On behalf of the 31st day of Ligue 1, AS Saint-Etienne won in Nîmes (0-2) this Sunday. This success allows the Saint-Etienne club to take a 7-point lead over the Crocs, play-offs.
Wahbi Khazri first scorer of the game.
After Lorient’s success against Brest (1-0) earlier this Sunday, the poorly classified match between Nîmes Olympique and AS Saint-Etienne was worth even more.
The victory was almost imperative for the two teams, and it is the Stéphanois who carried out the good operation of the day.
Unrecognizable nimes
Tense because of the stake, the 22 actors multiplied the blunders with loss of ball and repeated faults. Suffice to say that hot situations were rare. It took a big misunderstanding from the Nîmes defense followed by a magnificent strike from Khazri (0-1, 23rd) to unlock the game!
The Greens thus gained confidence and precision in their ball circulation. While the Crocs were technically unrecognizable. Apart from the goal logically refused to Koné for an offside, the young Stéphanois goalkeeper Green was therefore not requested. Unlike his counterpart Reynet who prevented the break against Camara at the end of the first period.
Heroic Green!
We expected to see a much more enterprising Nîmes team coming back from the locker room, but Pascal Plancque’s men were really not in it. It was even the Greens who passed very close to the break on the head of Moukoudi who hit the bar! An insufficient warning to wake up the Crocs, definitely struck by a second jewel signed Bouanga (0-2, 66th)!
We did not see how Nîmes could come back in this match and yet, ASSE can thank its 3rd goalkeeper Green, imperial against Koné for his very first professional match, then unfairly sanctioned with a penalty. Whatever, the young 20-year-old goalkeeper deflected Ripart’s attempt (87th)! Superior to his opponent, Saint-Etienne logically wins and gives air at the bottom of the ranking.
The score of the match: 4/10
Without being exceptional, ASSE was far superior to disappointing Nîmes. This shows the poverty of this meeting which fortunately came to life at the end. And which nevertheless gave us two magnificent goals.
The goals :
– After a long deep ball from Cissé, the Nîmes defenders Meling and Guessoum get in the way. Abi took the opportunity to take the ball and give it back to Khazri, whose superb cross strike at the entrance to the area left no chance for Reynet! (0-1, 23rd)
– On a balloon recovered and transmitted by Camara in the axis, Bouanga takes advantage of the passivity of the central defender Ueda to launch a missile in the window of Reynet! (0-2, 66th)
Player NOTES
Maxifoot awarded a commentary score (out of 10) to each player.
Man of the match: Etienne Green (8/10)
What a story for the third goalkeeper of ASSE! Established thanks to the absences of Moulin and Bajic, the young 20-year-old porter has shown himself to be imperial! He was reassuring in his outings and then inspired in his duel won against Koné. He was unfairly sanctioned with a penalty, but that did not prevent him from deflecting Ripart’s attempt! A heroic match for the one whose name seems to destine him for a great career with the Greens.
NIMES :
Baptiste Reynet (5): it would obviously be unfair to blame him for the two magnificent goals from Khazri and Bouanga. Especially since the Nîmes goalkeeper had allowed his team to stay in the match by winning their duel against Camara.
Sofiane Alakouch (2): with a yellow card quickly taken, we suspected that the right side would have a complicated match. He was feverish in his duels against Bouanga or Khazri. And it was no better with the ball. Replaced in the 59th by Patrick Burner (not rated).
Naomichi Ueda (3): interesting against LOSC before the break, the Japanese took the water this time. He was never able to help Alakush on the right side. He already had enough to do, he who remained passive on Bouanga’s strike.
Kelyan Guessoum (3): for his part, the other central defender is at fault on Khazri’s goal. His disagreement with Meling leaves the field open to decisive passer Abi. An error from which he will not recover until his release. Replaced in the 73rd by Anthony Briançon (not rated), injured at the very end of the match.
Birger Meling (3.5): very offensive at the start of the match, the left side became cautious when he noticed that he could not contain Abi. The Saint-Etienne striker has indeed won most of their duels, especially on the opening scoring.
Adrián Andrés Cubas (3): Usually so efficient in recovery, the defensive midfielder was clearly in trouble. He was forced to make mistakes, not to mention his dangerous ball losses.
Niclas Eliasson (2): completely invisible in the first period, the right winger from Nîmes was put back in line after the break. Result, a good corner and that’s it. Replaced in the 59th by Yassine Benrahou (not rated), which did not add much more.
