Habib Diallo weighed in with two well-taken goals at the Stade de la Meinau as RC Strasbourg swept FC Metz aside 3-0 on Friday night, climbing provisionally to tenth place while Les Grenats remain winless and slip to provisional 19th.
THE MATCH
Metz came into the derby du Grand-Est 18th on the table and without a win in their opening five games. Coach Frédéric Antonetti was hoping the derby would provide his side with the perfect tonic to get their campaign on track but their start to the game was anything but reassuring.
The atmosphere at the Stade de la Meinau was electric and the fans did not have to wait long for the first action of the game. Metz 'keeper Alexandre Oukidja brought down Strasbourg's Dimitri Liénard to give referee Éric Wattellier his easiest decision of the evening in awarding the home side a penalty.
Last season's top scorer Ludovic Ajorque stepped up and sent Oukidja the wrong way to open the scoring for the Alsatians (6'). Adrien Thomasson then missed a gilt-edged chance to extend Strasbourg's lead, dispossessing Metz captain Dylan Bronn and with only Oukidja to beat, fired directly at the Algerian International shot-stopper to let Metz off the hook (9').
Despite Antonetti's best efforts to regroup his players from the touchline, Metz showed a nervous streak and struggled to cope with the home side's onslaught, continually being caught in possession and crumbling under Strasbourg's pressing game.
Metz Blindsided
New Metz signing Nicolas de Préville worked tirelessly, chasing down lost causes and trying to make something from the limited service he was given, but just as Metz began to find snippets of possession, they were hit with a sucker punch. Former Metz striker Habib Diallo skipped past Bronn and fired his shot low past Oukidja to put Strasbourg two goals up, leaving Antonetti's side with a huge hole to dig themselves out of (26').
With the game slipping away from them, Metz started to show more aggression and intent - but without offering any real threat in the final third. In contrast, Strasbourg always looked dangerous on the counter-attack and Diallo once again exploited his former employer's defensive inadequacies with another low right-footed finish to all-but finish the contest before half-time (40').
Metz steadied the ship in the second half and began to find possession in promising areas. Substitute Lamine Gueye tested Strasbourg 'keeper Mats Sels for the first time with a free-kick from the edge of the area (50')
Strasbourg coach Julién Stephan was able to watch his team's second-half display with relative comfort as the home side controlled proceedings without carrying the same threat as the first half. Two-goal hero Habib Diallo received a knock to his calf and was replaced by Kévin Gamiero (68') and the former PSG man was quickly in the thick of the action when his shot was blocked by Oukidja (73') before Ajorque went close with a header one minute later.
Going down fighting
Bronn came close to reducing the arrears for Metz with a superb header late on, but unfortunately for the visitors it was matched by an equally good save from Sels (76'). Metz continued to push forward and Kiki Kouyaté even hit the post with a superb effort (80') as Antonetti's team showed their intent to finish the game better than they started it.
However, the damage inflicted in the first half was too much for Metz to turn around as Strasbourg deservedly picked up an important three points before their Round 7 trip to Lens on Wednesday.
THE PLAYER: Habib Diallo
The former Metz striker haunted his old club with two excellent finishes to put the game to bed in the first half. The Metz defence had no answer to Diallo's relentless threat as the Senegalese international grabbed his first goals of the campaign. Diallo looks to have found his scoring boots just at the right time for Julién Stephan's side as they start to show some promising form after a difficult start.
THE STAT: 13
Metz's defeat at Strasbourg means they have provisionally the leakiest defence in Ligue 1 Uber Eats, with 13 goals conceded. Frédéric Antonetti's side looked to be short of confidence and made far too many defensive errors contributing to their own downfall. The fiery Corsican will know he has plenty of work to do to turn around his side's fortunes as quickly as possible, with Metz's next game the Round 7 visit of league leaders Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday.
