Ligue 1 round-up: 1ère Journée

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 The Ligue 1 season finally got underway on Friday night as defending champions Montpellier took on Toulouse at the Stade de la Mosson. An uninspiring 1-1 draw was livened up by three red cards, with Toulouse finishing the match with nine men. The dismissal of Montpellier’s Saihi was their 23rd red card since their return to Ligue 1 in 2009; more than any other club. Despite all this red card drama  both teams will have been happy not to lose their opening game of the season. 

But I can happily say that the real drama of the weekend took place in Paris, as red hot favourites PSG slipped up on day 1!! I promise I’m not gloating….much. Lorient, who avoided the drop by one point last season, raced into a two-nil before half time. If anyone was wondering where ex-Arsenal and Sunderland forward Jérémie Aliadière was these days, well he was scoring the second goal at the Parc des Princes.   Aliadière scoring?!? Crazy I know. Unfortunately, Lorient couldn’t hold on as a brace from Ibrahimovic salvaged a point for Les Parisiens. But Ligue 1 can take heart that PSG do look beatable, especially in defence where they looked very vulnerable. The only worrying sign is that Ibra has already found his scoring boots. 

By contrast the mighty Marseille opened up their season with a 1-0 win away at Reims, who were celebrating their return to Ligue 1 after a 33 year absence. In fairness Reims were slightly unlucky as Mandanda was at his brilliant best to keep Marseille on level terms when Ghilas found Madanda’s outstretched leg with the goal gaping. Top flight football is all about taking your chances and Reims were taught a lesson when Be. Cheyrou buried a brilliant far post volley. The last time Marseille won their opening game of the season in 2009 they went on to win the league. But worrying times still lie ahead for the OM as they desperately try to reduce their wage bill and the following weeks could see the departure of Cesar Azpilicueta, Stephane Mbia, Loic Remy and Andre Ayew. 

 Check out Cheyrou's cracking volley and the other top 10 goals of the weekend:

The other two promoted teams suffered contrasting results, as Corsican side Bastia overcame a seven hour delayed journey to beat Sochaux 3-2 in a thoroughly entertaining game. A brace from Maoulida takes him to the top of the scoring chart along side Ibrahimovic. Troyes however will be disappointed to have lost their opening home game (1-0) to Valenciennes.

The other results saw away wins for Bordeaux, AC Ajaccio, Brest, Lille and Lyon. Lille will be very happy to have opened up a two point lead on PSG but they left it very late against Saint-Etienne, Pedretti scoring the winner in the 90th minute.

The opening day of the season saw 6 red cards, 7 away wins and PSG going 2 goals down at home, not too bad if you ask me…..over to you Premier League.

Week 1

Montpellier HSC		1 - 1		Toulouse FC
Evian TG FC		2 - 3		Girondins de Bordeaux
AS Nancy Lorraine		1 - 0		Stade Brestois 29
OGC Nice		0 - 1		AC Ajaccio
Paris Saint-Germain		2 - 2		FC Lorient
Stade Rennais FC		0 - 1		Olympique Lyonnais
AS Saint-Etienne		1 - 2		LOSC Lille

FC Sochaux-Montbéliard		2 - 3		SC Bastia
ESTAC Troyes		0 - 1		Valenciennes FC

Stade de Reims

0 - 1

Olympique de Marseille