After a 45-day break, Ligue 1 resumed on Wednesday December 28. For the first time, the League organized “Celebration Week”, a kind of French Boxing Day, with a day between the holidays and one after the New Year.
Before the festivities, a minute of silence was observed in tribute to Johan Hamel, referee who died suddenly of a stroke during training on November 15, 2022, at the age of 42.
To start the sixteenth day of Ligue 1, AC Ajaccio, 18th before the meeting, received at 3 p.m. the SCO of Angers, red lantern with four points behind their evening opponent. It was the Corsicans who came out of it the best, thanks to a controlled first period punctuated by a penalty goal from the inevitable Youcef Belaïli (39th). The Algerian, who arrived on October 12, 2022 after terminating his contract with Brest, has already scored 4 goals and given 6 assists with Ajaccio. The Corsicans come out of the red zone.
Morose atmosphere at the Stade de l’Aube
The Angevins, they are sinking a little deeper into the crisis, with an eighth consecutive defeat. However, they had the opportunity to equalize through Sada Thioub at the very end of the match, but his header from six meters flew away. “At some point, you have to score goals to win games. There is no secret,” lamented Cédric Hountondji at the final whistle. The SCO, the second worst attack in Ligue 1, will need it if they want to leave their last place.
In the other match at 3 p.m., Troyes received Nantes, whose supporters had decided to boycott the match, in a sparse stadium. The gloomy atmosphere of the Stade de l’Aube did not help the players, who did not offer much for 90 minutes and ended in a draw (0-0). The Canaries, more pressing in the opposing half, were not precise enough in front of goal. They are now 16th.
The Trojans, with only two shots on target, could not hope for better than a draw. Xavier Chavalerin hit Lafont’s post well, but Patrick Kisnorbo’s men never seemed able to score. Nevertheless, authors of their first clean sheet of the season, they climbed to 13th place, one point ahead of Nantes.