Tim Weah helped his side pick up three points while Tanner Tessmann and Lyon tasted defeat in the City of Lights in Ligue 1 action.
Marseille 4 – 3 Le Havre
Tim Weah started in his usual right back spot, went the distance and even found the back of the net for the first time this season as Marseille held off Le Havre to gain all the points and avoiding three home losses in a row.
There weren’t even five minutes on the clock when Emersen flipped the ball into the box and watched CJ Egan-Riley nod it just inside the near post from seven yards out. It was then Weah’s turn in the 33rd minute and after he dipped and dived and weaved past a trio of defenders into the box, he got his shot off and beat the diving Le Havre keeper to double the lead and give OM a 2-0 half time lead.
Ten minutes after the restart, you could probably say that it was game over with goals from Igor Paixao and Himad Abdelli. But the Le Havre coach had a cunning plan up his sleeve and made two 61st minute substitutions and two at the 77-minute mark, and it was also at 77 that Josh Maja put the ball on the penalty spot and got one back for the visitors. Then an 86th and 89th minute pair of goals got the home fans very nervous, especially with 11 minutes of stoppage time. But in the end, the victory was secured.
Now in the eighth spot, next up will be a battle against Mark McKenzie and Toulouse.
Rennes 3 – 0 Strasbourg
It should have been a Ligue 1 Battle of the Yanks when Stade Rennes hosted Racing Strasbourg, but although Giovanni Reyna started and finished the game for the visitors, Bryan Reynolds had to be content with watching the game from the bench.
Boulaye Dia scored the first in the first half (his fourth of the season), followed by Sebastian Szymanski;s just minutes before the intermission. The Polish international midfielder then struck again late in the second half for his first Rennes goals of the season.
Rennes will head south for their next game to take on Nice, while Strasbourg hosts Auxerre.
Notes
Tanner Tessmann has returned to the Lyon starting lineup when Olympique travelled to the French capital to take on the champions and he played the full 90 minutes in a losing effort. PSG put the ball into the back of the net on two occasions, while the Olympians drew blanks over the 90 minutes. Hopefully they’ll find their feet next time out when Angers comes to town.
After a bit of unrest in the streets on Saturday, Toulouse’s game against Troyes was delayed until Sunday for safety reasons but in the end, it didn’t matter because the two teams played out a ho-hum no score tie in front of 23,500 fans. Mark McKenzie played the full 90 minutes and picked up a yellow card. Hopefully the fans will have something to cheer about next time out when they make the trip to Marseille.
Folarin Balogun didn’t even get to break a sweat against Lille, as he came onto the field in the 91st minute in this game that ended one goal each. Next up for Monaco is a trip to the capital to take on Paris FC.
