PSG held in 4-4 thriller as Monaco make a move into the top 5

There was no doubt about it that the game of the weekend in Ligue 1 was between  PSG and Amiens. It was simply an incredible match that ended in a scoreline that nobody would have predicted: 4-4.

Of course PSG did rest some players namely Kylian Mbappe as Thomas Tuchel’s side have their crucial Champions League match to play against Borussia Dortmund in midweek. But even taking that into account it was an incredible start from Amiens who are in 19th place. The club went 3-0 up within 40 minutes and the home fans simply could not believe what they were witnessing. This was the same Amiens who had won just 3 games at home this season and scored just 13 before the game, now they had 3 in one match.

Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring after just five minutes to make Amiens intent very clear. Perhaps they had sniffed blood and realised that one eye for PSG would be on their Champions League game and that this was the perfect time to face the current French champions. Gael Kakuta made it 2-0 shortly afterwards and then Fousseni Diabate sent the stadium out of control with the third goal. How many teams come back from this situation and it seemed like the home fans were celebrating a rare victory over the mighty PSG who had lost just 3 games all season.

But this is still PSG, and even though some stars were rested they have an almighty talented team. Ander Herrera scored just before half time to make it 3-1 and there was a little self doubt at that point that had crept in.

In the 2nd half PSG dominated the game and Tanguy Kouassi broke home fans hearts with 2 goals in five minutes and now Amiens were hanging on from a cliff that they thought they had just conquered. With 16 minutes to go Mauro Icardi put PSG in the lead to make it 4-3 and PSG looked to have made one of the great comebacks and earn yet another three points. But there would be some joy for the home crowd when in the very final minute the man who had opened the scoring finished it and Guirassy scored his 2nd to send the stadium wild and the final score ended an incredible 4-4.

Amiens are 19th and 6 points from safety and it looks like the best the club can hope for would be the play-offs. But then again if they can put in consistent performances like they did at the weekend could they make one of the very special comebacks in Ligue 1 history themselves?

It was a very good weekend for 2nd placed Marseille who beat Lille 2-1 away from home, a very hard ground to go to. Not only did PSG drop points which means that Marseille have shortened the gap to 10 points but Rennes also lost which means they have an 11 point safety net and the club are almost guaranteed 2nd spot now which means automatic qualification for next seasons Champions League, job, almost achieved one would suspect.

Rennes lost at Reims 1-0 and the club have now gone their last 3 matches without a win, but they somehow stay in 3rd place with 41 points. With Lille losing too it means that Monaco have shortened the gap and they made  a big splash into 5th place after beating Montpellier 1-0. It was the club’s 3rd win in a row and Islam Slimani scored again. The pressure now looks off coach Robert Moreno and the club have climbed onto 38 points and are just three points from 3rd place. It has been quite a season for the club so far but it could end up on a positive note.

Strasbourg’s good form continued as they drew 1-1 away to Lyon to keep 7th place and Reims are back into the top 8 with a 1-0 win over Rennes. A penalty by El Toure settled the game.

European spots are still up for grabs in Ligue 1 and it is interesting to see how close the league has been this year. Marseille also will not give up on a league title even if it does seem unlikely, but if PSG keep progressing in the Champions League whose to say that they will lose some focus in the league? You never quite know in football.

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PSG win 6 goal thriller against Lyon as brilliant Lille close in on 3rd place

A meeting between the two most successful sides in French football over the last 20 years was always going to garner the most attention and PSG and Lyon who have won 14 league titles between them in the last 17 league seasons didn’t let anyone down.

The game in Paris ended 4-2 to the league champions and whilst Lyon played their part they simply could not handle just how good PSG were. Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappe had seemingly wrapped up the game early on as PSG went in at half time 2-0 up. In the first half they had dominated possession and allowed no shots on target for the visitors.

The game was, in effect, over just a few minutes into the second half when PSG went 3-0 up courtesy of a bizarre own goal scored by Fernando Marcel. It was bizarre in the fact that it was such a good clinical goal- had it been a PSG player we would have been talking about it for some time. The player was obviously devastated and sunk to the ground in disbelief, he knew the game was over.