Lucas Deaux (4): with a big tackle on Bouanga, the versatile midfielder wanted to announce the color from the start. But he, too, was way too awkward with the ball. Especially when he went to the right side after the break. Replaced in the 73rd by Haris Duljevic (not rated).
Renaud Ripart (3): known for his fighting spirit, the captain of the Crocos also failed to fight in the midfield battle. And to top it off, he misses the penalty that could have revived the match.
Zinedine Ferhat (4.5): unable to combine with Meling, while their duo represents one of the strengths of Nîmes, the attacking midfielder has only rarely managed to make the difference. His pivot strike still hits the post. Not to mention his free kick well released by Green.
Moussa Koné (3): too often lonely at the top, the Nîmes striker was moved by the solid hinge of ASSE. A contentious action could have enabled him to obtain a penalty, but he was unsuccessful on this shot. No more than on his goal refused for an offside. Replaced in the 83rd by Karim Aribi (not rated), who got the unfairly whistled penalty against Green.
ST ETIENNE :
Etienne Green (8): see comment above.
Mathieu Debuchy (6): while he could expect a difficult match against the Meling-Ferhat pair, the ASSE captain spent a fairly quiet afternoon. He had no trouble neutralizing Ferhat’s timid actions.
Harold Moukoudi (6.5): faced with Koné’s small size, the solid central defender almost walked around. He almost gave himself a header but his ball hit the bar.
Pape Cissé (7): author of invaluable interventions, the Saint-Etienne giant knew how to make his template speak. He even attempted an incredible breakthrough that was ultimately ruined by a bad choice. Puel will not blame him, especially as his long balloon opens the scoring.
Miguel Trauco (6.5): never endangered by Eliasson, the left side has not yet ventured much in attack. Too bad, because his rare climbs resulted in good balls for his attackers, like his pass to Bouanga in the box.
Yvan Neyou Noupa (6): despite a surprising clumsiness at the start of the match, the midfielder recovered well. He found the mismatch on several occasions and allowed his team to stay in control. Replaced in the 63rd by Aïmen Moueffek (not rated), curtly called to order by Puel about his placement.
Charles Abi (7): strangely aligned on the left side, the Saint-Etienne striker has undoubtedly met Puel’s expectations. He shone in ball conservation while the long balls of his teammates were not always easy to negotiate. He is also considered as a decisive passer even if we especially remember the magnificent strike from Khazri. Replaced in the 60th by Zaydou Youssouf (not rated).
Mahdi Camara (7): it’s true, the ASSE midfielder sometimes narrowly missed in his transmissions at the start of the match. But the quality of his pressing allowed his team to gain the upper hand in the midfield. The proof with his high recovery before Bouanga’s goal. He also threw himself into the opponent’s area but came up against a nice save from Reynet before half-time.
Adil Aouchiche (5): not always established, the former Parisian did not take advantage of this meeting to score points. He is the author of some interesting passes forward but overall, we especially remember his inaccuracies. And above all, he seemed a tone below in the pressing. Replaced in the 83rd by Lucas Gourna-Douath (not rated).
Denis Bouanga (7): started after the injury to Nordin during warm-up, the former Nîmois was decisive. Not during the first period during which the Crocs did not spare him. But rather after the break on a magnificent strike in the skylight which rewards a second quality act. Note a decisive pass canceled by the VAR for an offside.
Wahbi Khazri (7): aligned to the point, the attacking midfielder has stalled enormously. He thus posed a lot of problems to the defense of Nîmes who did not see his magnificent strike coming in the skylight! Nor his little dribbling festival. Replaced in the 59th by Romain Hamouma (not rated), deprived of an acrobatic goal by the VAR.
+ Find the results and ranking of Ligue 1 on Maxifoot
And for you, who were the best and worst players of the game? Comment in the “comments” area below!
NIMES 0-2 ST ETIENNE (mid-time: 0-1) – FRANCE – Ligue 1 / 31st day
Stadium: Stade des Costires – Referee: T. Lonard
Goals : – W. Khazri (23rd) D. Bouanga (66th) for ST ETIENNE
Warnings :
NIMES :
ST ETIENNE :
Another nice goal from Khazri (0-1, 23rd)
That of Bouanga is not bad either (0-2, 66th)
Etienne Green had a perfect start at ASSE
