Lyon which can still believe in Europe and Auxerre which is getting some fresh air at the bottom of the table. These are the two main lessons of the five matches of the 30th day of L1 played this Sunday, April 9.
The turnaround: Lyon overthrows Rennes in 19 minutes
After the big disappointment on Wednesday in the semi-finals of the Coupe de France against Nantes (1-0), Lyon recovered well in the direction of travel against Rennes. After feeling an alert in the quadriceps, Steve Mandanda had been replaced by Dogan Alemdar in the Rennes goals. The atmosphere was gloomy in a hostile and empty Groupama Stadium after the Bad Gones boycott.
Quickly trailing 1-0 on the 10th goal this season from Amine Gouiri, trained at OL (0-1, 10th), Lyon managed to overthrow Rennes in 19 minutes in the second period thanks to goals from Corentin Tolisso (60th ), Alexandre Lacazette (68th) – his 18th this season – and Bradley Barcola (79th). Three club-trained players.
“We took a hit in the back of the head on Wednesday, underlines Laurent Blanc. It took us a long time to have this revolt. We had a very good reaction in the second half. You had to have personality and experience. You should never want to suffer. I’m happy with what I saw in the second half. »
In the standings, bad operation for the Rennais who still lose points in the race for Europe. OL, 7th, are 3 behind Rennes (6th) and five behind Lille (5th).
The (mini) surprise: Brest very close to winning in Reims
Brest came very close to a success in Reims. Pierre Lees-Melou quickly opened the scoring (6th). But Reims managed to equalize in added time thanks to a penalty from Falorin Balogun (1-1, 90th + 1). This is the striker’s 18th goal this season on loan from Arsenal. Brest is first non-relegation with two points ahead of Strasbourg (17th).
The flop: Troyes continues to sink
Troyes is heading inexorably towards a return to Ligue 2 two seasons after its rise. Against Clermont, the players of Australian coach Patrick Kisnorbo sank again. Clermont made the difference in three minutes thanks to Muhammed Cham (27th) and Johan Gastien (30th). For ESTAC, this is the 13th game in a row without a win (3 draws, 10 losses now).
During the week, President Aymeric Magne had comforted his coach despite his catastrophic balance sheet and his rather detached attitude with regard to the situation. In the standings, Troyes remains 18th, now 7 points behind the first non-relegation player Brest (16th).
“I didn’t see a team play that wanted to play to stay. Me, I have 37 years, my career is done, but some have to question themselves, ”casttigates Adil Rami.
The number: 6
The number of minutes after which AC Ajaccio was already trailing 2-0 by Auxerre. A catastrophic start for the Corsican team, penalized by goals from Birama Touré (3rd) and Nuno Da Costa (6th). While its supporters were on strike, the ACA was unable to initiate a reaction, even conceding a 3rd goal in added time of the first period on an against his camp from Alphonse (0-3, 45th + 2).
In the standings, this match has serious consequences at the bottom of the table. Auxerre did the right thing by moving up to 15th place, now 8 points ahead of Ajaccio (19th).
The sentence: “The word that stands out is shame”, Mounaïm El Idrissy (AC Ajaccio)
“It was the game of our season, a turning point. We didn’t put the ingredients. We conceded two goals in six minutes… We could come back to two points but now we are at eight… The word that stands out is shame”, regrets AC Ajaccio striker Mounaïm El Idrissy
The player: the beautiful week of Fares Chaïbi and Toulouse
Three days after his historic qualification, 66 years later, for the final of the Coupe de France on Thursday in Annecy (2-1), there was no decompression in Toulouse. Philippe Montanier’s players who quickly lost their captain Brecht Dejagere (concussion) won in Montpellier (2-1).
After the goal of Thijs Dallinga (31st), his 12th goal in L1, Fares Chaïbi sealed the success of Toulouse (85th). The 20-year-old striker, from Lyon, had already scored the qualifying goal in Annecy for the Coupe de France. He brought his total to 5 goals in L1. He was called up for the Algerian team for the first time during the last rally.