FRANCE: Ligue 1 Opinions

Things evolve permanently in the world of the football. One day you can be at the top and then getting down very fast a few days later. So hard to have regular result during a season and Lyon experienced this unchanging rule in the beginning of Ligue 1 on August.

First of all OL lived an agitated summer as Lisandro Lopez left the team for Al-Garafa and Bafétimbi Gomis played in CFA, put aside by Jean-Michel Aulas. Nevertheless les Gones won their first four matches of the season in order to be leading of Ligue 1 and qualified for the UCL’s barrage.

And after? Lyon gradually collapsed… The result: four defeats during the following four matches, especially against Reims at Gerland (0-1).

That is the worst period of the club since 2009. Remi Garde’s squad has been rejected in Europa League after the elimination by Real Sociedad (0-2, 0-2). Crisis appeared although impact young players Clement Grenier (two assists) and Alexandre Lacazette (three goals) played well on August. But they were forsaken on the pitch. Finally Aulas was forced to call back Gomis, announced in Premier League during the transfer window.

On the contrary, Monaco didn’t waste time. After two seasons in Ligue 2, is already on the top of the table and the team hasn’t lost since the beginning of the season. With the best attack and the best defense, newly-promoted really seems to be the main competitor of PSG for the title.

Other good news: Falcao impressed everybody within a month as the Colombian striker scored three goals in four games. Most expensive transfer of the ASM history (€60m), Falcao can repair an anomaly. He has never ended best striker in Championship during his carrer because of Oscar Cardozo and Hulk in Liga Sagres and Lionel Messi in Liga. However there is only one problem in Monaco for the moment: few supporters in Louis II stadium. See Falcao’s opinion below…

https://twitter.com/FALCAO/status/370942643398017024

Another team started season with confidence and serenity: Marseille. OM won three matches and became leader – as the previous season – thanks to Dimitri Payet and André-Pierre Gignac with three goals both.

As a consequence, Gignac came back in France football squad for the first time since World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Furthermore OM bought only French players: Florian Thauvin, Erik Lamela, Payet and Gianelli Imbula. But Monaco stopped this perfect start at Velodrome last Sunday (1-2).

From his part, PSG was patient. Champions started for real with two success against newly-promoted Nantes (2-1) and Guingamp (2-0) in overtime. Capital club’s fans sometimes whistled Laurent Blanc and there isn’t no great complicity between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani yet. All-star Swedish is less decisive than his new teammate. He still walking on the pitch and he still being egocentric. “It’s ok if I score less, it will reduce the abyss between me and large part of rest of the team” explained Ibra. Level should rise up with the beginning of Champions League, big objective of the Qatari project.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH

Emmanuel Rivière (AS Monaco)

Falcao hasn’t been the most effective player in Monaco this month. Leading top scorer table (five goals), Emmanuel Rivière reborns after two disappointing seasons with Toulouse. He netted a hat-trick when Monaco trashed Montpellier (4-1) and he scored a goal every thirty-seven minutes in August. French football team manager Didier Deschamps could call to him for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

ONE QUOTE

“A journey in CFA (fourth division) would maybe have taught him the respect,”

reacted Lille president Michel Seydoux about Florian Thauvin. The midfielder missed several training sessions in order to protest and go to Marseille.

ONE FIGURE

39 – During his first home game of the season, PSG had thirty-nine attempts on goal against Ajaccio. Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was in brilliant form and realized many saves but Edinson Cavani scored his firt goal in Ligue 1 in order to secure one point for champions at the Parc des princes.

OTHER NEWS

Nice will not play any more at the Stade du Ray because OGCN will move into their new home of the Allianz Riviera in September. Siaka Tiene scored the last goal in this stadium last week with Montpellier (2-2).

Bastia have had a very interesting tranfer window this summer. Milos Krasic joins on loan from Fenerbahçe whereas Ryad Boudebouz, Sébastian Squillaci and Romaric are great experimented players.

“An amateurish mistake,” said Filip Djordjevic. Nantes celebrated his come back in the top flight with great performance against Bastia (2-0) with a goal of his Serbian striker. However they aren’t sure that LFP approve this success because they employed an ineligible player (Abdoulaye Toure) and Bastia appealed. This oversight could be too bad when the end of the season will happen…