It was a good weekend for our American in the north (of France) but not so much so for our guy in the south as Sabbi scored and picked up three points with Le Havre, while Folarin Balogun failed to impress and only got to play half of the game as Monaco tasted defeat.
Le Havre 3 – 1 Lyon
Emmanuel Sabbi started on the left side of the midfield for the Ligue 1 newcomers, putting in a 70-minute shift and scoring what turned out to be the winning goal against Olympique Lyon on Sunday afternoon.
For any team just joining a top flight, avoiding relegation is always the number one goal and the team from Normandy is on track to do just that as they find themselves just two points from making it into the top half of the table after this unexpected victory over a revitalized Lyon who was on a four-game winning streak in all competitions where they did not concede a single goal.
Although the visitors dominated the first 15 minutes of the game, the hosts won a corner kick that fell to Christoper Operi who delivered it into the six-yard box for Gautier Loris to score his first goal in five months.
Just a half-hour into the game, the dynamics changed when Irishman, Jake O’Brien made a malicious foul on Daler Kuzyaev, that could have resulted in a broken leg. The referee only saw it as a yellow card offense but VAR intervened and when called to the monitor, Gael Angoula, a former Ligue 1 defender, changed his mind and flashed the red card, sending the Cork native for an early shower. The would have to play the final hour a man down.
Lyon held on until halftime but just five minutes after the intermission, the Italian-born American was celebrating his third goal of the season. His right-footed shot from the center of the box easily beat the keeper as it was tucked into the bottom right corner.
Olympique did get themselves back into the game however after some less-than-impressive Le Havre defending. Former Arsenal man, Alex Lacazette struck from close range in the 54th minute. But try as they may, the Lyonnaise just could not find the equalizer.
Operi, however, found the goal that put the game to bed in the 62nd minute with a spectacular left-footed shot from the top left side of the box that dipped under the crossbar for the goal of the game. The best that the hosts could do was to have another man sent off, Duje Caleta-Car, with just a minute left on the clock.
Le Havre’s next competitive game will be against Chateauroux on Sunday afternoon. This will be a French Cup clash. They will then return to league action at Lorient the following Sunday.
Monaco 1 – 3 Reims
Folarin Balogun started on the bench for Les Rouge et Blanc when they hosted Stade de Reims on Saturday night. He did however enter the game to start the second half when Monaco was already down a goal.
The visitors, who sit in sixth place, scored 10 minutes before the intermission when Teddy Teuma struck from outside the box. But four minutes after the re-start, it was all square again, with Wissam Ben Yedder’s header from inside the box.
Parity did not last long however because Reda Khadra scored six minutes later. The nail was however not put in the Monaco coffin until stoppage time when Azor Matusiwa provided the final blow.
The principality’s team will lick their wounds and then be ready for battle again on Saturday when they too go into French Cup action. They’ll travel to take on Ligue 2 Rodez before their battle of the southerners in Marseille.
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