This Wednesday evening, the Greens of AS Saint-Etienne and the Canaries of FC Nantes parted back to back (1-1), on the occasion of the 23rd day of Ligue 1. A flattering result for the men of Claude Puel, dominated in large widths by attractive Nantes but not realistic enough.
Ligue 1 – 23rd Journe
 Saint Etienne |
1 – 10 – 1 |
Nantes  |
| Mr. Camara 57 ‘ | 36 ‘ R. Kolo |
THE FACT OF THE MATCH
The Canaries miss the break, twice! Logically ahead of the score, the FCN, superior to AS Saint-Etienne in this first act, gets a huge opportunity to double the stake before the break. Perfectly launched in the depth, Randall Kolo Muani resists the return of Harold Moukoudi but completely misses his attempt to lobe by arriving in front of Jessy Moulin (41st). A few minutes after the resumption, on a new tumble of an untenable Randall Kolo Muani, the ball reaches Ludovic Blas, alone in front of the goal. The attacking midfielder tries a flat with his left foot, pushed over the goal line by Mahdi Camara … in the feet of Moses Simon. The Nigerian winger then strikes in his turn, and sees his powerful attempt of the right come crashing on the crossbar of Jessy Moulin (48th). The FCN clearly missed its chance.
THE GOALS
0-1 (36th): The Canaries take the lead after a magnificent collective movement! Served in the heart of the game, Ludovic Blas spreads over Fabio in the right lane. The Brazilian full-back looks up and crosses the ground to Randall Kolo Muani. In first intention, the FCN striker takes the leather powerfully with the flat of the right foot. Jessy Moulin, yet on the path of the ball, must bow. This is the third goal scored in this 2020-2021 exercise by the native of Bondy, on Fabio’s first assist.
1-1 (57th): The Greens are getting back together! On a corner kicked from the right of the field, the ball is deflected with the head by Denis Bouanga at the near post. Pape Abou Cissé, hampered by two defenders, then misses his recovery at six meters and the leather finally reaches the far post. Completely abandoned by the rearguard of the Canaries, Mahdi Camara takes the ball with the flat of the right foot, on the ground, and sends it into the nets, beating a helpless Alban Lafont. This is the third goal scored this season in Ligue 1 by the Swiss Army knife of the Loire.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Randall Kolo Muani (FC Nantes). Positioned at the forefront of the Canaries’ attack, number 23 delivered a very good encounter facing the imposing central Loire hinge. Opposed to Pope Abou Cissé and Harold Moukoudi, two beautiful templates, he was able to show himself available and decisive. With a little more skill and success, he could even have scored a double (four shots in total, including three on target) and have an assist to his credit. Following the entry of Kalifa Coulibaly instead of Moses Simon (80th), he took the lane and also ensured. A big match, in short.
THE RESULTS
Interesting in Nice last weekend (0-1 victory), the Greens showed nothing for nearly 50 minutes of play. Overwhelmed in all areas and lacking desire, they have long flirted with the correctional. Fortunately for them, the Canaries lacked precision and luck in the last move. If there was better in the second half, in particular thanks to the simultaneous entries at the break of Romain Hamouma and Anthony Modeste, the latter passing also very close to his first goal in the Forez on a header off frame ( 69th), it was difficult to hope for better in view of the overall performance. Following this parity score, Claude Puel’s men remain in sixteenth place in the standings (23 points) and keep four units ahead of FC Nantes (19 points). Next meeting for ASSE: the reception of FC Metz, this Sunday afternoon (Stade Geoffroy-Guichard), as part of the 24th day.
Despite a very good match and overall domination, FC Nantes left Forez with a very small point. Unable to make the break despite great opportunities, the Canaries conceded the equalizer on one of the few highlights of the Greens. Following this result which will undoubtedly leave regrets, Raymond Domenech’s proteges are now at fourteen matches in a row without success, including six under the leadership of the former coach of the Habs. As already written above, the FCN (19 points) remains four units from the Greens but abandons the place of play-off and regains the seventeenth position in the standings. Sunday afternoon (5 p.m., Stade de la Beaujoire), for its next outing, the club from the banks of the Erdre will have a hard time facing the leader, Lille OSC, on the occasion of the 24th round.