The Ligue 1 championship continues with the double constraint of Covid-19 and the African Cup of Nations currently being held in Cameroon, pushing clubs to juggle their workforces.
Second in the standings, Nice retained her place as runner-up by beating Nantes, 2 to 1, at home, Friday at the start of this 21st day. The Canaries therefore continue their momentum of four consecutive victories and display one of the best dynamics in the Ligue 1 championship in recent weeks.
The Parisians pulled themselves together this Saturday evening by dominating Brest, at home, at the Parc des Princes, 2 to 0. The leader tasted the joys of success in the French Championship, which he had not known since mid-December against Monaco, enough to gain a little serenity before to host Real Madrid in a month.
Earlier that same day, Saint Etienne lost at home against lens (1-2). Lens stunned the bottom side of Ligue 1 by winning in added time. The Stéphanois, who have only won two matches this season in the league, had nevertheless opened the scoring.
The Marseille-Lille poster at the end of the weekend
After three consecutive defeats in Ligue 1, reindeer won this Sunday three points by outclassing Bordeaux (6-0), more than ever in crisis. The Rennais regain 4th place and are ahead of Monaco. The Girondins are now eligible for relegation (19th). With its many cases of Covid recently, its captain Laurent Koscielny sidelined and on the start, 50 goals conceded in L1, Bordeaux does not see the end of the tunnel.
Very good so far Montpellier dropped to Strasbourg this Sunday, after leading 1-0.
But the direct, rather severe red card from Elye Wahi, which came into play six minutes earlier, tipped the match. At 11 against 10, the Alsatians took over. Strasbourg (7th) passes in front of his opponent of the day (8th).
monaco, winner of Clermont, offered a wide 4-0 success and fifth place to his new coach Philippe Clement for his first at the Louis-II stadium, thanks to a double from Wissam Ben Yedder. He joins Jonathan David at the top of the scoring charts (12 goals).
Despite many players leaving for the CAN, Metz went to impose Reims (1-0) thanks to Ibrahima Niane and out of the red zone.
In the race to maintain Lorient stays in check. The Bretons could have hoped for better against Angers (0-0). They have long evolved in numerical superiority after the red card of Souleyman Doumbia (14th), author of a big sole on Houboulang Mendes. Lorient remains on 14 games without a win in all competitions, they have not won since September 22 and the success against Nice (1-0).
Stuck in the middle of the table (11th) and weighed down by four consecutive draws, Lyons won with the badly ranked Troyes. In closing, Marseilles was receiving Lille (10th) who failed to erase their misstep in the Coupe de France against Lens. The reigning French champions did not play in the league last weekend, their match against Lorient having been postponed to Wednesday January 19 due to Covid cases on the Breton side. They end this trip at 10 and on a draw 1 everywhere. The LOSC had however started the meeting in earnest at the Vélodrome and opened the scoring by Sven Botman, before the expulsion of Benjamin André turned the cards down.