Paris Saint-Germain opened up a nine-point lead at the top, Lens edged a thriller at Marseille whilst Monaco and LOSC registered back-to-back wins. Another action-packed weekend in Ligue 1 Uber Eats provided 30 goals, three red cards and more woes for Saint Etienne..
Eight in a row for PSG
Paris Saint-Germain continued their perfect start to the season, beating Montpellier at the Parc des Princes to record their eighth straight win ahead of Tuesday’s mouth-watering Champions League clash with Manchester City.
Idrissa Gueye rifled in from the edge of the area to put the capital club ahead (14’) and substitute Julian Draxler scored with his first touch of the game (88’) to make sure of maximum points.
"It was an important and professional victory," said PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino who now turns his attention to Tuesday night’s encounter with Pep Guardiola’s side. "I’m happy with the clean sheet because Montpellier are a solid team. We should have scored more because we created a lot of chances but overall, I’m happy with the performance."
Lens end OM's unbeaten home record
Lens moved up to second on the table after a thrilling 3-2 win against Marseille at the Orange Velodrome to inflict OM's first defeat of the season and their first at home since February.
A Florian Sotoca penalty (9') and a superb strike from Przemysław Frankowski (27') put Lens in the ascendancy but a two-goal fightback courtesy of Dimitri Payet (33' and 45') ensured OM got back on level terms. Substitute Wesley Saïd settled matters with a fantastic header (71’), to hand Lens a superb three points.
"I am proud and happy with the result and performance of the players,'' added jubilant Lens coach Franck Haise. "We played with a lot of purpose and personality. Winning here, against this team, makes me proud."
LOSC on the up?
Jocelyn Gourvennec’s LOSC registered their second win in a week, beating in-form Strasbourg 2-1 at the Stade de la Meinau.
Jonathan David was the hero for the reigning champions, tapping in from close range (23’) then, converting a penalty (57’). Strasbourg’s Ibrahima Sissoko reduced the arrears (65’) but all hope of a comeback quickly faded for the home side when they were reduced to ten-men four minutes later as Adrien Thomasson was given his marching orders.
LOSC move up to ninth on the table whilst Strasbourg sit in 12th.
"Our attacking players worked incredibly hard,'' said an upbeat Gourvennec who takes his side to Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday. "When you have an attack that works as hard as ours do, it energises the rest of the team. We created a lot of opportunities and it would have been nice to have killed off the game earlier but I am happy with the win."
Ten-man Lyon take a point
Emerson Palmieri was sent off after just 14 minutes as Lyon warmed up for Thursday’s Europa League clash against Brondby with a 1-1 draw at home to Lorient.
Lorient took full advantage of their extra man and opened the scoring through a tremendous Armand Laurienté free-kick (20’). Karl Toko Ekambi equalised for the hosts (50’) but neither side was able to find a winner.
Lyon move to seventh on the table whilst Lorient climb to sixth, one place ahead of OL.
"We started the game poorly,'' said a frustrated OL coach Peter Bosz, who felt his side were wrongly reduced to ten-men. "I no longer understand refereeing decisions. Hats off to my team who played to win, unfortunately we could only manage a draw."
Monaco finding form
Niko Kovac's Monaco continued their upturn in form, seeing off Clermont 3-1 at the Stade Gabriel Montpied.
Goals from Wissam Ben Yedder (25'), Kevin Volland (48') and Sofiane Diop (90') cancelled out Mohamed Bayo's seventh-minute opener for the hosts. Monaco are up to 11th on the table ahead of Thursday's Europa league clash with Real Sociedad whilst Clermont, without a win in six games, drop to 15th.
Nice send Saint Etienne packing
Nice added to Saint Etienne’s early-season woes after a convincing 3-0 win at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.
The Côte d’Azur side got back to winning ways after Wednesday’s defeat at Lorient and had Amine Gouiri to thank for breaking the deadlock (15’). Nice added two more goals to their tally in the second half through Calvin Stengs (54’) and Andy Delort (83’) to move into fourth place. Saint Etienne slump to the bottom of the table after five defeats from their opening eight games, with the small matter of the derby against Lyon up next.
Draws at Bordeaux and Troyes
Bordeaux defender Mexer scored an 88th minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw at home to Rennes.
Former Bordeaux striker Gaëtan Laborde put Rennes ahead from close range (56') before ex-Rennes man Mexer’s deflected effort snatched a point at the death.
Mama Baldé put Troyes in front with a smart finish (22') in their 1-1 draw at home to Angers. Thomas Mangani equalised for Angers from the penalty spot (65’). Gérald Baticle’s side occupy fifth place on the table.
Important wins for Metz and Reims
Nicolas de Preville's goal helped Metz record their first victory of the season beating Brest 2-1 at the Stade Francis le Blé.
De Preville's 28th minute goal was cancelled out by Romain Faivre's penalty (68') but Fabien Centonze scored the all-important winner for Metz (74') who move off the bottom of the table.
Reims put the breaks on a resurgent Nantes after a 3-1 win for the Champagne club at the Stade Auguste Delaune.
Thomas Foket (51') and two goals from Hugo Ekitike (72' and 78') were enough for Reims to finish off Les Canari's whose only goal came from Moses Simon (62').
