AS Saint-Etienne : Ligue 1 – 24th day – Montpellier, Nice, Saint-Étienne … The convalescents refuel during this 24th day of Ligue 1 | ASSE News

Andy Delort and Gaëtan Laborde, the shock duo from Montpellier. (J.-F. Monier / AFP)

Ligue 1 – 24th day

While the outsider Monaco was on the move on the lawn of Nîmes, three other matches of the 24th day of Ligue 1 were played this Sunday at 3 p.m. And those who have struggled in recent weeks have all won. Nice against Angers (3-0), Montpellier against Dijon (4-2) and Saint-Étienne in front of Metz (1-0).

The lesson: The sick are better!

While Monaco intended to confirm its status of outsider on the lawn of Crocos closer to drowning than rebound, the 24th episode of the soap opera League 1 was also underway in three other stadiums across the country. AT Nice, first, where we wondered in what state we would find the Aiglons after a defeat in the derby (2-1 against ASM) and the terrible injury of their best player. Without Jeff Reine-Adélaïde but with a little hope following a consistent performance in the game on Wednesday, the Nice did not take long to reassure us. It must be said that Souleymane Doumbia made it very easy for them, while we were playing the first minutes of the game. On a long “service” from Pierre-Lees Melou, the Angers left side deceived Paul Bernardoni with an unstoppable header (1-0, 10th). The SCO was sounded and we hadn’t seen anything yet. Seven minutes later and on a new “PLM” service (sublime, this one), the OGCN doubled the stake through Myziane Maolida (17th). And if the bar had not interfered, Angers would have ended up 3-0 a few seconds later. Even though Sofiane Boufal could have equalized in a quarter of an hour of play, there was nothing illogical about seeing Nice return to the locker room while being in charge. Same story during the second act? More or less. Without needing to accelerate excessively or to brace themselves to preserve their advantage, Adrian Ursea’s men quietly managed the second act. All before Amine Gouiri does not add up in the last ten minutes (3-0, 83rd). To better offer a real breath of fresh air at the GYM and bring back a smile to supporters not really spoiled since the first leg against the SCO and Dante’s injury. Page turned and new start?

– All the news of Ligue 1
– Classification

A new start is also what would run after Montpellier this Sunday afternoon, for the 500th of Vitorino Hilton. But on the lawn of Dijon, everything did not go exactly as planned. For the first forty minutes of the game, at the very least. Very quickly led after a header from Senou Coulibaly (1-0, 5th), the MHSC only woke up after Michel Der Zakarian made the walls of Gaston-Gérard tremble. We were not in the corridors of the stadium, but his players in any case displayed a whole different face when they returned from the locker room. Thanks to the taulier Gaëtan Laborde (1-1 then 1-2, 48th and 56th) and a third goal scored by the leader Téji Savanier (1-3, 61st). MDZ can thank his number 10, more important than ever this season (see below). For Dijon, however, it becomes even more complicated. The two late goals (one from Moussa Konaté for DFCO, the other from Petar Skuletic) did not change much in the table.

There was also football in the Cauldron and Saint Etienne has also confirmed his rebound. Sick for weeks, ASSE may be on the road to recovery. The locals took control very early, thanks to a goal against his camp from John Boye (1-0, 16th), to not let go afterwards. Facing a Metz quite unrecognizable (see below), of course, but with constant defensive rigor. We can bet that Claude Puel, delighted to chain a third meeting in a row without defeat (!), Will be satisfied. The Garnets are marking time and will have to quickly regain the values ​​that have made their strength so far if they do not want to be bored by the spring. Fans of Saint-Étienne, Montpellier and Nice can, for their part, hope to have eaten their black bread.

The winner: Laborde chases the storm

The MHSC striker has once again got his team back on track. After having equalized this week in Metz, Gaëtan Laborde did it again against Dijon. At least that was needed to allow Montpellier to end a series of nine games without a win in Ligue 1! And all in less than ten minutes. First decisive on a corner, the former player of the Girondins de Bordeaux then feasted in the Dijon defense before adjusting Anthony Racioppi with his right foot. His eighth and ninth league goals. What to underline the excellent season of Montpellier, often decisive when his team skates.

The loser: Metz stalled

We have praised the merits of FC Metz for several days, but this meeting in Saint-Étienne marks the end of a good series for the Messins, already held in check on their lawn against Montpellier (1-1) in midweek. In the Forez, Metz stalled. Without a solution, physically overwhelmed, Dylan Bronn’s teammates never managed to frame a strike for ninety minutes. The screams of Frédéric Antonetti in the second period did not change anything to return to the mark. The FCM logically inclined. A first in 2021. A real halt. – T. B. and T. P.