Updated24 avril 2022, 23:00
OM won in Reims and consolidated their second place. Rennes beat Lorient to stay on the Ligue 1 podium. At the bottom of the table, Bordeaux and Metz are sinking into the red zone.
Marseille beat Reims on Sunday and consolidate their second place behind PSG.
AFP
With a confusing goal from the Brazilian, Marseille tamed Reims (1-0) on Sunday to consolidate their second place in Ligue 1 ahead of Rennes, who defeated Lorient (5-0). At the bottom of the table, a disheveled victory for Nantes against Bordeaux (5-3), in distress, just like Metz.
– Marseille whip, Rennes revive – A disconcerting stepover, an inspired hook, a clever shot (83rd), and Gerson released OM to bend Reims, who defended fiercely at the end of the 34th day.
This success, slow to take shape, was celebrated with effusion by the Marseillais at the Auguste-Delaune stadium: it allows Jorge Sampaoli’s team to keep their six-point mattress in second place, behind the untouchable Paris SG, crowned champion of France on Saturday for the tenth time.
It’s a nice revenge for Gerson, an expensive summer transfer window rookie long targeted by critics before winning.
And that perfectly launches the crazy week of OM, which will play a European semi-final against Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Europa League Conference (April 28, May 5), interspersed with a shock against Lyon next Sunday in L1.
Behind the Marseillais (65 pts), only Rennes and Monaco (59 pts) seem to remain within reach of second place, directly qualifying for the next Champions League.
After two defeats against direct opponents, Rennes finally resumed their march forward at the expense of Lorient, despite the exclusion of Rennes defender Nayef Aguerd on the hour mark.
“We showed after two negative results that we were able to react. It’s a form of character that is starting to emerge from the team, ”savored Rennes coach Bruno Genesio.
The Rennes eleven finally delivered a defensively controlled match, while maintaining their usual offensive verve, materialized by goals from Benjamin Bourigeaud (17th) and Martin Terrier (19th), his 21st this season in L1.
Then Hamari Traoré (47th) and Flavien Tait (79th) increased the score, before Gaëtan Laborde ended his scarcity (90th + 3) after eight matches without scoring.
Nice in extremis, Strasbourg surpris
Nice returned to success by barely taming Troyes (1-0) on a goal from Khéphren Thuram (90th + 4), climbing to fifth place.
This dull match did not solve everything but it at least allows the people of Nice (57 pts) to get back into the race for Europe, in ambush two lengths from 3rd place and ahead of Strasbourg (56 pts), cooled 1 -0 by a goal from Zeki Celik (87th) in Lille.
The northern club (9th) keeps the crazy hope of hooking Europe while the Alsatian team, which had been undefeated for three months, sees its good series come to an end. The Strasbourgeois will have to bounce back next Friday against Paris SG, perhaps demobilized.
Bordeaux and Metz sink
A hair-raising but cruel scenario for the Girondins, penultimate in Ligue 1, who squandered their advantage twice before losing 5-3 to Nantes in a crazy match. David Guion’s players are stagnating in a relegation position four days from the end, four points behind the Saint-Etienne barrage and six lengths in seventeenth place…
The Girondins however led 2-0, then 3-2 at the Beaujoire stadium, but the Nantes people imposed themselves with forceps while Jimmy Briand missed the penalty for the Bordeaux equalizer at 4-4 (87th).
Similarly, the situation seems very compromised for Metz, which has not won for three months: the red lantern (24 pts) fell again at home, this time against Brest (1-0), stagnating at seven lengths from Stéphanois . Their relegation could be recorded the next day.
“We had the means to hold on and I didn’t know how to get the most out of the group. I take it upon myself: we should have done better,” commented coach Frédéric Antonetti, seeming to no longer believe in maintaining it.
In this context, the point of the draw snatched by Clermont (17th, 33 pts) against Angers (2-2) looks like an excellent operation for the Auvergnats.