After the victories of the big cars from Lyon, Monaco and Paris, the first day of Ligue 1 continued on the other lawns, Sunday August 7. A new version of Lille got off to an ideal start, largely dominating the promoted Auxerre (4-1), while Lens and Montpellier also won against Brest (3-2) and Troyes (3-2). Angers and Nantes (0-0), as well as Toulouse and Nice (1-1) failed to decide. Back to the highlights of the afternoon.
The missed return: the promoted Auxerre drinks the cup in Lille
A trying afternoon for the AJA. Auxerre fell heavily on Pierre-Mauroy’s lawn against Lille for their comeback in Ligue 1, ten years after their last season in the top flight. Overwhelmed, Jean-Marc Furlan’s players cracked from the start of the game, conceding two goals in three minutes, before sinking (4-0). The reduction of Gaëtan Charbonnier’s gap on the hour mark (4-1) was not enough to revive them.
Under the baton of its new coach, Paulo Fonseca, whose offensive paw is already visible, Lille was pleased. Led by Benjamin André, Jonathan David and Rémy Cabella, all scorers, Losc makes an impression and is already improving its goal difference.
The match: Montpellier-Troyes, twenty minutes of madness and a little gem
Montpellier and Trojans put on a show on the Mosson lawn, with a crazy start to the match. In twenty minutes, the 22 players went blow for blow. Author of the opener in the 3rd minute, the MHSC saw the Trojans come back from the penalty spot less than ten minutes later. Olivier Dall’Oglio’s men took the lead after a quarter of an hour, but Mama Baldé allowed Estac to immediately return to level.
The nets then stopped shaking, but the match did not lose any intensity. With more than ten chances on each side, both teams offered a quality performance. It was finally Montpellier who scored the decisive goal, on a little gem from Téji Savanier in the last ten minutes. The MHSC signs its first success in Ligue 1 since March.
The player: Florian Sotoca sees triple for Lens
The great man of Lensois success is him. Author of a hat-trick (27th, 62nd, 65th), the first of his career, Florian Sotoca guided the Sang et Or to victory of the season in front of their home crowd at Bollaert. Faced with a long powerless Brest team, Sotoca multiplied the trips and the opportunities. The addition could have been even heavier if the French striker had not missed a penalty at the half-hour mark.
However, the Lensois were scared at the end of the game, but the first goal in Ligue 1 from Haris Belkebla, as well as a penalty from Romain Del Castillo, were not enough for the Brestois to come back to the top.
The rookie: Aaron Ramsey saves Nice
Aaron Ramsey has already made his mark in Ligue 1. Arrived less than a week ago in France, the Welsh striker distinguished himself for his first match in the jersey of OGC Nice. One minute and 24 seconds after coming on late in the match, and while the Aiglons were led by the dominant Toulouse players for a good part of the match, Ramsey took advantage of a good pass from Bilal Brahimi to send a fine shot in the nets from Maxime Dupé and snatch the equalizer.
Welcome to Ligue 1, Mr Ramsey #OGCNice #TFCOGCN pic.twitter.com/ZjjOn6WcEN
—OGC Nice (@ogcnice) August 7, 2022
“I’m happy with the team’s reaction”said the savior of the day after the match at the microphone of Amazon Prime. “I didn’t expect it to be this hot! It was physical and technical, but I think I’m going to enjoy it here.” The tone is set for the rookie from Nice.