OGC Nice for much of the season had felt like an inevitable force, winning games by a single inescapable goal. Their visit to Nantes was a chance to return to the top of the table against a side that had not won in their last four fixtures and only two days before appointing a new […]

Ligue 1 returned after the latest international break with an intriguing top-of-the-table clash between leaders Paris Saint-Germain and third-placed Monaco, who started the game three points behind them. After a thoroughly entertaining match, the gap between them widened as the defending champions’ superior individual quality seemed to prove decisive. Tactical analysis and match report by […]

Both teams finished the game with a red card apiece but that was the only fate that OGC Nice and Stade Rennais shared. Nice demonstrated again why many in France consider this team to be the greatest threat to PSG’s stranglehold on the league, while Rennes failed once more to impress despite another summer of […]

Eyes would be on Paris Saint-Germain this weekend to see how they would recover from their midweek humiliation away to Newcastle. Ligue 1 has often been the soothing balm for stinging results on Champions League nights, and thanks to their strong possession play, PSG pulled off another therapy session in Rennes. Tactical analysis and match […]

Manchester City returned to winning ways, and it was indeed a challenging battle against an in-form RB Leipzig side. Pep Guardiola essentially went back to his tried-and-true system and the players who were instrumental in achieving the treble last season. This approach bore fruit, partly due to the contributions of substitutes Julián Álvarez and Jérémy […]

An early top-of-the-table clash between some unusual suspects saw the two teams that started the weekend in first and second collide in a hard-fought affair. Neither Nice nor Stade Brestois excelled, but they showed exactly why so many teams have struggled to break down their defenses.  Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland. Before […]

Le Classique usually offered up the promise of a title race, but with Marseille in self-inflicted turmoil and Paris Saint-Germain in the green shoots stages of its project, there was a different feeling to the buildup of the game. In its place was something more intangible but no less vital – pride.  Tactical analysis and […]

After two comfortable victories before the international break, you could be forgiven for thinking everything was back to normal for Paris Saint-Germain, but OGC Nice were there to remind them of their problems. A game defined by two managers obsessed with pressing… and only one team that seemed to know how to implement that vision.  […]

Everything is a little easier when your best players are on the field. The endpoint that PSG’s new manager has in mind for his outfit is far out of reach, but a four goal haul in the first half contributed to storming success on the night— and even more misery for their opponents. Tactical analysis […]

The best of the bunch in France looked to one another in this game to find their flow from a few months ago. In the end, the ideas of new management would produce a pleasing performance for PSG, and an outcome that gives some serenity to a club that has endured enough unrest. Tactical analysis […]