Saint-Etienne is no longer relegated, Poussin unhappy and release for Bamba

I‘OGC Nice, new executioner of Paris-Saint-Germain. After eliminating the club from the capital in the Coupe de France in the round of 16 on January 31, the Aiglons achieved the big blow of the 27^and day by beating the Parisians on Saturday March 5 (1-0), who will face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

In the race for Europe, Rennes is getting closer to the top 3 after its victory on Sunday against Angers (2-0) and Nantes is now 6^and. Lyon, which experienced the return to the field of Jeff Reine-Adelaïde, is recovering after its victory on Friday against Lorient (4-1) while Lille crushed Clermont (4-0).

At the bottom of the table, the Girondins de Bordeaux, weighed down by an unfortunate Gaëtan Poussin, remain red lantern. Saint-Etienne came out of the relegation zone after their success on Sunday against Metz (1-0) and Lorient is a barrage.

For a moment, Denis Bouanga thought he was Diego Maradona. At other times, his hand might have gone unnoticed. She will not have finally deceived the VAR and the referee of the meeting, Jérémy Stinat. Logically warned for this gesture, the Saint-Etienne winger had set the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium on fire with this goal in the 19th.^and minute of the match against Metz, in a duel of badly classified.

The Saint-Etienne supporters, who believe again in maintaining Ligue 1 since the arrival of Pascal Dupraz on the bench in December, have therefore had to be patient. And were finally able to celebrate a valid goal when Bouanga remembered that football is a sport that is played more with the feet than with the hands. The striker delivered the Green people with a nice strike that allowed ASSE to get out of the relegation zone (17^and). For its part, Metz remains 19^and.

🟢👋 After the hand of God, there could have been that of Denis Bouanga. But the VAR went through it and the striker… https://t.co/vtOZiapvr7

– RMCsport (@RMC Sport)

• The end of the weekend series

By opening the scoring against Clermont (4-0), Jonathan Bamba helped Lille to a second consecutive success after the victory in Lyon last weekend. On a personal note, the midfielder also ended a period of scarcity of more than a year, he who had not scored since February 17, 2021. It was at the time against Reims, in Ligue 1 , in a 2-1 victory for Losc.

With a header from a cross from Renato Sanches, the Frenchman came out of this negative spiral. A few minutes earlier, Lebo Mothiba had also found his way back to the net from a penalty against Bordeaux. The Trojan striker had been waiting for this moment for even longer: his last goal dated from December 7, 2019, against Toulouse.

The Girondin supporters had already had their share of “cap goals” after the one against his camp and the back of Marcelo, on February 20 against Monaco. But against Troyes on Sunday, they were treated to a new salvo which they would have done well without. However, goalkeeper Gaëtan Poussin had started on the right side on the penalty shot by Mama Baldé (28^and). But the Bordelais himself propelled the ball into his cages while trying to get up.

An avoidable goal and above all fraught with consequences. Beaten at home (0-2), the Girondins remain last in the standings and have still not kept their clean sheet this season in Ligue 1.

When it doesn’t want … Goal for Troyes against @girondins https://t.co/csyZmWar48

— Yann Buanec (@Yann Buanec)

“It’s such a strong moment, the emotion is so immense. (…) The club has always supported me, like my teammates. »

Thirteen months. 394 days of waiting on the flank, praying for a return to the field. After a very long period of rehabilitation, which followed his rupture of the cruciate ligaments suffered in February 2021, Jeff Reine-Adelaïde played again on Friday, during the victory of Olympique Lyonnais on the lawn of Lorient (4-1). Came to the 83^and, the Lyon midfielder played ten minutes. Enough to make a whole club happy.

“When I called him back, all the players on the bench were incredibly happy. That makes me very happy. It’s extraordinary “, commented OL coach Peter Bosz after the match. The emotion was all the stronger as Reine-Adelaïde had already been sidelined for many months after a first rupture of the cruciate ligaments in 2019. The 24-year-old midfielder now hopes to avoid further injuries, to resume the course of a promising career.

13 months later… No words will be enough to describe my emotion this evening. @OL ❤️💙 https://t.co/Sx1UI8DPsP

— jreineadelaide (@Jeff Reine-Adelaide)

6

Like the number of consecutive defeats of Angers in Ligue 1. The SCO, which had made a good start to the season with its new coach Gérald Baticle, has been sinking since the end of January. On the lawn of Stade Rennes on Sunday, the Angevins did not make the weight (0-2) and therefore conceded a new setback after those against Saint-Etienne (0-1), Marseille (2-5), Strasbourg ( 0-1), Nice (0-1) and Lens (1-2).

For Angers, this is a sad first in its history: the club has never conceded six consecutive defeats in the same Ligue 1 season. The SCO is now 14^andwith only five points ahead of the play-off place. “It’s a huge hollow, we struggle to keep confidence”said Baticle whose players will try to react next week at home, against Reims.