French season 2024/25

[Lyonnais]

Coming back to the Cup, there are different factors that can possibly explain this "French exception"

First, the most obvious one, the amateur teams have the possibility to play the big ones, whereas in some countries, the cup format doesn't allow this

FSecond,
Malko mode ON
The lower level teams in France are not that bad. Most of their players have been rejected from the academies (90-95% of the kids don't turn professional - like everywhere else I presume) but some of them can be pretty good (think about the Ribéry, Valbuena, Ngolo Kanté who started in National asa well, etc.)
Malko Mode OFF

Second,
the format. 1-leg game, played on the amateur team pitch (like in most countries) but no extra-time which is an advantage for the lower-level teams as it makes penalties shoot-outs happen more often

Third, the quality of the pitches. As it is always played on the amateur teams locations, some pitches may be uncertain in some stadiums. As a result, it levels the difference between the teams and it is also commonly said that professional players are reluctant to play on these pitches as they fear injuries.

Fourth, at some point, when you see the number of upsets, there is necessarily an issue of players' commitment. Not that they don't respect the competition, the Cup is important in France, but there is certainly a mix of sufficiency and lack of commitment to explain some of these results. There is not such a big margin between the professional teams and the good amateur ones and if you don't play at 100% you allow your opponent to have some expectations.

Firth, in contrary, as there is a long history of upsets in the competition, the amateur teams all believe that they are able to do it. It's an important psychological factor I think. They all want to be the new Calais (among others)
for memory, Calais a D4 team reached the final in 2000 after a couple of epic wins

[Lyonnais]

Ligue 1 - MD21


Game of the week

PARIS SG - MONACO 4-1
Vitinha 6' Kvaratskhelia 54' Dembélé 57' 90'; Zakaria 17'

XG: 3.14 - 0.92

PSG sign a deserved success!
As in the first leg at the Stade Louis-II, the Parisians scored four goals against the Monegasques who were valiant but quite limited and overwhelmed in all areas of the game. Apart from a few minutes, PSG were very serious this evening and controlled their opponent: Paris widened their lead.
(lequipe.fr, google translation)

PARIS SG (4-3-3): DOnnarumma - J.Neves, Marquinhos, Pacho, N.Mendes - D.Doué (Lee Kang-In 63'), Vitinha, F.Ruiz - Barcola (L.Hermandez 63'), Dembélé, Kvaratskhelia (G.Ramos 67')
Coach: L.Enrique
MONACO (4-4-2): Majecki - Vanderson, Kehrer, Mawissa, C.Henrique (Diatta 76') - Akliouche, Zakaria, Magassa (Al Musrati 62'), Minamino (Golovin 63') - Biereth (Ben Seghir 63'), Embolo (Michal 84')
Coach: A.Hütter


Man of the match

Ousmane DEMBELE
FW, 27, Paris SG & France (53 caps)
Career: Rennes - Dortmund - Barcelona - Paris SG (2023)
Titles:
- Winner of the World Cup 2018
- Champion of Spain 2018, 2019 & 2023
- Champion of France 2024
- Winner of the DFB Pokal 2017
- Winner of the Copa del Rey 2018 & 2021
- Winner of the Coupe de France 2024



The other games

LYON - REIMS 4-0
Tagliafico 36' Tolisso 68' Cherki 79' Mikautadze 90+3'

ANGERS - MARSEILLE 0-2
Rabiot 69' Maupay 74'

LILLE - LE HAVRE 1-2
Akpom 90+7'; KOka 38' Soumaré 56'

NANTES - BREST 0-2
Ajorque 9' Lees-Melou 90+6'

NICE - LENS 2-0
Laborde pen 10' Clauss 64'

AUXERRE - TOULOUSE 2-2
Jubal 62' Traoré 73'; Creswell 68' Edjouma 89'

STRASBOURG - MONTPELLIER 2-0
Emegha 45' Nanasi 69'

ST-ETIENNE - RENNES 0-2
Kalimuendo 15' Nagida 84'

[Lyonnais]

