Merciful that the format skipped the extra 30 minutes, as that was pretty dull except for Reims in the shootout. Had it on TV but skipping between Fiorentina and Liverpool matches on the iPhone was vastly more entertaining.
Been having a lot of senseless suggestions by bored journalists like bringing back the League Cup (the most useless competition in club football) and reinstating extra-time in the Coupe de France (it is currently straight to shoot-outs for all games except the final). Tonight's game is the perfect example that ET is a waste of time. It was a crap game and adding an extra 30 minutes would sent most viewers to sleep and miss a rather entertaining shoot-out.
It’s time to start worrying about them heading back down? (We can now enjoy Ligue 1 more for the bottom drama. )
It started terribly for them but they got a bit of form later on. Right now, they're back in the play-off spot (against whoever finishes 3rd in L2 which I reckon they'd win anyway) due to Rennes (horrible, horrible season from this usually well run club) & Nantes (very meh squad) getting points lately. Wouldn't actually put it past Le Havre to finish above Les Verts. The Normands have zero pressure and relegation won't cripple the club. They host Saint-Etienne in early March so things may even get worse for Les Verts...
This was in the Bundesliga thread as you and Dirk were contrasting German and French football quality, but my add-on belongs here in Ligue 1 Land’s thread. BeIN Sports USA channel still carries all the Ligue 1 matches here in The States, but the marketing decline is clear. When it became clear that PSG would no longer boast the killer upfront trio of Mbappé, Messi, and Neymar, their primary announcers (Phil Schoen and Thomas Rongen) left BeIN and/or didn’t renew their contracts. So I couldn’t tell you the announcer’s names this season since I watch a lot less. Harder to market the league without that big trio in Paris. Dembélé and Barcola and Marquinhos, or Jonathan David over at Lille, or others…just harder to market the league with these names. Of course I will keep an occasional eye at the bottom clubs now. I see that Montpellier failed to take advantage today, used to love Andy Delort’s moves and scores, so hoping his return to that club aids their run for safety.
Obviously rightly punished but 9 months ? Not even allowed in the dressing room ! https://x.com/footballontnt/status/1897419222961041604
It's not the first time a staff member squared up to the ref like that. Our very own Leonardo (back in his sporting director days) did more or less the same thing between 2 dressing rooms. What Fonseca did was bad and is a terrible example for youngsters wanting to play football and managers wanting to climb up the league grid and make it in the very closed pro leagues. The way I see it, the refereeing body said enough is enough and punishment will be severe each time someone oversteps their boundaries (especially since Longoria & Fonseca are supposed to have cool heads when the going gets tough, not behaving like adolescents).
Would I guess right that most of France will tune into AS Saint-Étienne vs Paris Saint-Germain early this evening in the hopes that Les Verts triumph to improve their stay-up chances? (And to confirm that Theirs is the True Hero of the Faith, however unlikely it might seem given the current table?) UPDATE: Alas, the Followers of St. Germain turn the 0-1 deficit to 4-1 in the blink of an eye. At the final trumpet, Heaven saw fit with a 6-1 drubbing. Sackcloth and ashes for ASSE…
Opportunities: Lost and Taken Lens with a real chance at Europe lose at home to a bottom dweller, namely… …Reims, who leapfrog two others to exit the Relegation Zone. (Might bigger clubs take interest in 24-year-old Keito Nakamura?)
Paris FC have been promoted into Ligue 1. The first time 2 Paris clubs have been in the top division together since 1979.
If Strasbourg can take out visiting PSG, and Lille take out visiting Marseilles, it is likely that six teams will be separated by a mere 2 points, vying for 2 guaranteed CL spots and 1 CL qualifying spot. Only two matches remain after this weekend.
So…Lyon blew it so it’s five not six tightly packed for the Euro spots. But the range is still only 2 pts even though Lille could only draw the Marseilles visitors. Great race! (Other than that unlisted PSG are in a Ligue of their own.)
They blew it, mes amis: Nice, Lille, and Strasbourg all lose away to lesser opponents in this penultimate matchday, and lose any automatic CL qualification to Marseilles and Monaco, who are only so happy to take them instead. But those three can still fight for the CL play-in tournament rounds which one normally sees played in late August, oui? Opta Analyst still show longshot Lyon, despite them possibly being relegated for finances? It also describes the % chances as for Europa League, but since they only total 100%, it is a battle for one spot only (4th, the CL play-in chance): NOTE: What’s odd is that their simulations and analysis only give Nice a low % chance despite owning the GD tiebreaker over the other two. These guys expect a low chance of Nice winning at home vs Brest (who will be tired after riding their horses the entire length of France!) Also an interesting relegation battle, with St Etienne needing a win whilst Le Havre drawing or worse.
