There was not a lot to write home about for the Yanks in Ligue 1, except for a shellacking that Tim Weah and Marseille suffered at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG 5 – 0 Marseille
When Tim Weah and Olympique Marseille traveled to the French capital over the weekend, they intended to put a dent in the champions’ title hopes by narrowing the gap between them to just six points. Instead, the great pretenders from the south coast were given a lesson in how to play the beautiful game as they were spanked by a 5-0 score line in the Parf du Prince. Weah played the 90 minutes but was unable to find the back of the Parisians’ net.
Having watched their biggest rival, RC Lens, take all three points and leapfrog them into the top spot, it was all on PSG to respond, and inside the first 15 minutes, they did just that as Nuno Mendes was played through into the box, where he spotted his French teammate, Ousmane Dembele, flying forward to his right. The Portuguese defender slid the pass across, and Dembele scored his first of two goals. The second came eight minutes before the intermission.
In the second half, the hosts continued to pile on the pressure, and on two occasions the Les Phocéens keeper was saved by the post. A 55th-minute header by Igor Paixao would have halved the deficit, but PSG’s Russian between the posts hit the ground quickly enough to make the save.
The third goal of the game did come from OM. With Joao Neves in the attacking third, he tried to flick the ball over the advancing keeper. Although he looked to be unsuccessful, Marseille defender Facundo Medina thought it was a good idea to intervene. Still, all he did was make sure his header put the ball over the keeper and into the back of his own net for the dreaded OG.
Georgian striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and then South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-In both struck later in the half to put the finishing touches on the game.
Weah’s side sits in fourth place and on Saturday will host seventh-place Strasbourg at the Stade Velodrome.
Nantes 0 – 1 Lyon
It was a tightly contested game on Saturday night when Tanner Tessmann and Lyon made the trip north to the Pays de la Loire to take on FC Nantes at the Stade de la Beaujoire. The clash was decided by a solitary goal that found the back of the Nantes net after 25 minutes.
The goal came from a corner that the host’s defense failed to clear out of the area. The ball fell to Afonso Moreira, who shot from just inside the box and watched his effort be touched and put into the back of the net by striker Pavel Sulc. It was the Czech international’s 10th of the season.
The victory was the Olympians’ 12th in a row in all competitions, and with the result in Paris, they take over third place, ahead of OM. Up next, they’ll host 14th-place Nice.
Nice 0 – 0 Monaco
Folarin Balogun and Monaco made the 30-minute bus ride west to take on OGC Nice at the Allianz Riviera. In just the second minute, the American striker had a great chance to take the lead, but the crossbar denied him as the Red & Whites went looking for their first goal on the road in four games. Around the half-hour mark, Balogun had another opportunity, but this time he was denied by a very good leg save from the Nice keeper.
Both sides had their chances, but neither was able to breach the opponent’s goal. Up next for Monaco will be a from Nantes as they hope to improve on their current 10th place in the Ligue 1 standings.
Notes
Mark McKenzie was given a rest day but did come on for the last 10 minutes for Toulouse, who were on the road at Angers. Their trip was in vain, as they headed home with no points, losing by a goal to none. Up next will be a trip to Le Havre for the eighth-place team.
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