They are far from always having the truth about a team, but friendlies can sometimes give serious indicators. This summer, some Ligue 1 clubs have inducted their new coach, others have enjoyed the first goals of their recruits. Before the first day of the championship which resumes this Friday evening with OL-Ajaccio (8:45 p.m.), some teams are walking on water while others are in the grip of doubt.
TOPS
Full of victories for Paris
Shortly after his first steps at PSG, Christophe Galtier took off with his team for the club’s summer tour of Japan. Beyond the commercial operations, it was above all the opportunity to scrutinize a new system being put in place, after a first victory against Quevilly at the Camp des Loges, before the big start (2-0).
The team got their bearings in their new 3-4-1-2, and won their other three friendlies, against Japanese teams. Balance sheet: 13 goals scored, 3 conceded, and encouraging debuts with a new coach.
Neymar and Messi also found their colors, while rookie Vitinha made a good impression. But the defense has not always been impermeable during the summer, and will be one of the team’s main points at the start of the season. After its preparation, Paris concluded its month of July in the best possible way, winning the Champions Trophy against Nantes (4-0).
Strasbourg tames Anfield
There are games that you don’t forget. The players of Racing Club de Strasbourg are not about to erase their memory of their success at Anfield against Liverpool (3-0). Admittedly, Liverpool did not display their usual eleven, but Ibrahima Konaté, Joe Gomez or James Milner were still in the game. So even against the second team of the Reds, the Strasbourg residents were full of confidence before starting their season.
Before their last friendly match, Julien Stéphan’s men had lost only one match, against Cagliari, for two other wins and two draws. Colin Dagba, on loan from PSG, has not yet played for the RCSA and remains in the rehabilitation phase. He will miss the first deadline against Monaco, this Saturday (5 p.m.).
Lens remains undefeated and offers Inter
The Bollaert stadium capsized this summer. RC Lens offered Inter Milan with a goal from their rookie Loïs Openda in the 90th minute (1-0). A victory in front of his supporters who came in large numbers, which confirmed the good form of the team before starting its season.
When taking stock of the summer games, the defensive solidity of the Sang et Or is obvious. The team conceded only one goal in 6 friendly matches, for 4 wins and 2 draws. For their last meeting, the teammates of Seko Fofana, now orphans of Jonathan Clauss, stood up to West Ham (0-0), all in front of 33,000 spectators impatient for the return of Ligue 1.
LES FLOPS
It already squeaks in Marseille
Second in the last championship and qualified directly for the Champions League, Marseille is nevertheless starting the new season in a tense climate. Having just arrived, coach Igor Tudor is already under pressure. At the end of its last friendly match, lost 2-0 against AC Milan, the Marseille team was whistled by the Vélodrome, even before the first official meeting of its new coach.
The defeats against Middlesbrough (2-0) and Norwich (3-0) did not reassure either, and OM only emerged from their preparation with a victory (4-1) against Marignane Gignac (National 2 ), at the very beginning of summer. So friendly matches are only indicative, and Igor Tudor, already challenged by part of his locker room due to management described as a little brutal, will of course need time to establish his style and style of vertical game, but Marseille does not approach its season in the best way.
Zero points for Montpellier
For Montpellier, it was difficult to do worse. 5 matches, 5 defeats, 14 goals conceded. A more than complicated preparation for Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men, aware of their difficulties after a defeat (0-2) against Clermont: “The results are not there, there are still a lot of things to work on, remarks the defender Arnaud Souquet. We will have to realize this quickly, so as not to relive what we experienced in the second half of last season. It’s going to start strong. »
Worst team of the 2021-2022 return phase with only 3 victories, Montpellier remained, in fact, on a nightmarish end to the season and will play, to make matters worse, PSG at the Parc from the 2nd day of Ligue 1. Everything but a gift .
AND THE OTHERS ?
Among competitors in Europe, Nice reassured itself on its last match with, finally, a victory against Torino (1-0), but remains on mixed performances with its new coach Lucien Favre. Same record for AS Monaco, which won only one match, against Portimonense (0-2).
Rennes concluded their preparation with a defeat against Aston Villa, after a success against Nantes in the derby. OL, for their part, shone with their inconstancy. With an experimental team on the pitch, Les Gones received a slap from Willem II (5-0), but ended their summer with a victory at Feyenoord (0-2) and a reassuring draw against Inter (2-2). ). Peter Bosz and his family will launch the 2022-2023 edition of Ligue 1 this Friday at 9 p.m. against AC Ajaccio.