PSG 3 – 0 Strasbourg

Kylian Mbappé starred as PSG secured a comfortable victory against a struggling Strasbourg. Mbappé converted from the spot in the 10th minute after Gonçalo Ramos was brought down. Carlos Soler doubled their lead on the 30-minute mark after a cutback from Mbappé, while Fabián Ruiz secured all three points in the 77th minute, capping off a comfortable win.  PSG sit in third, two points behind AS Monaco, while Strasbourg’s poor run of form continues as Patrick Viera’s side drops one place to 13th. 

Nice 1 – 0 Marseille

Nice narrowly beat rivals Marseille following a set-piece play in which Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi was sent off for a second yellow card. The resulting set-piece was scored with a close-range header by Evan Guessand, assisted by Jérémie Boga. Nice finish the weekend fixtures second, just one point behind Monaco, while Marseille slip to 8th. 

Monaco 2 – 1 Metz

Two goals by Aleksandr Golovin allowed Monaco to come from a goal behind to clinch an important victory to keep them top of the table. Metz went ahead after just four minutes through Lamina Camara, whose effort from his own half found the back of the net. 

Wit half-time approaching, Golovin brought the score level with a long-distance goal before he added a second with a wonderful freekick in the 55th minute. Monaco remain top of the table, one point clear of Nice and two points ahead of PSG, while Metz are 16th. 

Lille 1 – 0 Brest

LOSC Lille narrowly defeated high-flyers Stade Brest by a single goal. Yusuf Laici’s sixth minute close-range goal, assisted by Jonathan David, was enough to clinch victory in Lille. The result meant that Brest dropped out of the top four and were leapfrogged by Lille.  

Lyon 1 – 2 Clermont

Clermont scored two first-half goals through Muhammed Chan and Yohann Magnin to earn victory against Lyon despite Tolisso’s goal in the 52nd minute. The result meant that Lyon dropped to the bottom of the table, winless in five matches. Conversely, Clermont rose one place to 17th, earning their first win of the season. 

Lorient 2 – 1 Rennes

Lorient emerged as winners in the Breton derby thanks to a Warmed Omari own-goal and Issak Touré. The away side started in the worst possible fashion after an own-goal from Warmed Omari in the third minute. However, the away side subsequently pushed on, scoring a well-deserved equaliser through a wonderful Ludovic Blas goal assisted by Amine Gouiri. Despite continued pressure from the away side, Lorient retook the lead just before halftime through an Issak Touré shot in the box that was enough to secure the three points. Lorient climbed to 12th while Rennes finished the weekend 9th.

Nantes 2 – 0 Montpellier

Goals from  Florent Mollet just before half-time and Kader Bamba in the 74th minute allowed Nantes to move up to 7th on joint points with Reims who sit in 6th while Montpellier drop places and are now sitting in 14th after the weekend. 

Toulouse 1 – 1 Reims

Toulouse extended their unbeaten home record this season with a one-all draw against Reims. The away side went ahead just after half-time with a 48th-minute deflected goal from Amir Richardson on the edge of the box. However, the home side levelled just three minutes later through Thijs Dallinga’s header. 

Reims dropped one place to sixth, while Toulouse finished the week 10th before their trip to Anfield on Thursday in the Europa League.

Le Havre 0 – 0 Lens

The two sides shared the points in the goalless draw despite chances for both sides. However, no team was clinical enough to snatch a victory. The home side sit in 11th, while Lens are 15th after a disappointing campaign for the team that finished second last year. The away side will play in the Champions League against PSV on Tuesday.

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On-loan Chelsea FC winger Gabriel picked up an adductor injury, which sidelined the Brazilian in Strasbourg’s 3-0 loss to Karlsruher in a friendly match last Thursday. 

Striker Emegha also looks set to miss out on the away match against PSG as he continues to recover from a muscle injury that saw him left out of Stasbourg’s 2-1 defeat away at FC Nantes. 

Both players have trained by themselves the past two days, while forward player Kevin Gameiro (36) missed the team training session today, also making him a doubt for the match on Saturday. 

Strasbourg go into the match on the back of two straight league defeats, the latter coming at home against FC Nantes, and currently sitting in 11th place.

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“It left a mark, especially at the time,” he says after being asked what effect being left out of the World Cup squad had on him, but that “despite everything, we made it to the final, so it was a good choice by the manager at the time.” The Olympique de Marseille full-back was first called to the national side in March 2022 at the age of 29 but was not a part of the World Cup squad. Jules Koundé, Benjamin Pavard and Axel Disasi, none of whom are right-backs by trade, were preferred. 

“I was disappointed, I’m not anymore, I bounced back and moved on to other things.,” said the former RC Lens defender. These comments come as Clauss is set to start ahead of Chelsea full-back Malo Gusto (20) in the upcoming UEFA European Championship qualifying match against the Netherlands, who are currently second in Group B on Friday. France will also play an international friendly against Scotland on October 17th. 

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The red card came after the Ligue 1 match between Clermont Foot and Montpellier was suspended and subsequently abandoned by referee Florent Batta after a firework, which exploded next to Clermont Foot’s goalkeeper Mory Diaw (30), was thrown onto the pitch from the stands in injury time with Montpellier leading 4-2. Diaw was stretchered off the pitch and deemed unable to continue with the match by a doctor. He has since joined up with the Senegalese national team after being cleared to go on international duty by club doctors.

During the incident, the Brazilian defender Borges was shown a red card after a video replay showed him gesturing with his middle finger towards the Montpellier fans. The decision has been upheld, and he will miss the next two matches against Olympique Lyonnais (22nd October) and OGC Nice (27th October). 

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The saga around Mbappé’s potential move was the main talking point of PSG’s transfer market and promises to be so again as the striker’s contract, which runs out on June 30th, has yet to be renewed. In a Spanish podcast, Remontada Blanca, a member of the board of directors at Real Madrid, confirmed the Spanish club’s long-standing interest and explained the disappointment of not having signed him this summer. 

“Mbappé had and did not have the opportunity to come to Madrid last summer,” explained Otero. “To come, he would have to have given up the very high bonus granted to him at PSG. You also would have had to pay a transfer fee. The amount that would have had to be paid to have Mbappé a year before was disproportionate.”

However, the director remains confident of the Frenchman’s eventual arrival at the club. “I have confidence in his arrival,” he assured.

“He will achieve glory when he arrives at Real Madrid […] He will win a Champions League one day (in Madrid). Now, it seems that PSG is less powerful than before because they no longer have such good players. Real Madrid guarantees security and seriousness, which gives results. I have confidence he will say yes once he becomes a free agent. He was born to play for Real Madrid, that’s obvious.”

Otero also touched upon rumours of an agreement between Real Madrid and Mbappé last summer. “Zidane came at 29, Mbappé will come at 25,” he promised. “He will have many years with us. If we had taken a wrong step with Mbappé, PSG would have tried to react against Real Madrid. We know what we can do and what we must do. If Mbappé comes in 2024, as I hope, everything will be done correctly without anyone being able to accuse us of having an agreement with him. What they said last year, with (Nasser) Al-Khelaifi, who said that there was an agreement with Real Madrid, is false.”

Originally cast aside and made to train with the reserves due to his unwillingness to renew his contract, Mbappé has now returned to the starting lineup. 

GFFN | Finn Entwistle