Table



53 - PARIS SG
52
51
50
49
48
47
46
45
44
43 - MARSEILLE
42
41
40
39
38
37 - NICE - MONACO
36
35 - LILLE
34
33 - LYON - LENS
32
31 - BREST
30 - STRASBOURG
29
28
27 - TOULOUSE
26
25
24 - AUXERRE
23 - RENNES - ANGERS
22 - REIMS
21 - NANTES
20
19
18 - ST-ETIENNE
17 - LE HAVRE
16
15 - MONTPELLIER



MD22 to be played next week-end with TOULOUSE v PARIS SG (Saturday 15-February 21:05)

[Lyonnais]

Ligue 1 - MD22


Game of the week

TOULOUSE - PARIS SG 0-1
F.Ruiz 52'

XG: 1.20 - 2.93

PSG continues before the C1
Too messy in the first half, PSG was able to make the difference after the locker room thanks to Fabian Ruiz. The Parisian team then managed against a Téfécé without much creativity. PSG extends its unbeaten run in L1 a few days before its C1 return play-off against Brest.
(lequipe.fr; google translation)

TOULOUSE (5-4-1): Restes (Haug 43') - Donnum, Canvot, Cresswell, Akdag (Sidibé 79'), Suazo - Babicka (Edjouma 79'), Casseres, Sierro (McKenzie 70'), Aboukhal - Magri (Messali 70')
Coach: C.Martinez
PARIS SG (4-3-3): Safonov - Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho (Marquinhos 63'), L.Hernandez - D.Doué, F.Ruiz (Vitinha 63'), Mayulu (J.Neves 90+1') - Lee Kang-In (Dembélé 63'), Kvaratskhelia, Barcola (G.Ramos 74')
Coach: L.Enrique


Man of the match

Fabian RUIZ
MC, 28, Paris SG & Spain (35 caps)
Career: Betis - (Elche) - Betis - Napoli - Paris SG (2022)
Titles:
- Winner of the Euro 2024
- Winner of the Nations League 2023
- Champion of France 2023 & 2024
- Winner of the Coppa Italia 2020
- Winner of the Coupe de France 2024




The other games

MONACO - NANTES 7-1
Biereth 44' 54' pen 64' Minamino 45' Ben Seghir 49' Ilenikhena 81' 90+5'; Abline 4'

MONTPELLIER - LYON 1-4
Coulibaly 38'; Mikautadze 3' Nuamah 50' Tolisso 53' Lacazette 73'

MARSEILLE - ST-ETIENNE 5-1
Gouiri 27' 60' Greenwood pen 50' Murillo 58' Rabiot 77'; Stassin 79'

RENNES - LILLE 0-2
Bentaleb 80' Akpom 86'

BREST - AUXERRE 2-2
Ndiaye 60' Ajorque 79'; Perrin 18' 74'

LE HAVRE - NICE 1-3
Ketcha 28'; Laborde 16' Youté o.g. 18' Diop 90+4'

LENS - STRASBOURG 0-2
Bakwa 81' Emegha 90+6'

REIMS - ANGERS 0-1
El Melali 45'

[Lyonnais]

Table



56 - PARIS SG
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46 - MARSEILLE
45
44
43
42
41
40 - NICE - MONACO
39
38 - LILLE
37
36 - LYON
35
34
33 - STRASBOURG - LENS
32 - BREST
31
30
29
28
27 - TOULOUSE
26 - ANGERS
25 - AUXERRE
24
23 - RENNES
22 - REIMS
21 - NANTES
20
19
18 - ST-ETIENNE
17 - LE HAVRE
16
15 - MONTPELLIER


MD23 to be played newt week-end with LYON v PARIS SG (Sunday 23-February 20:45)

[Lyonnais]

Ligue 1 - MD23


Game of the week

LYON - PARIS SG 2-3
Cherki 83' Tolisso 90+2'; Hakimi 53' 85' Dembélé 59'

XG: 1.76 - 2.75

PSG snatches victory from Lyon!
Incisive from the restart, the Parisians believed they had made the difference thanks to Dembélé and Hakimi's double before letting OL get going again, with Tolisso allowing the Lyon players to hope for a comeback until the final moments. Paris widens the gap in the standings, while Lyon remains in 6th place.
(lequipe.fr, google translation)

