Ligue 1 Week 3 Recap
Saturday
Auxerre 1-1 Valenciennes
Goals three minutes apart saw both teams share the points in Auxerre & extended Valenciennes’ unbeaten start to the season. Gaël Danic had put the visitors from Nord-Pas-de-Calais in front with a strike in the 66th minute but the Auxerroise home side leveled through Polish striker Ireneusz Jelen only three minutes later. Auxerre has yet to win a match, so far earning three draws in all three of their opening matches.
Lens 2-2 Monaco
The side from the Monégasque principality have also drawn three out of three & in this match against Lens did so after blowing a 2-0 lead on the road. Monaco had gone in front with goals from Daniel Niculae & Milan loanee Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but the home side scored two goals in the last twenty minutes to salvage a point form the match.
Lyon 1-0 Brest
Perennial French power Lyon got their first win of the season witha 1-nil win over promoted side Brest. Jean Makoun netted Lyon’s goal in the 19th minute when he struck home from a cross originally aimed for new signing Jimmy Briand. Lyon then held on despite Brest coming close to an equalizer but the crossbar denied them & saved Lyon’s bacon. Lyon’s title hopes will no doubt be boosted though as per skysports.com have agreed a deal to lure playmaker Yoann Gourcuff away from Bordeaux.
Marseille 2-0 Lorient
A goal in each half saw the defending French champions get their first win of the new campaign over Lorient. Marseille had lost their opening two matches but goals from defenders Gabriel Heinze in the 6th minute & Taye Taiwo in the 70th saw Les Marsellaise down their Breton adversaries to move Marseille up to 13th in the table.
Nice 1-1 Nancy
Nice & Nancy battled to a one-all draw on the Mediterranean coast in a match that saw Nice maintain their unbeaten start. Emerse Faé had put the hosts in front a few minutes before the half-hour but a goal five minutes from time from Paul Alo’o Efoulou saw the visitors steal a draw.
Rennes 0-0 Saint-Étienne
Rennes & Saint-Étienne played a nil-nil stalemate to main their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season as well. ASSE couldn’t build on their 3-2 win over Sochaux last weekend but this match saw American Carlos Bocanegra return to the Les Verts backline.
Toulouse 2-1 Arles
Surprise, early leaders Toulouse won their third consecutive match to open the season with a win over top division debutantes, Arles, who have found Ligue 1 life rough-going so far having lost three out of three. Goals from Norwegian winger Daniel Braaten & midfielder Etienne Didot had seen Toulouse jump out to a two-nil lead before the sweetly named Franck Dja Djedje pulled one back for the visitors just a couple minutes after Didot’s goal.
Toulouse’s Etienne Didot
(photo courtesy of Yardbarker.com)
Sunday
Montpellier 0-0 Caen
Last year’s Ligue 2 champions, Caen, saw their perfect start to Ligue 1 life ended with a nil-nil draw in Montpellier. But the draw did see the side from Normandy retain their undefeated start.
Sochaux 0-0 Lille
More bagels were found in Sochaux who also drew nil-nil with Lille. The draw saw Lille become the third side of the campaign along with Auxerre & Monaco to start their Ligue 1 season with three draws from three matches. American striker Charlie Davies was still not included in Sochaux’s matchday side as he works his way back from his horrific injuries sustained in a car crash from last year.
Paris Saint-Germain 1-2 Bordeaux
In the feature match of the third round, Bordeaux seized their initial win of the campaign with a late injury time winner from a Michaël Ciani header from a corner kick. Alou Diarra had originally put the visiting side in front in the 67th minute before PSG’s star striker, Guillaume Hoarau levelled ten minutes later. Both teams pressed on for the winner but it was Les Girondins who bagged all three points when Ciani scored.