But then a miracle almost happened as Lyon’s Martin Terrier and Moussa Dembele who has been so good for Lyon this season both scored in the space of 7 minutes and suddenly Lyon were back in the game it was 3-2 with half an hour still to play. But PSG showed quality as they took down the level of the game and controlled the pace. Finally with ten minutes to go Edinson Cavani scored for the home side to win the game 4-2 and it was an important redemption goal for the Uruguayan who has felt left out of the side and was so close to leaving in the January transfer window. PSG remain on top with 61 points and are 12 points clear of Marseille.

Marseille did win at the weekend but they were quite disappointing at home against the bottom side Toulouse winning just 1-0 through a Dimitri Payet goal, Payet is on great form lately but Marseille had just 3 shots on target against a club who have conceded 49 goals this season and more was expected of them. Nonetheless a win is a win and it was actually a decent weekend for Marseille because Rennes in 3rd place could only draw 0-0 at home to Brest.

Rennes have put unnecessary pressure on themselves now to claim a top 3 place, they have no wins in their last 2 games and only 1 victory in their last four. The pressure was maximised because Lille won their 3rd straight game in a row to move within one point of Rennes. Lille beat Angers 2-0 away from home and the club have started to improve on the road after a nightmare start, in form Victor Osimhen opened the scoring for Lille who eased to a win.

Montpellier are in 5th after a 1-0 win over Bordeaux as Andy Delort scored his 9th goal of the season. The win was even more impressive for Montpellier as they played a large section of the game with 10 men after Solomon Sambia was sent off.

Strasbourg’s good form continued and they have now won 3 games from their last four to go into 6th place after they easily beat Reims 3-0, a direct rival for a European finish. The club got their revenge over Reims after the side had knocked them out of the Coupe de la Ligue at the quarter final stage with a penalty shoot out. Reims had zero shots on goal in the whole game and they have slipped to 10th place as a result.

Are Monaco recovering and starting to show what they can do under new coach Robert Moreno? Well the club did win their 2nd game in a row as they beat Amiens away from home 2-1. It was only Monaco’s 3rd win on the road and a first for Moreno away from home. However Monaco were heading for defeat, with just a few minutes left of the game Amiens were winning 1-0. But Ligue 1 top goalscorer Wissam Ben Yedder struck for the equaliser and then Islam Slimani became the hero of the day scoring in injury time. Cesc Fabregas had only been on the pitch for 4 minutes as he came off of the bench to assist in the winning goal. That moves the club up to 7th place.

Bordeaux moved to 8th after they beat Metz 2-1 away from home and the club have now gone their last 4 matches unbeaten. Remi Oudin a new signing from Reims got the winner for Bordeaux with just five minutes remaining to start his career with his new club in memorable style.

There is just 3 points between 8th and 5th and so much to play for in the league regarding European places. Marseille have taken a large step in the right direction to qualify for the Champions League and now have an 8 point lead over Rennes in 3rd place. PSG look like they have won the league, but will the upcoming Champions League games distract the team, if so it is only Marseille who have the smallest of chances of catching them. Watch this space as the league hots up with just 14 games and 42 points left to play for.

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Rennes make a bid for the Champions League as Neymar and Mbappe overshadow PSG win

Rennes made big strides to try and qualify for the Champions League as they beat Nantes in a five goal thriller winning 3-2 at home. Raphinha was the hero for the home side grabbing two goals. Rennes would be a major surprise to make the Champions League but that is what finishing 2nd gives teams and they edged up each week to Marseille. The gap is just three points.

And the gap is three points because Marseille have imploded, or rather look like they are. The club have not lost for 10 matches but that makes no odds when you are drawing games and not winning them and they drew yet again on Sunday night, this time in disappointing fashion away to Bordeaux with the game ending 0-0.

That draw effectively ended Marseille’s already slim hopes of winning the league. Only a few weeks ago they had shortened the gap to league leaders PSG by 5 points but now that stands at 12 and it looks very difficult to think that PSG will drop so many points and Marseille will go on such a consistent run.

