AS Saint-Étienne did not lose this Sunday on behalf of the twelfth day of Ligue 1. The Greens hung a draw in some pain but also with a lot of fighting spirit against one of the teams the most promising of the championship. 1 goal everywhere. Everyone will be content with ASSE while being aware that a point taken at home is not a sufficient prospect to extricate oneself from the red zone.
An interesting first period for the Stéphanois and this little bit of success which allows the half hour of play to obtain a penalty. First goal of the season from Wahbi Khazri, which materializes a performance by Claude Puel’s men of good quality.
Lille pushes back from the locker room
The second half, however, is totally different. Lille seem to have regained their speed and efficiency. Jonathan Ikoné deceives Jessy Moulin with a cross shot. (1-1)
Claude Puel, the general manager of ASSE, after the match : “Our first period was at a very good level, very consistent with a lot of quality, with a lot of technical mastery and with situations. It made sense to lead at half-time. In the second half, we lost three to four entry balls which weakened us. It’s a shame because it allowed Lille to put themselves forward. We backed up and had a hard time getting out. And their bench is very well supplied with quality, and can make the difference at any time. I am still satisfied with the second half in relation to the fighting spirit, the courage displayed and the involvement of the players. We must continue in this manner. We take this point against a big team. I hope that we will be part of a virtuous cycle by confirming in particular from Sunday in Dijon. Now we need points. “
Jessy Moulin (guardian of Saint-Étienne): “At the end of the match, we are happy to have broken this series of defeats. We didn’t want to go down in club history. But we are almost a little disappointed to have led and to have been taken behind the score. But Lille have a great team. We see it on the substitutes who come into play. We suffered not to take a goal and to bring back the point of the draw. It is true that we are very concentrated in front of the big teams. It’s up to us to do the same against opponents of a similar level to ours. If we go to Dijon on Sunday, a direct competitor, with the same intentions as against Lille and that we bring back the three points, the one taken against Losc will be a very good point. We discussed a lot together and especially this week but we are still looking for solutions, to break this bad dynamic. We have seen that with experienced players, we have managed to supervise the youngest. It’s a positive result in view of the last few weeks but we must continue by keeping what was good against Lille“
Lille missed Sunday against Saint-Étienne (1-1) the opportunity to join Paris SG at the top of Ligue 1, but the Northerners are following the French champion with only two points behind like Lyon (3rd), Monaco ( 4th) and Montpellier (5th) Among the ambitious “outsiders”, only Lille did not succeed this weekend to completely rush into the breach opened on Saturday by the vice-champions of Europe, held back by Bordeaux (2 -2) in the capital.
Hanging on by the Greens, the Northerners now have 23 points like Lyon, Monaco and Montpellier, all winners earlier in the day. Marseille (6th), after its victory against Nantes on Saturday, has two points less than this group but can hope to improve its two late matches. Three days after their duel against AC Milan (1-1) in the Europa League, LOSC was manhandled before the break by Stéphanois who remained on seven defeats in a row in the league. Trauco (15th) and Romain Hamouma (45th) warmed up Mike Maignan’s gloves.
And the third goalkeeper of the France team could not do anything on the penalty from Wahbi Khazri (33rd), generously granted by the referee. After half-time, the Northerners returned to the front, overwhelming the Séphanois thanks in particular to Burak Yilmaz and Jonathan Ikoné. The French international equalized on an altruistic service from the Turkish chest (65th).