Ligue 1 round-up

French Ligue 1 have become one of the strongest leagues in Europe during the last few years and it is constantly justifying its reputation. Round 10 this season was supposed to bring us the biggest derby of French football but the OM-PSG derby was postponed because two PSG players had contracted the swine flu. We, nevertheless, saw some interesting matches and a couple of surprises as well, the biggest being Nice’s 4:1 win over mighty Lyon.

The biggest shock of the round saw struggling Nice hammer high-flying Lyon 4:1 and Les Aiglons thus knocked Claude Puel’s side from the top of the standings. Not even the most optimistic of Nice fans could have expected such a scenario as their team were facing the side that had just beaten Liverpool at Anfield. It is these kinds of results that make Ligue 1 so special.

Bordeaux took advantage of Lyon’s defeat and returned to the top with an easy win over Le Mans and they are now two points clear of Les Gones. It is Monaco, the surprise package of the season, who are in second place after the away win over Boulogne and it seems that this could be their season after all. Guy Lacombe has hit the ground running in no time and his side are playing great football at the moment.

Montpellier couldn’t continue the outstanding run of results as they were deservedly beaten by Rennes, the side that are slowly climbing the league ladder. I see Les Bretons as one of the best sides in the league and the 3:0 win over high-flying Montpellier is the sign of this.

Grenoble remained without points after 10 rounds as they lost to Nancy despite taking the lead and they are now nine points adrift of safety. Unless they can record few good results in quick succession, Grenoble will go down this season.

Valenciennes and Toulouse remained in mid table with away wins over Saint Etienne and Lens respectively, leaving their opponents in the dangerous zone. Auxerre and Sochaux continued to overachieve by beating Lille and Lorient respectively, and this can be one of the rare seasons when the two teams will not be involved in the relegation fight.

As it is always the case with French Ligue 1, a couple of teams that were expected to fight for survival like Lorient, Auxerre and Sochaux are currently in the top part of the table, while teams like Lens, Saint Etienne, Lille and PSG remain in the bottom half of the standings. As I have already said, this is one of the most interesting competitions in Europe and the unexpected results are something that gives Ligue 1 its credibility.

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