As for PSG, not many people would think that they had a fantastic result at the weekend when they overpowered Montpellier to win 5-0. Pablo Sarabia who has been in good form for the club opened the scoring.  It was interesting to see that from the five goals scored only one was scored by either Kylian Mbappe or Neymar. And it was Mbappe who got it, with Neymar assisting. All should have been well then with such an emphatic victory but it wasn’t.

The referee booked Neymar after an exchange of words that saw the Brazilian at half time question the officials, to which they replied, ”speak French”. Then there was Mbappe who realised that he needed one more goal to be joint top goalscorer in Ligue 1 with Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder. But PSG coach Thomas Tuchel instead took the player off for Mauro Icardi and Mbappe was furious with his coach. A heated exchange of words could be clearly seen and Mbappe sat in the dug out looking very gloom. Now the inevitable has happened and the media have linked Mbappe with a move away from Paris. One has to feel for Tuchel, he doesn’t always get it right but at the same time he has quite a few egos in the dressing room.

Lille got an important victory away to Strasbourg by winning 2-1. It was only Lille’s 2nd away victory of the season and came courtesy of a Victor Omishen penalty, the player has been in great form lately and that win took the club into 4th place and six points behind 3rd placed Rennes.

Lyon just can’t find enough consistency and after going their last 3 games unbeaten they came unstuck away to Nice, who have not lost a game in Ligue 1 for two months. To make matters worse for Lyon Fernando Marcal was sent off early on. Though the hosts also lost a player they just shaded the game. To be fair to Lyon with 7 strikes on goal they were hardly poor, but they will have to pick themselves up once more. The objective this season has to be a European finish and despite this fresh set back they are just two points from their target.

Reims propped up the table again and into 7th place after they surprised Angers and won 4-1 at Stade Raymond Kopa. Reims had been behind and the surprise was not just the comeback but the fact that they scored so many goals. Prior to the game the club had scored just 17 all season. What was also interesting is that Reims had just 4 shots on target and everyone of them ended in a goal.

With Nice beating Lyon as mentioned above they have moved into 8th and that has cost Nantes who lost to Rennes a top 8 place.

There are midweek games in Ligue 1 this weekend and Champions League and Europa League spots will be up once again for grabs.

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Kylian Mbappe’s row with PSG coach Thomas Tuchel could highlight a move away

Even though PSG beat Montpellier 5-0 in front of their home fans controversy was never that far away. Both Neymar and Mbappe were involved in skirmishes. Neymar’s story has been covered on here but involved getting booked. But Mbappe’s was much closer to home.

The star striker had scored in the game meaning that he now has 14 goals and is in 2nd place in the goalscorers chart one behind Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder, and perhaps that is why he flared up when PSG coach Thomas Tuchel ordered him to come off.

He was substituted for Mauro Icardi and Mbappe did not go quietly. Clearly it could be seen on the touchline his confrontation with Tuchel. Mbappe was furious as Tuchel tried to cradle his hands on his head and calm the player down.

In that moment it was evident that despite his brilliance as a team player and natural goalscorer and already of course a World Cup winner with France to see the little boy in him. He will probably look back on incidents like this and laugh them off, or at least he should do. Tuchel obviously took off Mbappe as PSG were 4-0 up at the time with just over 20 minutes remaining, why not bring on Icardi?

After the game Tuchel said: ”I’m the coach someone has to decide who goes off and who comes on it’s me. He is very intelligent, he knows what he is doing. He doesn’t like going off, nobody likes going off These are not good images, but we are not the only club that has to deal with this sort of thing. It’s not good, because it opens up subjects that go against the team’s state of mind. Too bad.  I explained to him why we did this, and it will stay that way. I will always decide the technical aspects. We don’t play tennis, we play soccer and we have to respect everyone.”

Tuchel added that the argument is not over. “I will make a decision, We have training at 11am, we will talk about the match with the group. I’ll see if I talk about this or if I do it individually. It will depend on my night’s sleep too.”

