Ligue 1 action round-up - Week 5 - September 12/13, 2009
Thursday 17 September 2009
Not many goals over the weekend in France’s Ligue 1, but still some good matches and performances put in, not least by Mareseille who grabbed the only away victory with their 2-1 victory at Le Mans. It was Le Mans' first defeat at home this season and Didier Deschamps' side had Mamadou Niang to thank for opening the scoring, although the home team levelled matters through Modibo Maiga’s acrobatic effort. Marseille were not to be denied and stole the points though a Brandao header and withstood late pressure to seal the win. Lille managed to get their first three points of the season with a 1-0 win over Sochaux, substitute Pierre-Alain Frau scoring the only goal of the game. A sluggish Lyon side left if late to secure a victory over FC Lorient, with Fernandes Michel Bastos maintaining Lyon’s unbeaten start to the season. 
They are joined at the top of the table by Bordeaux who had to fight hard to win as they entertained the winless Grenoble. Yoan Gouffran converted one of few chances made by the home side and it proved to be enough for the win. Newly promoted Montpellier are the surprise package of the season so far and they maintained their surprise unbeaten run as they overcame fellow new-boys RC Lens by 1-0, with the home side’s only goal coming in the 38th minute as Alberto Costa sent his side up to joint third in the table. Valenciennes and Boulogne shared the points as they drew 1-1 in an entertaining match, Gregory Pujol scored late on in the 75th minute to give the home side hope of all three points but Daniel Moreira levelled the match just eight minutes later. Elsewhere a hapless Nancy survived an onslaught from Toulouse to draw 0-0 - the away side’s frustration at not turning dominance into a goal overflowed in the final minutes as Silva Andre was dismissed for a head-butt on Etienne Didot.
Sunday saw three matches and three solid away victories with Auxerre managing the get their first victory of the season and score the first goals of their campaign. The home side took the lead when Cedric Hengbart scored a fantastic overhead kick before Daniel Niculae ensured a first win for the hosts. Stade Rennais came up against a determined St Etienne defence that was eventually breached after Sylvain Marveaux rifled in the only goal of the game as they won 1-0 - St Etienne now languish in 19th place in the league. AS Monaco welcomed in-form PSG to Stade Lous II but the game didn’t come to life until the final ten minutes as Chu-Young Park put the home side ahead in the 85th minute. PSG pushed for the equaliser but in doing so left gaps at the back which were exploited as the score became 2-0, after a superb run and pass from Alejandro Alonso set up Nene for the vital second. PSG had looked the more likely to score before Monaco’s opener and Stephane Sessegon was unable to maintain a cool head and saw red after a rash challenge on Adriano in the 90th minute.
So not many goals but some intriguing results from Le Championat as the table begins to take shape. Early season picks Bordeaux sit top of the pile with Lyon and Marseille mounting the expected challenge, but it is the form of newly-promoted Montpellier that is catching the eye and the new boys currently occupy third in the table above the likes of PSG and Marseille. Down the bottom, Grenoble remain the only winless side and are rooted to the foot of the table with five losses from their opening five games, while St Etienne and are not faring much better.
Ligue 1 action round-ups
Week 1 - August 8/9, 2009
Week 2 - August 15/16, 2009
Week 3 - August 22/23, 2009
Week 4 - August 29/30, 2009
Week 5 - September 12/13, 2009
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