LYON (4-3-3): Perri - Kumbedi (Maitland-Niles 80'), Mata, Niakhaté, Tagliafico - Matic (Lacazette 64'), Tessmann, Tolisso - Nuamah (Almada 64'), Cherki, Fofana (Mikautadze 80')
Coach: P.Fonseca
PARIS SG (4-3-3): Donnarumma - Hakimi, Marquinhos, Beraldo, N.Mendes - D.Doué (F.Ruiz 61'), Vitinha, J.Neves - Kvaratskhelia (L.Hernandez 68'), Dembélé (G.Ramos 75'), Barcola (Lee Kang-In 74')
Coach: L.Enrique


Man of the match

Kvicha KVARATSKHELIA
FWR, 24, Paris SG & Georgia (40 caps)
Career: D.Tbilisi - Rustavi - (L.Moscow) - R.Kazan - D.Batumi - Napoli - Paris SG (2025)
Titles:
- Champion of Italy 2023
- Winner of the Cup of Russia 2019



The other games:

LILLE - MONACO 2-1
Haraldsson 22' 43'; Minamino 45'

AUXERRE - MARSEILLE 3-0
Perrin 34' Jubal pen 77' 90+1'

NICE - MONTPELLIER 2-0
Clauss 30' Bouadaoui 65'

STRASBOURG - BREST 0-0

NANTES - LENS 3-1
Leroux 36' Simon pen 60' Elia 90+5'; El Aynaoui pen 65'

LE HAVRE - TOULOUSE 1-4
Soumaré 51'; Aboukhal 9' Sierro pen 56' Donnum 63' Magri 78'

RENNES - REIMS 1-0
Kalimuendo pen 10'

ST-ETIENNE - ANGERS 3-3
Cardona 36' 73' Ekwah 52'; Abdelli pen 7' 17' Dieng pen 90+4'

[Lyonnais]

Table



59 - PARIS SG
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49
48
47
46 - MARSEILLE
45
44
43 - NICE
42
41 - LILLE
40 - MONACO
39
38
37
36 - LYON
35
34 - STRASBOURG
33 - LENS - BREST
32
31
30 - TOULOUSE
29
28 - AUXERRE
27 - ANGERS
26 - RENNES
25
24 - NANTES
23
22 - REIMS
21
20
19 - ST-ETIENNE
18
17 - LE HAVRE
16
15 - MONTPELLIER



MD24 to be played next week-end with PARIS SG v LILLE (Saturday 1st of March 21:05 CET)

In the meantime, the QF of the Cup will be played Tuesday and Wednesday

[Lyonnais]

Coupe de France - Quarters


After having eliminated Lille in the previous round Dunkerque manage to eliminate Brest, at Brest, and after being 0-2 down. Impressive!
Huge disappointment for Brtes I presume.

Otherwise another great performance of Cannes (4th level) who eliminate their 3rd L2 team



SAINT-BRIEUC (N2) - PARIS SG 0-7
J.Neves 16' G.Ramos 36' pen 49' 58' D.Doué 55' Mayulu 66' Dembélé 85'

BREST - DUNKERQUE (L2) 2-3
Pereira Lage 45' Youssouf o.g. 59'; Sasso 65' Sanganté 80' 84'

ANGERS - REIMS 1-1 (pso 3-5)
Dieng 90+5'; Nakamura 79'

CANNES (N2) - GUINGAMP (L2) 3-1

[Lyonnais]

Ligue - MD24



Game of the week

PARIS SG - LILLE 4-1
Barcola 6' Marquinhos 22' Dembélé 28' D.Doué 37'; David 80'

XG: 3.60 - 0.87

PSG rolls against Lille
Sparkling in the first half, PSG were already leading 4-0 after 37 minutes of play, against a completely overwhelmed Lille side. The second half was less rhythmic, with both teams having their minds set on the Champions League in a few days. LOSC managed to reduce the gap at the end of the match through David.
(lequipe.fr, google translation)