Speculation has now grown that Mbappe could want out of the club. He has always been linked to Real Madrid but the club would have to find at least 250m euros to make this happen, or perhaps a few player swaps could help.

Tuchel though seems blameless in the whole debate, he acted as a coach and did nothing wrong. Mbappe is an amazing player but sadly he has shown to throw his toys out of his pram on a few occasions in the past when he hasn’t got his own way. PSG and Tuchel will hope that this story can blow over.

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Referee Jerome Brisard got it wrong with Neymar at the weekend

Even when PSG win games 5-0 Neymar appears to have arguments with someone but one could feel for the player this weekend.

PSG destroyed Montpellier 5-0 and even though Neymar did not get on the score sheet he did make an assist for Kylian Mbappe’s goal.

For Neymar it all kicked off as the first half was approaching closure. The Brazilian tried a fancy flick which looked great, although the ball did go out of play. Then, for some reason the camera’s zoomed in on him and referee Jerome Brisard it was hard to know what at that point was going on, but it looked heated. Some have claimed that Neymar was screaming that he was trying to play football. But words were exchanged and it is possible that at that point Neymar said something to the referee and then was booked. Which almost tipped Neymar over the edge.

It didn’t stop there though and at half time the players were seen to go through the tunnel to get to their dressing rooms and Neymar told the waiting officials again he was only trying to play football, of course he was speaking in Portuguese which didn’t go down well and one of the officials looking angry turned to him and said ”speak French”, it is claimed by some TV stations that Neymar replied ”speak French, my ass” and then kicked something.

So, two things here; The first is that why did Brisard book Neymar, and why did a confrontation happen in the first place. Was Brisard right to book him. Wasn’t it not just a heat of the moment thing, after all Neymar had not injured a fellow player. If he had sworn at the referee that is a different matter but it is some thing that we are not clear about.

The second situation seems a lot more darker. Why did a French official feel it was necessary for Neymar to speak French? Would that have suddenly validated his concerns- obviously not, so that seemed quite bizarre to say such a thing. Neymar replying simply added to what many think of him as a cry baby. But in defence of Neymar who also turned 28 it seems from this point of view that the officials were a little heavy handed on him and got it wrong. If anything they made sure to make the headlines especially in France.

As for Neymar he needs to put this recent episode behind him as PSG and him are in glorious form and will want to continue that to the end of the season.

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PSG go 10 points clear as Lyon continue great form

PSG stretched their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to 10 points as they gained revenge over Lille for last season’s 5-1 hammering by beating them in a more conservative scoreline of 2-0. But less goals don’t equal less points and this was an assured rounded display by PSG who are looking like a much more maturer side as each week passes by.

Neymar got both goals, one was a penalty and his total for the season is 13. He has gone into joint 2nd place and is only one goal behind Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder. It was an emotional night for Neymar following the tragic events earlier in the day that saw Basketball legend Kobe Bryant die in a helicopter crash. The both of them were very good friends and Neymar dedicated his goals to him.

No team looks like catching PSG and if one team were going to give a challenge it was going to be Marseille, but they dropped points. Their 0-0 home result against Angers yielded just 2 shots on target between both clubs- both shots coming from Marseille. Whilst L’OM did fall 10 points behind PSG, the good news is that 3rd placed Rennes also drew which means the gap between 2nd and 3rd is still 5 points. Rennes drew 1-1 away to Nice with Flavien Tait scoring for Rennes- this was the midfielders first goal for his club this season.

The trio of Montpellier, Lyon and Nantes are now a threat to 3rd place for Rennes and the final qualifying position for a Champions League spot. Montpellier won their 3rd game in a row after beating Dijon 2-1 with Andy Delort in fine form getting the winner for the home side. They are now 4 points behind Rennes.

The good form of Lyon continues as the club tipped to challenge PSG this season beat bottom placed Toulouse 3-0 in a widely expected result. Maxwell Cornet opened the scoring and it was a game dominated by the home side. Nantes have 32 points but they lost at the weekend, 1-0 to Bordeaux and they could be dropping off given that they have lost 2 of their last three games.

