- Montpellier 1 – 0 Saint-Etienne
Saint-Etienne had reason to be frustrated after his new defeat in the league on Sunday. The Greens were beaten by Montpellier on the 24th day of Ligue 1 (1-0), the seventh defeat in their last eight games.
However, it was the Greens who were the most enterprising in this meeting. But the Stéphanois cracked on the first opportunity in Montpellier when Andy Delort took the lead from a perfect cross from Sambia to open the scoring (1-0, 25th minute). If Gaëtan Leborde could have doubled the bet, it was Saint-Etienne who had the best opportunities to return. The Greens even thought they were taking advantage of a penalty after Sambia's foul on Bouanga (39th), but VAR intervention transformed the penalty into a free kick and exclusion from Montpellier.
At 10 against 11 for more than a period, Montpellier locked the game. Inevitably, Saint-Etienne never seemed able to return. "We had to fold the match at half time", regretted Claude Puel, the Stéphane coach after the meeting. "We had a lot of opportunities. We are in a difficult spiral. We need confidence. When we take a goal on the first situation, that we do not take the chances, it is the sign that we accuse the blow. We have to take the points. We don't take them. There is reason to be frustrated ".
This new defeat plunges the Stéphane club in 15th place, four small points from Nîmes, 18th and barrage. Conversely, Montpellier finds the top 5 in the championship. Michel Der Zakarian’s men are only four points behind Rennes, third.
In the other match this Sunday, Strasbourg won over Reims (3-0). The Strasbourg residents took almost an hour to find the fault, before Alexander Djiku, well placed on a corner, pushed the ball into the back of the net (1-0, 50th).
Half an hour later, Majeed Waris, a rookie in this winter transfer window, was at the end of a nice movement and a well-inspired pass from Ludovic Ajorque (82nd). In stoppage time, Kenny Lala concluded the beautiful Strasbourg afternoon by scoring a penalty, which took Lemaître on the wrong foot (3-0, 94th).
"We were keen to continue after Wednesday's great victory (against Toulouse, 1-0)", explained Strasbourg's Adrien Thomasson on beIN Sport after the meeting. "We will have to continue like this. We have high ambitions for the end of the season. It's up to us to show on the field that we deserve to be at the top of the ranking. Being consistent is the most difficult thing about football. There are still 14 days left, but if you show the same frame of mind, good things can happen. "
Thanks to this success, Strasbourg has moved up to sixth place, just behind Montpellier. After 24 days, Thierry Laurey's men are in front of teams like Monaco, Bordeaux or Lyon (who traveled to Paris in the evening). Reims, for its part, is now tenth.
