This past week has been one of confidence building, for both AS Saint-Étienne and Paris Saint-Germain. For the home side, a welcome victory over Strasbourg saw them end a run of four matches without a win, thereby solidifying their hopes of a Europa League campaign next season. PSG had left Old Trafford with a comfortable […]
OGC Nice were most impressive in their pressing and midfield compactness, alongside creating a few opportunities and eventually getting the lead through a Rémi Walter penalty. In the second half, Lyon created numerous chances and took control of the flow of the game but failed to equalize as Nice put up a resilient defensive block. […]
Poor were the souls, those neutral football enthusiasts, who noticed there was a Ligue 1 match in the late afternoon of a Tuesday and decided to give it a go. No level of hipsterism would make it possible to even pretend to enjoy such a poor spectacle as a patched up Olympique de Marseille were […]
What a game of football this was! After grabbing the lead within the first ten minutes, PSG were blown away by Lyon’s attacking power, before clawing themselves back into the match at the fifty-minute mark. Lyon – uncharacteristically – put in a fine defensive shift and held on to the lead to deal PSG their […]
Rennes showed some promising signs in their possession play and pressing as they imposed themselves on Paris Saint-Germain. However, Rennes failed to take advantage of their impressive start and could not capitalise on a few promising opportunities. Tuchel’s half-time tweaks and PSG’s brilliant attacking players ensured they overcame their slow start to extend their unbeaten […]
Lille showed some neat – though not especially dangerous – possession play throughout the match and eventually they got the lead through a Nicolas Pépé penalty, just before half-time. The second half was disrupted by both crowd trouble and a red card for Florian Thauvin. After those two incidents, the game became disjointed, and Lille […]
Reverting back to a 4-2-3-1 formation did not seem the brightest of moves by Lyon’s manager Bruno Génésio at first. His team looked lifeless, uninspired and sullen for a large part of this match. Luckily for Génésio, there is always a plan B that can be executed when you are coaching Lyon – ‘Throw on […]
After a lively opening phase and a fast goal for the home side, this game was characterized by both teams having difficulties asserting control. Due to a lack of tempo, dynamics and creativity, both teams could not get this game going for most of the second half, which led to a draw in the end. […]
The match between Ligue 1’s fourth best defense in Stade Reims and the second best attack in Olympique Lyon promised to be a tactically interesting match. Olympique Lyon needed some time to find solutions against a disciplined side from Reims. Thanks to a change of formation Lyon was capable of securing a point in an […]
Nantes dominated possession thanks to an early red card for Montpellier. This game however was ultimately decided by a counterattack and a set piece. Tactical analysis by Chris Baker. Nantes manager Vahid Halilhodžić made nine changes following an easy midweek cup victory over Chateauroux. Ciprian Tătăruşanu replaced Maxime Dupé in goal. Diego Carlos, Lucas Lima […]