0
Mission accomplished for OL, easy winner of the 122e derby, among Stéphanois lessened by the absence of seven players sick with Covid-19. Already author of a double in the first leg, Tino Kadewere did it again in the return (16e, 68e), imitated by Marcelo (36e, 59e). Denis Bouanga, against his camp (83e), prolonged the ordeal of the Greens, who suffer their biggest defeat at home to the rival, tied with the 5-0 of 2017.
Rudi Garcia’s players (3e of the standings, 42 points), who had lost against Metz (1-0) last weekend, relaunch and remain two lengths of PSG and Losc.
Bordeaux-Angers 2-1
Bordeaux came back up to Olympique de Marseille – defeated Saturday in Monaco (3-1) – to sixth place in the standings, thanks to its victory against Angers (2-1).
A quick brace from South Korean Hwang Ui-jo gave Bordeaux a third consecutive victory. The striker scored in the first quarter of an hour his first double since his arrival in Bordeaux in 2019.
The Angevins then reacted and reduced the gap on a free kick from Angelo Fulgini. Without three saves from Benoît Costil or the post back from the locker room, the SCO would even have come back to score.
Thanks to this success, the Bordelais reserve the right to dream of Europe, provided they continue their momentum against Lyon and Lille in the next ten days. The Angevins, beaten for the third time in a row, are overtaken in the standings by their opponents and are now 9e.
Metz-Nantes 2-0
Raymond Domenech has not chained a fourth draw since his arrival on the Canaries bench. But the former coach of the Blues would undoubtedly have preferred: he suffered his first defeat with Nantes on the lawn of Metz.
Since his arrival at the club at the end of December 2020, the situation has not improved: three points in four games, and only two goals scored, symbol of still insufficient offensive animation. The Nantes struck eight times, without ever succeeding in framing.
Already scorer in the prestigious victory against Lyon in the previous match, Messin Aaron Leya Iseka opened the scoring after half an hour of play, cheating Nantes goalkeeper Alban Lafont with a lob. At the very end of the match, Farid Boulaya gave more relief to the victory of Metz, now eighth in the standings.
Reims-Brest 1-0
A gag goal was enough for the Rémois to win against the Bretons. Shortly before half-time, Nathanaël Mbuku scored by involuntarily deflecting a powerful volley from Xavier Chavalerin. Brest then pushed to return the score, but Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men were clumsy in front of goal.
After a failed start to the season, the Champenois give up company to the bottom teams and take nine points ahead of the first relegation, Dijon.
Dijon-Strasbourg 1-1
In this duel of poorly classified (15e and 18e), neither team has managed to make the difference, and both remain unbeaten in 2021. Ludovic Ajorque opened the scoring by being on the lookout after a parade from the Dijon goalkeeper. The Strasbourg could even have doubled the lead in the wake, but Adrien Thomasson found the crossbar. Of their fifteen strikes, only two found the frame.
Shortly after the hour mark, Dijon’s Senou Coulibaly equalized after a corner kick, for Dijon’s first goal at home in three months. The Burgundians, who celebrated their 200e match in the elite, seize the place of barrage at the expense of Nîmes, whose match against Lorient has been postponed due to cases of Covid-19.