PARIS SG (4-3-3): Donnarumma - Hakimi (Zaïre-Emery 62'), Marquinhos, Beraldo, N.Mendes (Pacho 62') - D.Doué (Lee Kang-In 75'), F.Ruiz, J.Neves (Vitinha 63') - Dembélé (Kvaratskhelia 63') , G.Ramos, Barcola
Coach: L.Enrique
LILLE (4-2-3-1): Chevalier - Meunier, Diakité, A.Ribeiro, Gudmundsson (Ismaily 80') - Bentaleb, André - Mukau (Bouaddi 63'), A.Gomes (E.Mbappé 46') , Bakker (Haraldsson 46') - Akpom (David 63')
Coach: B.Genesio


Man of the match

Ousmane DEMBELE
FWR, 27, Paris SG & France (53 caps)
Career: Rennes - Dortmund - Barcelona - Paris SG (2023)
Titles:
- Winner of the World Cup 2018
- Champion of Spain 2018, 2019 & 2023
- Champion of France 2024
- Winner of the DFB Pokal 2017
- Winner of the Copa del Rey 2018 & 2021
- Winner of the Coupe de France 2024




The other games

MONACO - REIMS 3-0
Biereth 34' 39' 51'

MARSEILLE - NANTES 2-0
Gouiri 73' Greenwood 77'

LYON - BREST 2-1
Lacazette 24' 82'; Lala pen 15'

ST-ETIENNE - NICE 1-3
Stassin 32'; Rosario 10' Nadé o.g. 52' Guessand 69'

AUXERRE - STRASBOURG 0-1
Emegha 47'

LENS - LE HAVRE 3-4
El Aynaoui pen 3' Aguilar 19' Sotoca 48'; Soumaré 28' A.Ayew 33' Casimir 62' Koka pen 90+1'

ANGERS - TOULOUSE 0-4
Magri 51' Sierro 57' Cresswell 71' Edjouma 90+4'

MONTPELLIER - RENNES 0-4
S.Fofana 28' Cissé 56' Assignon 69' Kalimuendo 87'

[Lyonnais]

Table



62 - PARIS SG
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49 - MARSEILLE
48
47
46 - NICE
45
44
43 - MONACO
42
41 - LILLE
40
39 - LYON
38
37 - STRASBOURG
36
35
34
33 - TOULOUSE - LENS - BREST
32
31
30
29 - RENNES
28 - AUXERRE
27 - ANGERS
26
25
24 - NANTES
23
22 - REIMS
21
20 - LE HAVRE
19 - ST-ETIENNE
18
17
16
15 - MONTPELLIER



MD25 to be played next week-end with NICE v LYON (Sunday 9-Mar 20:45 CET)

[mspm89]

Poor Montpellier. About 13 years after becoming champions, though worse cases do exist. And poor ASSE, though they're a newly-promoted team this time.

[Lyonnais]

yes agree with you. Poor Montpellier. I thought that they would be able to recover after some decent games in early 2025 but the situation now seems tricky for them, although it is mathematically far from being done. They just have a 5-point deficit from the play-off team.
The 4-0 defeat at home vs Rennes may however hurt them a lot.

[Lyonnais]

Ligue 1 - MD25



Game of the week

NICE - LYON 0-2
Cherki 78' Nuamah 83'

XG: 1.51 - 0.78

OL traps Nice at the end
First jostled in the first act, Lyon accelerated after the break against Nice who clearly lost their footing. Two goals from Cherki and Nuamah allowed OL (6th) to inflict Nice (3rd) its first home defeat and to come back to 4 points from its opponent of the evening.
(lequipe.fr, google translation)

NICE (3-4-2-1): Bulka - Bombito (Bouanani 84'), Ndiayishimiye, Dante - Clauss, Bouadoui (Rosario 77'), Santamaria, Bard (Abdi 84') - Guessand, Cho (Diop 66') - Laborde (Boga 77')
Coach: F.Haise
LYON (4-2-3-1): Perri - Kumbedi (Maitland-Niles 46'), Mata, Niakhaté, Tagliafico - Matic (Cherki 77'), Tessman - Almada (Veretout 89'), Tolisso, Fofana (Nuamah 66')- Lacazette (Mikautadze 77')
Coach: P.Fonseca