Lille are in the poorest form for top half clubs and their defeat against PSG means they have lost 3 games in a row. Whilst they are in 7th place they have scored just 1 goal in their past three matches and conceded 8 goals, their next game is a tough one, away to Strasbourg. Rounding out the top 8 is Strasbourg, so that match should be an interesting one.

Strasbourg claimed their 4th win from five games with a surprise result as they went to Monaco and beat them 3-1. Ludovic Ajorque who has been in fine form opened the scoring.

Whilst it looks like PSG will be winning the league again, the race for 3rd is looking like one of the most exciting in years. There is just 7 points between 3rd and 8th and even Monaco back in 13th position are just a further point behind.

Round 22 kicks off this Friday.

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Ligue 1: Weekend Picks for Matchday 21

Cup competitions have dominated French football this month as they usually do in January but the league returns this weekend as Marseille will be trying to close the 8 point gap to PSG at the top. They will also be trying to fend off the threat from Rennes. The top 4 then is up for grabs still and the relegation battle, well take your pick from the bottom 8 teams. If anything Ligue 1 is a super close contest.

Below we pick the players who could make an impact at the weekend, based on form and also the teams that they will be up against, maybe you will fancy having some of them in your team?

Formation: 4-4-2

Goalkeeper: Steve Mandanda- Marseille

Steve Mandanda has conceded just 3 goals in the last 5 Marseille games and the club will be at home to Angers at the weekend where they will start as the favourites. Mandanda has 33 points and has 7 clean sheets so far, he is valued at 8.5m.

Defender: Hiroki Sakai- Marseille

Hiroki Sakai has been in brilliant defensive form for Marseille who should get all three points at the weekend when they play Angers. Sakai has been involved in games where he has kept 6 clean sheets. He has 21 points and is valued at 7.5m.

Defender: Joris Gnagnon- Rennes

Joris Gnagnon has 21 points and Rennes have been very impressive lately in not conceding goals, just 2 in their last five games. On Friday night the club will play Nice away from home and on the road they have not conceded a goal for their last 3 matches. Gnagnon can be yours for 8m.

Defender: Damien Da Silva-Rennes

Da Silva alongside Gnagnon has built a very good partnership and the player has started 18 games for the club. With 33 points so far he is ranked as the best defender for his club. He has kept 7 clean sheets and can be bought for a bargain 5m.

Defender: Axel Disasi- Reims

Reims have a really good defensive record in the league and it is even better at home. The club have conceded just 5 goals all season and Axel Disasi has been involved in 10 clean sheets. He has earned 48 points and Reims will be at home this weekend against Metz who are in 17th place.

Midfielder: Yoann Court- Brest

Yoann Court has started 13 games and has acquired 32 points. He has been involved in 10 goals with 7 assists. Brest are at home to Amiens and they have a very solid record at home losing just one game this season and that was to PSG. Court could make an impression here and he is valued at 6m.

Midfielder: Aleksandr Golovin- Monaco

Golovin has scored 3 goals and been involved in a further 3 and has really spearheaded Monaco’s season which has been a massive improvement on the last one. He is always involved in attacks and Monaco will be the favourites and be at home against Strasbourg.

Midfielder: Jason Denayer-Lyon

Denayer has had 17 starts but has just 12 points. He has faced a few problems this season and can be bought for just 3.5m. He isn’t always picked so this could be a risk including him but Lyon are at home to the bottom side Toulouse and will be big favourites not just to beat them but to do it convincingly.

Midfielder: Xavier Chavalerin- Reims

Reims will be big favourites to score goals and win when they take on Metz at the weekend. Chavalerin has only scored 1 goal and assisted in one but he is due more and Metz could be the perfect opponent for him to impress. He can be bought for 6m.

Striker: Wissam Ben Yedder- Monaco

Ben Yedder has been brilliant since Monaco signed him, and he is the top goalscorer in Ligue 1 with 14 goals. Monaco will be at home to Strasbourg and who would bet against him scoring at the weekend? He is valued at 7m which is simply a bargain and he has 62 points so far.

