As part of the 22nd day of Ligue 1, the Derby shock between ASSE and OL gave birth to a less than brilliant Rhone victory (0-1).
Red alert on the Forez side, in very bad shape since the start of the current exercise, AS Saint-Etienne hoped to breathe new life into its season against its lifelong enemy, Olympique Lyonnais. Problem even since the enthronement of Pascal Dupraz, nothing has really changed for the Greens who are still struggling so much in the league. Indeed, against the Lyonnais, ASSE has, as usual, delivered a copy close to poverty and has logically bowed against an opponent far from being in top form, and that is little to say it. With this umpteenth setback, the Stéphanois are more than ever in danger with a place last in the standings which does not bode absolutely anything good for the future.
“Another Era”
In his weekly column on the site Goal Soccer Club, Denis Balbir returned to this new underperformance of Saint-Etienne. Annoyed by the club’s situation, which he deciphers every week, the journalist sees no notable improvement in the game and notes the shortcomings observed against OL. He points to one element in particular: Timothée Kolodziejcziak.
“Many say that this last OL – ASSE (1-0) was one of the worst of the 21st century. It is true that he was not transcendent… For me, it was a small derby with a small result. At the same time, given the state of the two teams and the absence of an audience, it was quite clear that we were not going to see great football. For long weeks, Lyon has been in difficulty in the game and Saint-Etienne in accounting difficulty (not to say in danger). The derbies that end in 3-2 or 4-3, the exploits of Janot, the free kicks of Juninho and the goals of Govou in the money-time, it was another era, he said. We are in a time when OL and ASSE are struggling. Not for the same reasons or the same goals but they still struggle. Lyon are struggling to regain their shine and return to the top of the table. Saint-Etienne is fighting for its survival. (...) Even if I do not like to stigmatize the performance of a player, I am still embarrassed by the error of Timothée Kolodziejczak. I think that’s still a lot of blunders. Especially for an experienced player who wears the armband “, Lamented a Denis Balbir who seems totally disillusioned with the bad patch that Saint-Etienne is going through.