Konrad de la Fuente and Marseille saw their evening at Lyon cut short by another crowd issue, while Weah and Lille blew an early lead to Monaco.
Olympique Lyon 0 – 0 Olympique Marseille (suspended)
Despite playing less than five minutes in total, Konrad de la Fuente had the most interesting weekend of all Americans in France, as crowd violence at Lyon stopped yet another of their games.
de la Fuente was named in the starting lineup for the team, on the left side of a three-man front; however the evening game in Lyon was cut short after a fan targeted Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet with a full water bottle while taking a corner barely four minutes into the game.
The proceedings were quickly suspended by the referees, while Payet received attention on the field for what was a direct hit on the back of his head.
After a nearly 90-minute delay, it was announced that the game would proceed and the Lyon players returned to the field to warm up. However the Marseille squad never appeared, with rumors suggesting that they had never agreed to the resumption and refused to retake the field.
The referees ultimately called the game off, with the authorities still to decide how to treat the incident. This harken back to an earlier incident where Payet was targeted during a game against Nice. In that case, the game was replayed nearly two months later, with Nice receiving a points deduction for their fans’ behavior.
Marseille is back in action on Thursday with a trip to Galatasaray in the Europa League, then hosts Troyes three days later.
AS Monaco 2 – 2 Lille OSC
Tim Weah got the start for Lille hot off of his USMNT success, however was overshadowed by his red-hot CONCACAF compatriot, Canadian Jonathan David, as they drew two apiece at Monaco on Friday.
Over 90 minutes plus added time, Weah managed three shots while completing nearly 87% of his passes, however picked up his first yellow card of the season late in the second half.
Already in the third minute, Lille were given a golden chance when Strahinja Pavlovic hacked wildly at the foot of Xeka just inside the area while attempting to block his shot, resulting in a penalty call that David coolly put away to the right side of goal.
The Canadian was on the scoreboard again just minutes later, running onto a perfect through-ball from Tiago Djaló, and holding the lone defender enough to fire a low strike from the left of the area for the 2-0 ninth-minute lead.
Four minutes before the half, Monaco narrowed the deficit, with Youssouf Fofana setting up Krepin Diatta just beyond the upper right corner of the 18-yard box for low, powerful strike.
Lille did their best to hold on to what would have been a welcome three points on the road, but were forced to settle for only one, in spite of Pavlovic being sent off for a second yellow with 12 minutes remaining.
This time, substitute Wissam Ben Yedder did the damage, receiving a short pass on the left edge of the six-yard box with enough space for a blast that evaded the grasp of Lille keeper Ivo Grbic for the equalizer.
The result leaves reigning champions Lille in an underwhelming 12th place, facing a critical Champions League visit from Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday and another visit from Nantes in Ligue 1 action four days later.
Rennes 2 – 0 Montpellier HSC
Nicholas Gioacchini earned the start for Montpellier on their visit to Rennes on Saturday, however only lasted a half as the team was effectively put down after a disastrous opening 45 minutes.
The visitors were already in trouble after eight minutes when Martin Terrier headed in a fine cross by Hamari Traoré, then found themselves two down just before the half-hour as a fine display of passing and use of space ended with Lovro Majer striking from close range.
Montepellier midfielder Teji Savanier was sent off for a pair of yellows in rapid succession just before the half, effectively giving his team an insurmountable mountain to climb.
Gioacchini was sacrificed after the break as Montpellier coach Olivier Dall’Oglio tried to switch up the tactics to adjust, however they had no chance to come back from two goals and a man-disadvantage, falling to defeat.
The loss leaves the team in ninth place, with a visit from Lyon on Sunday.
Notes
Erik Palmer-Brown was an unused substitute for Troyes as they fell 1-0 at home to St. Etienne to inch closer to the drop zone.
