Ligue 1 Week 18 action - Bordeaux continue title supremacy
Wednesday 23 December 2009
Bordeaux extended their lead at the top of Ligue 1 to eight points this weekend after hammering Lorient 4-1 at the Stade Chaban Delmas. Les Girondins steamrollered their opponents with a dominant display with a brace from ex-Manchester United player David Bellion and second-half strikes from Fernando Cavenaghi and newly crowned French Player of the Year, Yoann Gourcuff.
The only disappointment for Coach Laurent Blanc was Lorient’s late consolation, which brought to an end Bordeaux’s impressive defensive record of nearly eight matches without conceding. Les Girondins’ current run of form has seen them pull away in the title race and notch up seven consecutive victories in all competitions. The last match-day before Christmas sees Bordeaux in an extremely healthy position and look the most likely to retain their crown, especially in relation to their nearest rivals. Lyon’s poor run continued as they were pegged back by fellow strugglers Monaco at the Stade Louis II late on Sunday night. Michel Bastos opened the scoring with a ferocious free-kick, which flew into the side netting with Monaco keeper Stéphane Ruffier unable to move. South Korean forward Chu-Young Park deservedly equalised for Les Rouge et Blanc before half-time after a rare error from French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. The result leaves Lyon 10 points behind high-flying Bordeaux with half the season already played. The result does nothing to highlight Les Gones’ title credentials in a long line of results that has seen Lyon take only seven points from their last seven Ligue 1 outings.
Last season’s runners-up Marseille will feel aggrieved that they failed to break down struggling Saint-Etienne following a goalless draw at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard. Les Phoceens will be even more disgruntled due to the fact that the home side played the majority of the game with 10 men after the early sending off of Efstathios Tavlaridis. Les Verts produced a resolute display under caretaker manager Christophe Galtier, but have now failed to score in their last four outings. The result, however, is a step in the right direction for Saint-Etienne who moved out of the relegation area at fellow struggling Le Mans’ expense. The form team of Le Championnat continued their fine run after notching a fifth consecutive victory in the league against Le Mans. Lille have been scoring goals for fun of late and had to settle for three this time with Aurélien Chedjou, Eden Hazard and the inspirational Gervinho on the scoresheet for the hosts. The result lifts Les Dogues into third place with manager Rudi Garcia surely optimistic of finishing in the Champions League places at the end of the campaign.
Elsewhere Auxerre salvaged a point against Toulouse thanks to Roy Contout’s injury-time equaliser and Valenciennes played out a goalless draw at home to Lens. Stade Rennais moved into sixth place following a 1-0 victory over PSG following Ismael Bangoura’s first-half strike. Montpellier suffered a home defeat to Nancy-Lorraine while Grenoble picked up another point in their fight for survival after drawing with Nice 1-1 at the Stade des Alpes.
Full Results
Saturday December 19, 2009
Bordeaux 4-1 Lorient
Grenoble 1-1 Nice
Montpellier 0-2 Nancy-Lorraine
Stade Rennais 1-0 PSG
Valenciennes 0-0 Lens
Saint-Etienne 0-0 Marseille
Sunday December 20, 2009
Auxerre 1-1 Toulouse
Lille 3-0 Le Mans
Monaco 1-1 Lyon
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