Ligue 1 wrap: Montpellier halt Marseille charge

20 November 2011 00:42

Montpellier ended Marseille's resurgence with a 1-0 win in Ligue 1 on Saturday, while eight-man Nice went down 2-0 at home to St Etienne.

Slowly recovering from a difficult start to the season, Marseille had managed three league victories in succession coming into the clash at the Stade de la Mosson.

But they proved to be the architects of their downfall against Montpellier, with a 61st-minute own-goal from Souleymane Diawara gifting the hosts a 1-0 win.

This season's surprise package, Montpellier have now recorded four wins in their last five league matches.

They occupy second place in the standings, level on points with leaders Paris Saint-Germain, who host Nancy on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Rene Marsiglia endured a nightmare start to his reign as Nice coach.

Handed the top job after Eric Roy was moved into a general manager role this week, Marsiglia could only watch as his team found themselves down to nine men within the first 30 minutes of their match at home to St Etienne.

Goalkeeper David Ospina was the first to go after bringing down Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 23rd minute.

Florent Sinama-Pongolle scored from the spot to make it 1-0.

Just four minutes later Eric Mouloungui followed his goalkeeper in making an early exit when he saw red for a bad tackle on Fabian Lemoine.

St Etienne were cruising when Kurt Zouma's header made it 2-0 eight minutes before half-time.

And Nice finished the match with just eight players after Renato Civelli received his marching orders for a dangerous challenge on goal-scorer Sinama-Pongolle.

In other matches, Yannick Sagbo's penalty and a Daniel Wass goal helped newcomers Evian defeat Lorient 2-1 at home.

On a good day for the promoted teams, Dijon ran out 2-0 winners in their match at home to Bordeaux, with Brice Jovial and Benjamin Corgnet the men on target.

Even struggling Ajaccio picked up a point.

The Corsican club are bottom of the table after losing their last four league matches.

But they salvaged a 2-2 draw at home to Caen thanks to Benjamin Andre's 91st-minute equaliser.

Ligue 1 preview: PSG look to extend advantage

18 November 2011 22:00

Montpellier face Marseille eyeing a sixth-straight unbeaten Ligue 1 outing, while table-toppers Paris Saint-Germain should dispose of Nancy.

Just one win adrift of PSG, Rene Girard's men will host Didier Deschamp's eight-placed Marseille on Saturday aiming to close the gap on the league leaders.

Olivier Giroud has been red-hot for Montpellier with eight goals while Marseille will be looking to midfielder Mathieu Valbuena to continue his strong form.

PSG will be hoping they can extend their advantage at the top with what should be a straightforward clash against battling Nancy.

Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has been linked with the coaching role at PSG, but Antoine Kombouare continues to have his side producing results.

He has a star-studded attack in his ranks with Kevin Gameiro (eight goals), Nene and Javier Pastore (six each) all netting regularly.

While they are winning and topping the table, Kombouare's job will surely remain safe despite rumours of discontent among management regarding their style of play.

Meanwhile, defending champions Lille take on sixth-placed Toulouse on Friday looking to keep pace with the top two.

Belgian striker Eden Hazard, the subject of transfer interest from Real Madrid, has been in steady form for Lille and will need to be near his best in this clash.

Like Lille, Lyon will want to keep touch with PSG and Montpellier by overcoming Stade Rennes on Friday.

Remi Garde's men have enjoyed an excellent record at Stade de Gerland, winning five of six, and will be keen to continue that run on Friday.

Lyon will be relying on striker Bafetimbi Gomis (seven goals) to continue producing up front.

In other games, bottom-placed Ajaccio take on Caen hoping midfielder Frederic Sammaritano can add to his four goals this season, while fellow strugglers Dijon host Bordeaux.

Nice host 10th-placed Saint-Etienne, Evian meet Lorient and Brest kick off at home against Sochaux on Sunday, while Auxerre visit Valenciennes.

Lopez set for Lyon return

17 November 2011 15:25

Lisandro Lopez will make his comeback for Lyon in Friday's Ligue 1 match at home against Stade Rennes.

The 28-year-old sustained an ankle injury in his side's 2-1 win over Montpellier in August and has since been out of action ever since.

Lopez has now resumed regular training action and coach Remi Garde confirmed that the striker is ready to return to the field.

"He doesn't have any pain any more. He's very impatient and raring to go again. I will make a decision about him after Thursday's training session," Garde said.

Lyon currently sit fourth on the Ligue 1 table with 23 points from 13 games.