Montpellier & Lille triumph, and Metz escape the relegation zone.
Lille 1-0 Strasbourg: With a close victory against Strasbourg, Les Dogues supports their effort to rejoin Europe
After losing to Premier League team Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday, Paulo Fonseca’s LOSC team had to regroup. However, they got off to a fast start as Jonathan David gave Les Dogues the lead with his 17th goal of the year (13′). Later in the half, the home team came dangerously close to doubling their lead, but Frederic Guilibert scrambled the ball away with a brilliant sliding block.
At a sunny Stade Pierre-Mauroy, the second half began more subduedly than the first, with LOSC controlling the ball well but failing to significantly extend their lead. As the half went on, Patrick Vieira’s Strasbourg team was able to maintain their composure and gain momentum. After being passed through on goal, Emmanuel Emegha had a fantastic opportunity to tie the score, but his hurried shot went far over the crossbar (80′). Les Dogues are now well-positioned in the race to go to the Champions League as LOSC managed to hold on for the three points.
Le Havre 0-1 Metz: The Grenats overcome incredible odds to move out of the relegation zone. Le Havre
Le Havre, who had lost to Nantes (0-1) the previous week, was set to play FC Metz, a team that was only one point behind them in the Ligue 1 Uber Eats standings, at Stade Océane on Sunday afternoon.
After reacted swiftly to Arthur Atta’s rebounding strike (46′), Georges Mikautadze, who has been Metz’s savior so frequently this season, opened the score for the opposition. Upon the 10th goal of the Georgian’s season, Les Grenats would have a good chance to surpass the hosts of Normand for the day. After Emmanuel Sabbi’s long-range effort missed the goal, Mikautadze came dangerously close to scoring his second of the day with a low shot from the edge of the box that struck the post.
Le Ciel et Marine applied pressure in the final fifteen minutes as Sabbi was involved once more, his shot from the edge of the box striking the bar and Loïc Nego connecting weakly from the subsequent corner. Le Havre, however, was unable to break through as they lost to a team that was threatened with relegation and fell into the relegation play-off position. Nonetheless, it’s a significant win for Metz, who are once again being led by star player Mikautadze, in their fight to stay in the league.
Stade de Reims – Montpellier: As Reims’ far-flung hopes of qualifying for Europe start to dwindle, De Zakarian’s team all but guarantees Ligue 1 safety.
At Stade Auguste Delaune, the match got off to a strong start. Within the first five minutes, Akor Adams almost scored with an effort that went into the side net, and Junior Ito quickly answered with a volley of his own. Then, defender Modibo Sagnan gave the away team the lead. He rose highest from the corner and struck with a downward header that Diouf parried, but goal-line technology determined the header had crossed the line (13′).
After a scare from keeper Diouf, whose reckless tackle nearly resulted in an open-net opportunity, Will Still’s team responded in the second half. Soon after Teddy Teuma was substituted on (66′), Emmanuel Agbadou headed Les Rémois back into the game. Even though the home team appeared to have the advantage, Montpellier scored a crucial goal on a counterattack through Musa Al-Taamari, who surged past Benjamin Stambouli and finished under Diouf (86′). The final whistle would sound as Les Rémois lost a chance to revive their push for European football and Montpellier celebrated a victory that all but guaranteed their place in Ligue 1.