Monaco Seize Top Spot in Ligue 1 After 2-1 Victory Over Rennes
Monaco’s pivotal 2-1 victory over Rennes on Saturday propelled them to the top of the Ligue 1 standings.
They now sit three points ahead of the defending champions, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), after this victory. Thilo Kehrer and Folarin Balogun goals put Monaco up to 19 points and kept them atop the French league. When PSG plays Nice on Sunday, they will have a chance to take back the lead. Currently on 16 points with a better goal differential than their opponents.
With a 2-1 victory over Rennes on the road on Saturday, Monaco moved three points clear of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the Ligue 1 standings. Folarin Balogun and Thilo Kehrer’s goals put the principality side up to 19 points. When PSG plays Nice on Sunday, they will have an opportunity to pass them because they are on 16 and have a stronger goal differential. “We have 19 points after seven games, that’s the reality and the truth, and we’re really happy about that,” stated Adi Huetter, the coach of Monaco.
He did say: “The championship is not a 100-metre sprint, it’s a 400-metre race, and we’ve started very well.”
It was decided early in the first half of Monaco’s rain-soaked match in Brittany. In the opening 22 minutes, Kehrer scored the first goal, Ludovic Blas tied the score, and Balogun scored the game’s winning goal.
Young Eliesse Ben Seghir of Monaco continued his excellent start to the season by contributing to both of his team’s goals.Against the efforts of a defender on the line, Kehrer’s head met his corner in the sixth minute and he glanced it into the net.
Five minutes later, Blas fired a spectacular left-footed goal past Philipp Koehn from more than 35 yards to get Rennes back on level footing.
However, Balogun sealed the victory for Huetter’s team in the 22nd minute when, following a brilliant pass from Ben Seghir, he clipped the ball past an onrushing Steve Mandanda.
Earlier on Saturday, Lille defeated lowly Toulouse at home by coming from behind to move up to fourth place. Six minutes before halftime, Zakaria Aboukhlal surprised everyone by squeezing a shot on the rebound over the line from a tight angle to give the 16th-place team an unexpected lead.
However, on minute 57, former Manchester United playmaker Angel Gomes equalized for Lille by poking home a lofted pass from close range by Osame Sahraoui.
After Lille’s 1-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid on Wednesday, Mitchel Bakker completed a fast counterattack in the 72nd minute to make it two wins in a row at home.
With a 3-1 victory at home against Auxerre, Zuriko Davitashvili’s hat-trick lifted Saint-Etienne out of the relegation zone.
After thirty minutes, the Georgian scored the first goal with a powerful finish after bringing the ball forty yards into the penalty area of the opposition.
After cutting in from the left flank once more and taking aim with his right foot, he scored his second goal on minute 54. Fifteen minutes remained, and Theo Bair cut the lead in half. Davitashvili finished with a dinked shot on minute eighteen.
On Sunday, PSG visits ninth-place Nice after Lyon hosts Nantes and Reims and Lens play.
