Giovanni Reyna started for his new team as they won. A Folarin Balogun-less Monaco also recorded a ‘W’ against Tim Weah as well in weekend Ligue 1 action.
Strasbourg 2 – 1 Lens
After playing the last 20 minutes in Strasbourg’s spanking by Marseille last weekend, Gio Reyna made it into the starting line-up for Racing as the Alsatian side picked up their first win of the season against Racing Club Lens. The US international put in a 76-minute shift.
In the 34th minute Reyna had a great chance to open his French goals account after a ball in the box found itself at his feet but the former Dortmund and Gladbach midfielder hit his shot right at the Robin Risser in the visitors’ goal.
In the 38th minute however, it was the Strasbourg keeper who had to pick the ball out of the back of his net. Jeyland Mitchell went to clear the ball in his box, but he also cleared the legs of Abdallah Sima out from under him and the referee didn’t hesitate to point to the spot. Having scored twice in the season opener last weekend, Florian Thauvin graciously accepted the ball and scored his third of the young 1 season. It was also his 100th Ligue 1 goal.
Early after the break, Strasbourg attacked in numbers and when young Gessime Yassine got into the box and spotted a hole in the Lens’ goal, he struck and scored his first of the season. Later on, the young Moroccan international would do it again, and again it was a ball served up so deliciously by his colleague Sebastian Nanasi for an easy header from close range.
Now with some points in the bag, Reyna and his side will head to Troyes and look to add a few more.
Brest 2 – 2 Toulouse
Mark McKenzie continued in the starting XI for Toulouse who travelled the north of the country to take on Brest. The American put in a full shift as his Violets picked up their first point of the new campaign.
Toulouse struck first before the game was even 10 minutes old when Yann Gboho played a through ball into the box for his Canadian colleague, Jacen Russell-Rowe who easily slotted it into the back of the net. Nine minutes later it was all square after the Toulouse keeper punched the ball out of harm’s way but apparently not far enough, as it came straight back into his box and then a slight touch by Kamory Doumbia made sure that Guillaume Restes didn’t get a hand on this one.
In the 62nd minute a set piece at the top of the box was delivered by Cristian Casseres to the head of Christ Tape for the Ivorian to open up his season account.
The traveling Toulouse fans thought they had not travelled in vain as the showed 90 minutes and they only had to hold out for a few more to secure all the points. Funny thing though; it didn’t happen. With the last touch of the game, after hitting the crossbar seconds before, Hugo Magnetti finally found the big center forward Ludovic Ajorque and watched him put it past the Toulouse keeper.
The point leaves Toulouse with just one point out of six with a strong OSC Lille paying them a visit over the weekend.
Monaco 2 – 0 Marseille
What should have been a Yank vs Yank Ligue 1 clash didn’t happen that way since Monaco are still reporting Folarin Balogun as injured. With just a day left in the transfer window left, he will, in my humble opinion, be pulling another team’s jersey over his head soon or there will be a miraculous recovery. But Tim Weah did appear for Marseille and the captain played the 90 minutes.
It took just 13 minutes for the German, who seems to be Balogun’s permanent replacement, to get his head onto a cross in the box and nod it past the Marseille keeper. At just 20 years old, it was Paris Brunner’s first goal of the young season.
In the 53rd minute the young German latched onto an Eric Dier long ball from the back, used his blistering pace to outrun one defender before he got into the box, danced around a couple more and then coolly slotted the ball past Dutch keeper, Jeffrey De Lange.
The win leaves the boys from the principality the only team with a perfect record in Ligue 1, while Marseille suffered their first defeat after thrashing Strasbourg last weekend. They will look to get back to winning ways next time out when they host Paris FC. Monaco will travel to Paris to take on the French champions but whether Balogun will be there or in another country is still a mystery.
Notes
Bryan Reynolds didn’t get off the Rennes bench over the weekend when the Bretagne team hosted and beat Le Mans by a 3-2 score line. Next up, hopefully with the American making an appearance, will be a trip to Angers.
Tanner Tessmann was another Yank who collected splinters over the weekend when his Olympique Lyon side hosted Le Havre. The game ended all square with both teams finding the back of the net once. In week 3, Auxerre will pay a visit to Lyon.
In our Yank vs Yank count, since Balogun didn’t face Weah in their game, the table remains the same.
| Player | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Weah | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Tanner Tessmann | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Gio Reyna | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark McKenzie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bryan Reynolds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Folarin Balogun | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