Striker: Andy Delort- Montpellier

Andy Delort performed well in the Coupe de France and he scored 2 goals as Montpellier sailed into the round of 16, after beating Caen 5-0. Delort will have a ton of confidence coming into this game and could be a good pick. He has 27 points so far this season and can be brought in for 7m.

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Ligue 1 Weekend player picks for Matchday 20

It is time to study the form for all you Ligue 1 fantasy league players out there. The following in a formation of 4-4-2 will take a look at which players in Ligue 1 could perform and earn you extra points if you bring them into your team. This is all based on current form and the teams fixtures giving your players perhaps an extra edge to get those points in.

Goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy- Rennes

Edouard Mendy has been great between the sticks for Rennes of late. So great the goalkeeper has let in just 2 goals in the last five games. He has accumalated 28 points so far and would cost 8m, which looks a steal given the form he is in. Rennes are playing Marseille but they are in great form and they need to win the game to close the gap on them.

Defender: Yunis Abdelhamid- Reims

Yunis Abdelhamid is in terrific form and he is a big reason that Reims have had such an excellent defence this season. He was the hero for the club in the Coupe de la Ligue in midweek scoring the deciding penalty shoot out. He is currently ranked as the 2nd best defender in the league with 52 points and is only 6m. Reims are away to Nimes.

Defender: Axel Disasi- Reims

Keeping with Reims we have picked Axel Disasi who has formed a great partnership with Abdelhamid in defence. Reims have conceded just 6 goals in their past 10 games and these players will be picking up points for you with so many clean sheets. He is only 5m to bring in.

Defender: Kenny Tete- Lyon

Kenny Tete might be carrying a minor knock but is being tipped to play at the weekend. The youngster has only earned 19 points this season however that is good enough to make him Lyon’s best defender points wise and he would cost 6.5m. Overall Lyon has shored up at the back only conceding 4 goals in their last five games.

Defender: John Boye- Metz

John Boye doesn’t have many points at all with just 6, but that is the nature of being a defender for 17th placed Metz who are going to concede many goals. However the club need to push on and they will be playing Strasbourg at the weekend. Metz have a very good record at home to them and also Strasbourg had to play in midweek in the cup whilst Metz could rest, could a clean sheet be on the cards? Boye is valued at 3.5m.

Midfielder: Florent Mollet- Montpellier

Florent Mollet has had an excellent season so far and already has 30 points. He scored in Montpellier’s last game and has 5 goals this season and two assists. He gets himself involved and could be a good buy for 7m. Montpellier are away to lowly Amiens.

Midfielder: Angel Di Maria- PSG

It might be too obvious to pick out a PSG player but bear with us. Di Maria is on great form and has 57 points. He is 9m which seems like a fair price for a PSG player and PSG are at home to Monaco this weekend. Usually PSG score for fun and create many chances against them, so if you don’t have him in your team you might want to consider it.

Midfielder: Morgan Sanson- Marseille

Morgan Sanson has been a big player for Marseille this season and they are in 2nd place in the league and on fine form. He is just 7m to bring in and has acquired 22 points already. The club has a hard game but probably an open one away to Rennes.

Midfielder: Pierrick Capelle- Angers

Angers are back in decent form and looked strong in the derby when they beat Nantes last time out. Capelle is 6m and has struggled at times but has 16 points and Angers could pick up something at home to Nice at the weekend.

Striker: Habib Diallo-Metz

We will go with Habib Diallo as one of our strikers, because Metz usually do very well at home to Strasbourg, plus the away side will be tired from having to play in midweek. Diallo has 10 goals and one assist already and could well add to that tally at the weekend. Diallo is valued at 7m and also has a very impressive 38 points.

Striker: Ludovic Ajorque- Strasbourg

It’s true that we have tipped Metz to give Strasbourg a hard time but that doesn’t mean that Strasbourg can’t score and their striker Ludovic Ajorque is quite a handful. He has scored 7 goals and assisted in 3 more so far this season and he has 31 points and is a massive bargain at just 4m.

