Paris Saint-Germain got back to winning ways whilst Marseille took advantage of slip ups by Nice and Lens. It was goals galore again for Rennes and more misery for basement boys Saint Etienne. Check out the action as Ligue 1 Uber Eats made its return after the international break.
Mbappé late show stuns Angers
Paris Saint-Germain needed a late Kylian Mbappé penalty to secure a hard-fought three points as they beat Angers 2-1 at the Parc des Princes.
Angelo Fulgini’s first-half finish put Angers in front (36'), but with time running out and with PSG struggling to break down a resolute Angers defence, Danilo headed home a cross from Mbappé to put the Parisians level (69').
Three minutes from time, Angers defender Pierrick Capelle was penalised for handball and Mbappé duly stepped up to score his first goal since early September, to complete the turnaround.
"This victory shows the strength of our squad," said PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino who must now prepare his side for the visit of RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. "We had to make a lot of changes to the team due to the late return from international duty of many of our players. I am very happy to have taken all three points tonight. It was a difficult game against an excellent team."
Lyon strike late to sink Monaco
Lyon ended Monaco's three-match winning run and leapfrogged the principality side in the table after a 2-0 win at the Groupama Stadium.
OL broke the deadlock 15 minutes from time when Karl Toko Ekambi converted from the penalty spot after Monaco defender Axel Disasi was adjudged to have fouled Leo Dubois. Lyon made sure of the points deep in added time when Jason Denayer finished from close range after some superb build up play from Lucas Paqueta and Emerson.
"I think we deserved to win," said a delighted OL coach Peter Bosz who takes his side to Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday. "We've been improving for several weeks but found ourselves in tenth place before this game. If we had lost against Monaco, we would have fallen further down the table, so it was an important three points for us."
Marseille win in style
Marseille got back to winning ways with an emphatic 4-1 win against Lorient at the Orange Velodrome.
Lorient drew first blood through Armand Laurienté's penalty (13') but it was quickly cancelled out by Boubacar Kamara's delected effort to put the hosts on level terms (27'). Rampant OM showed no mercy after the break and goals from Matteo Guendouzi (56' and 90') and Arkadiusz Milik (85') moved Marseille into third on the table ahead of Thursday’s Europa League trip to Lazio.
"After Lorient’s penalty, we found it difficult," said OM coach Jorge Sampaoli who welcomes PSG to the Orange Velodrome next weekend in the season's first 'classique'. "We tightened up defensively and overall deserved the victory. There are three or four teams starting to stand out in the league and we must be part of them."
Montpellier sneak past Lens
Ten-man Montpellier battled their way to a 1-0 victory over high-flying Lens at the Stade de la Mosson.
Stephy Mavididi bagged the only goal of the game three-minutes after half time, to inflict a second league defeat of the season on Les Sang et Or. The win lifts Montpellier into 13th place whilst Lens stay in second, as the gap between them and leaders PSG stretches to nine points.
Troyes sink Nice
Christophe Galtier’s Nice suffered just their second league defeat of the season following a 1-0 reverse at Troyes.
Mama Baldé slotted home the only goal of the game after four minutes to move the Champagne side out of the bottom three, whilst Nice fell further adrift of leaders PSG.
Clermont topple LOSC
LOSC’s recent revival took a backwards step as Jocelyn Gourvennec’s side were beaten 1-0 at Clermont, which was less than ideal preparation ahead of Wednesday’s crunch Champions League clash at home to Sevilla.
Vital N’Simba’s strike (32') was enough to condemn the reigning champions to their fourth defeat of the campaign so far. The win takes Clermont into 14th place on the table, whilst LOSC sit in 12th.
Relentless Rennes win again
Rennes continued their impeccable form with a convincing 3-0 win at struggling Metz at the Stade Saint-Symphorien.
Three first-half goals from Gaëtan Laborde (24’), Kamaldeen Soulemana (37’) and Martin Terrier (45’) put the contest out of sight for Bruno Genesio's side who have now scored 12 and conceded just one goal in their last four games - a run that moves the Breton club up to seventh on the table.
Strasbourg inflict more woe on ten-man Sainté
Saint Etienne remained rooted to the bottom of the table after suffering a 5-1 mauling at the hands of Strasbourg at the Stade de la Meinau.
Goals from Maxime Le Marchand (26') and a Zaydou Youssouf own goal (38') put Strasbourg in the driving seat. Youssouf was then shown a red card to heap more pressure on Claude Puel's side (44') before Wahbi Khazri threw Saint Etienne a lifeline from the penalty spot on the stroke of half time.
But Strasbourg made the numerical advantage count, and goals from Kevin Gamiero (69'), Ludovic Ajorque (73') and Habib Diallo (85') gave Julién Stephan's side a deserved three points, whilst Les Verts remain bottom of the table and without a win this season.
Draws at Brest and Bordeaux
Brest and Reims played out a 1-1 draw at the Stade Francis le Blé.
Belgian defender Wout Faes headed Reims in front in the 12th minute but were pegged back 16 minutes from time when Franck Honorat superbly volleyed 19th placed Brest level.
Bordeaux and Nantes shared the spoils in the Atlantic derby, after a 1-1 at the Matmut Atlantique.
Hwang Ui-Jo opened the scoring for the hosts in superb fashion, finding the top corner from the edge of the area (62'). Pedro Chirivella equalised for Nantes 15 minutes from time to claim a point.
