Game Day 24 was completed over the weekend, leaving just 10 more in the Ligue 1 calendar.
Marseille 3 – 2 Lyon
There was a Battle of the Yanks in Ligue 1 on Sunday night when Tim Weah and Marseille welcomed Tanner Tessmann and Olympique Lyonnais to the south coast and sent them home with nothing to show for their 400 miles round-trip. And although Olympique took a very early lead and led twice, it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s two late strikes that did all the damage and secured the points.
The scoreboard lit up after just three minutes for Corentin Tolisso when a poor defensive cross to nobody in particular was pounced open by the Frenchman and drilled past the advancing keeper. The visitors almost struck again earlier in the second half, but the flag went up to deny Tolisso his second.
A 52nd minute bullet from the top left of the box to the far post rippled the net as Igor Paixao tied the game up. Then in the 76th minute, 18-year-old Remi Himbert picked up a through ball in the box and fired it into the back of the net to regain the lead for Lyon.
That lead lasted all but five minutes when Aubameyang struck from six yards out. The former Arsenal striker then hit the winning goal a minute into stoppage time when on-loan Arsenal teenager Ethan Nwaneri picked out the Gabon international who scored from roughly the same spot.
Marseille, who didn’t win a game in the month of February, started the new month off with three points and now find themselves in fourth place, just two points behind Lyon, who have now dropped two in a row. Up next for Weah’s side will be a trip to Toulouse to take on Mark McKenzie’s side, while Tessmann’s boys host Paris FC.
Monaco 2 – 0 Angers
Folarin Balogun has become a goal machine for Monaco, scoring for the fourth time in his last four appearances. The forward played the full 90 minutes in the Principality, securing the three points against 12th place Angers. After a scoreless first half, it took just a dozen minutes for the American to find the back of the net.
The goal came after the visitors had a hard time clearing the box and saw the ball come back in from the right to the far post area. Balogun was on hand to shoot from yards out and although his header was blocked by a defender’s foot, it hit the American’s knee and ended up in the back of the net.
January signing Simon Adingra was given a lot of space, so he decided to take a shot from the top of the box and place it just inside of the far post for his third Monaco goal.
Next up will be a big Friday night fight up in the French capital where they’ll face the champions, Paris St Germain.
Notes
Mark McKenzie went the distance in Toulouse’s narrow defeat at the hands of Stade Rennes in Normandy. The 1-0 scoreline leaves them in 11th place with a trip to Marseille next on the cards.