Man of the match

Moussa NIAKHATE
DC, 29, Lyon & Senegal (16 caps)
Career: Valenciennes - Metz - Mainz - Nottingham Forest - Lyon (2024)




The other games

RENNES - PARIS SG 1-4
Brassier 53'; Barcola 27' G.Ramos 50' Dembélé 90+1' 90+4'

TOULOUSE - MONACO 1-1
Magri 90+1'; Minamino 17'

MARSEILLE - LENS 0-1
El Aynaoui 90+4'

LILLE - MONTPELLIER 1-0
David 50'

NANTES - STRASBOURG 0-1
Lemaréchal 79'

BREST - ANGERS 2-0
Sima 19' Faivre 60'

REIMS - AUXERRE 0-2
Bair 15' Traoré 24'

LE HAVRE - ST-ETIENNE 1-1
Touré 45'; Stassin 10'

[Lyonnais]

Table



65 - PARIS SG
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
54
53
52
51
50
49 - MARSEILLE
48
47
46 - NICE
45
44 - MONACO - LILLE
43
42 - LYON
41
40 - STRASBOURG
39
38
37
36 - LENS - BREST
35
34 - TOULOUSE
33
32
31 - AUXERRE
30
29 - RENNES
28
27 - ANGERS
26
25
24 - NANTES
23
22 - REIMS
21 - LE HAVRE
20 - ST-ETIENNE
19
18
17
16
15 - MONTPELLIER


MD26 to be played next week-end with PARIS SG v MARSEILLE (Sunday 16-March 20:45)

[Lyonnais]

Ligue 1 - MD26



Game of the week

PARIS SG - MARSEILLE 3-1
Dembélé 17' N.Mendes 42' Lirola o.g. 76'; Gouiri 51'


XG: 2.61 - 0.73

Paris wins the Classic and caps off their great week!
Shattered by OM's resurgence, with Rabiot and Gouiri capitalizing on a Mendes blunder, PSG experienced some turbulence before Lirola's own goal sealed the Parisian victory. The Parisians, unbeatable in Ligue 1, now have a nineteen-point lead over OM.
(lequipe.fr, google translation)


PARIS SG (4-3-3): Donnarumma - Hakimi, Beraldo, Pacho, N.Mendes - Zaïre-Emery (Barcola 64'), Vitinha, F.Ruiz - D.Doué (J.Neves 72"), Dembélé (Lee Kang-In 80'), Kvaratskhelia (L.Hernandez 80')
Coach: L.Enrique
MARSEILLE (3-4-2-1): Rulli - L.Felipe (Lirola 63'), Balerdi, Cornelius - L.Henrique, Rongier (Maupay 84'), Kondogbia (Bakola 89'), Dedic (Merlin 63') - Nadir (Greenwood 63'), Rabiot - Gouiri
Coach: R.De Zerbi


Man of the match

Fabian RUIZ
MC, 28, Paris SG & Spain (35 caps)
Career: Betis - Napoli - Paris SG (2022)
Titles:
- Winner of the Euro 2024
- Winner of the Nations League 2023
- Champion of France 2023 & 2024
- Winner of the Coppa Italia 2020
- Winner of the Coupe de France 2024




The other games

ANGERS - MONACO 0-2
Biereth 77' Akliouche pen 88'

LYON - LE HAVRE 4-2
Lacazette pen 22' Fofana 78' Mikautadze 82' Almada 90+6'; Touré pen 31' Casimir 45'

NICE - AUXERRE 1-1
Guessand 37'; Ayé 90+4'

NANTES - LILLE 1-0
Mohamed 83'

STRASBOURG - TOULOUSE 2-1
Lemaréchal 47' A.Santos 54'; Magri 3'

BREST - REIMS 0-0

LENS - RENNES 1-0
Saïd 47'

MONTPELLIER - ST-ETIENNE abandoned at the 60' whereas the score was 0-2 because of fire in the stands caused by Montpellier "fans";
Waiting for the decision of the League