It was a trio of tightly-contested Ligue 1 matches in this afternoon’s multiplex. Stade Brestois and RC Strasbourg Alsace picked up victories; meanwhile, Lille OSC and Clermont Foot played to a scoreless draw.
Brest secured a 1-0 win over FC Metz, and the lone goal came courtesy of Jérémy Le Douaron, who came off the bench to score in his second straight contest. Brest picked up all three points to jump ahead of RC Lens and back into fifth place in the table.
Eric Roy and his squad are unbeaten in their last four matches and have three wins during this stretch of games. As a result, Brest continue to battled for European football next season.
The other team to get all three points in this set of matches was Strasbourg, although they did so in a more dramatic fashion. Patrick Vieira and his team opened the scoring, but Le Havre responded with an equalizer.
With Strasbourg attempting to create space between themselves and the relegation zone, it seemed they were heading toward dropping points again. However, Abakar Sylla would be the hero, as the 20-year-old defender scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time for the 2-1 win.
Furthermore, Strasbourg shot up the Ligue 1 standings and into the middle of the table, leapfrogging a couple of clubs in the process. Racing now sit tenth in the table, with more breathing room from the relegation battle.
Meanwhile, a draw wasn't terribly helpful for Lille OSC, who had 12 total shots, with three on target. Nonetheless, it wasn't enough to find the goal and secure three points against a Clermont side battling to come out of the relegation zone.
With AS Monaco and OGC Nice picking up wins this weekend, Lille want to stay close to them in the fight for UEFA Champions League spots for next season; Les Dogues currently sit fourth with 25 points.
In the week, Lille will look to turn the page on this result as they attempt to win their group in the UEFA Conference League.
