At the heart of a steeply sloping end of the season, the Saint-Etienne pass the passes quite well. That of Sunday evening, against Lille engaged in a mano a mano with PSG for the title, was undoubtedly the most formidable. Very close to the feat at the Parc des Princes in mid-April (3-2), against Montpellier (0-2) and Marseille (1-0), ASSE this time perfectly resisted in Lille (0-0) , confirming its clear progress in recent months that could almost leave regrets.
Officially maintained since last weekend, Claude Puel’s men have not played sparring partners. If LOSC, feverish leader, toasted a wild card by sharing the points, seeing PSG, easy against Reims (4-0), come back to a length, it is also Sainté’s fault. With four offensive players (Bouanga, Nordin, Hamouma, Khazri) lined up at the kickoff, the Greens, them without pressure, showed that they had come with ambitions.
Lille post on the wire
Mike Maignan, author of his 21st clean sheets in Ligue 1, was decisive in a recovery from Bouanga (9th), happy to see Debuchy too short (13th) and attentive following a cross from Trauco (73rd). The defense of the Mastiffs has appeared several times feverish, like this disaster release of André (13th), very close to scoring against his camp, or this in-extremis intervention of Botman in front of Nordin (61st) .
As paralyzed by the fear of winning, Christophe Galtier’s men, suspended and in the stands for this meeting, did not really lay siege to the Saint-Etienne surface until after Abi’s injury exit (83rd), leaving his partners to ten since the five changes had been made by Claude Puel. It was without counting on the baraka of Green, saved for the seventh time by his post in as many matches on a free kick from Yacizi (90th), and a heroic Sow in the wake, pushing back on the line a strike from Yilmaz ( 90th).
Top 10 target for the Greens
It would have been so cruel for the Greens to leave Pierre-Mauroy empty-handed. Because until then, ASSE, united in its seductive 4-4-2 for two meetings, and its unprecedented hinge Sow-Kolodziejczak, have held their own against the timid northern assaults. Soumaré (57 ‘), thirty meters, was the only one to “worry” Green, shivering from a shot from Araujo (36’) and Sanches (77 ‘), out of the frame.
Still eleventh level on points with Metz, beaten in Lorient (2-1), the Greens, who will receive Dijon on Sunday (9 p.m.) on the final day, can aim for a place in the top 10 and put a nice end point to a complicated season.