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Top Ligue 1 Goalkeepers in 2018/19: Benjamin Lecomte

 

Montpellier’s Benjamin Lecomte ended up being ranked as the 6th best goalkeeper in Ligue 1. The club fought for a European place and had some incredibly consistent moments during the season but ultimately fell short.

Lecomte started his professional career with Lorient’s B team and then the senior team where he ended up playing over 100 games. But after being edged out he was loaned to Dijon and ended up back at Lorient soon after. It wasn’t until 2017 that Montpellier in Ligue 1 took the plunge and signed Lecomte on a full time contract.

In his two seasons for Montpellier he has been a near constant presence, indeed he has missed just 1 game in that time in the league. This season Lecomte kept 11 clean sheets and ended up with a total points haul of 44. With him in goal the club conceded 42 goals. Lecomte was only booked once this season which is amongst the best for goalkeepers in the league. He would have cost you for your team at the beginning of the season 9.5m.

Lecomte’s season did not start off well as Montpellier were beaten in their first game 2-1 against Dijon and so he ended up with a points total of -2. In the next game Montpellier lost again and it wasn’t until the 3rd game of his season that the points started to roll in.

A 0-0 against Saint Etienne and a 1-0 victory over Reims meant that Lecomte earned 14 points in two games in a row with back to back clean sheets. The ongoing problem for the keeper was that consistency wasn’t his strong point which summed up Montpellier’s season too.

His most successful period of the season commenced in late October against Bordeaux and 3 club wins in  a row, keeping clean sheets in all of those games where Montpellier also found their firing boots scoring 7 goals meant that Lecomte earned 21 points in those three games, that ended up being almost half his season points earned in just that small time frame.

His worst game of the season was pretty much most goalkeepers worst games of the season playing away to champions PSG. And PSG won 5-1 meaning that Lecomte points total in that match dived to -8 points.

Once the game was up for Europe Montpellier did not play to the best of their levels and this was seen in Lecomte’s performances and final games where he earned just 6 points in his last four outings and those points came in one game. His final game of the season ended in a 1-0 defeat against Marseille earning him no points.

Last season Lecomte earned 79 points and so this season proved to be a backward step for a goalkeeper who has developed late but at the same time plays in a position where he should keep improving well into his 30′s.

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Top Ligue 1 Strikers in 2018/19: Andy Delort

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It’s incredible to think that Andy Delort is only 27 years old when we see the amount of clubs he has played for. So far it stands at 9, with his career being made up of quite a few loan deals. Indeed his current club Montpellier started off as a loan before his move was made more permanent this past season.

Delort’s efforts means that he finished in the top 5 strikers in Ligue 1 and his value coming into the season was 7m, given that he produced 66 points the return seems worthwhile.

Whilst Montpellier did not make Europe the team played some very good football and had some wonderful spells during the season becoming difficult to beat at their home ground Stade de la Mosson.

Delort was an integral part of the team and played 36 times from 38 games he scored an impressive 14 goals and assisted in another 7. His disciplinary was good too as he received only four yellow cards for the whole season. Only six other players scored more goals than Delort in Ligue 1 and his overall striker ranking when we take into account all of the major European leagues would be 30th.

Even though Montpellier lost their first game of the season, at home to Dijon 2-1, Delort assisted in his teams goal and so he earned 2 points from his first game. He then went the  next 5 games earning no points at all as he couldn’t find the back of the net.

His form took an upswing at the end of September and throughout October where he scored points in each of his next five games. This included scoring a goal in everyone of those games and he quickly was taken into the hearts of the fans of the team.

His best moments of the season included scoring both goals as Montpellier drew 2-2 with Rennes and netting two goals as Montpellier beat Strasbourg 3-1, on each occasion he earned 8 points.

Form did tail off towards the end of the season and Delort’s last 4 games came with no points as the clubs European hopes faded fast.

Delort has experienced his best season of his career consistency wise. When we look at his past two seasons before this one he earned just 18 and 23 points respectively. Delort’s career has always looked like one that refuses to settle down and stay a few seasons at the same club, after this successful campaign one would think that Montpellier would do everything to keep the player on their books for next season and perhaps beyond.

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