Led until the 81st minute, AS Saint-Etienne snatched a courageous victory this Saturday against Montpellier (3-1) to temporarily leave the bottom spot in Ligue 1.
Hamouma and Khazri made their comebacks with one goal each.
Saint-Etienne is not dead! A week after his humiliation against Bergerac in the Coupe de France (0-1), the red lantern pulled away to overthrow Montpellier (3-1) in the last minutes this Saturday on behalf of the 23rd day of Ligue 1.
This success temporarily allows ASSE to move up to 19th by giving up the last place to Lorient! The MHSC is 6th.
ASSE gets off to a good start
The Greens entered the game well and put pressure on the opposing camp in front of a well-stocked Stade Geoffroy-Guichard for the end of the gauges and which both supported and stung them, like several banners with messages like there is still time to stop being useless . But the visitors held up well and Khazri couldn’t catch the target on his long shots.
Wahi shower Geoffroy-Guichard
The MHSC made the difference on their first opportunity when a fine movement saw Souquet cross for Wahi who opened the scoring from close range against an apathetic defense (0-1, 11th). ASSE then gradually regained control of the debates while remaining under threat on the counter, like these two last-minute interventions by Nad and then the rookie Mangala in front of Wahi. Pascal Dupraz’s men accelerated before the break but came up against an imperial Omlin, with a double save against Bouanga then a headline against Khazri! Mrs. hustle, the hraultais club returned to the locker room with its advantage.
Omlin comes out, the Greens overturn everything!
The physiognomy remained the same in the second period with Stphanois who pushed but the last rampart of the MHSC answered again present on shots from Khazri then Nordin. Injured in the left arm after a shock, the Swiss ended up going out injured and, after a first alert on a strike from Khazri which passed just next door, his replacement Bertaud, was forced to bow on a shot in the middle of the top corner. Hamouma (1-1, 82nd). What purpose ! Then, the locals continued to push and Nordin ended up snatching the victory (2-1, 90th), before serving Khazri who drove the point home (3-1, 90th + 4). No flight!
The score of the match: 7/10
In a great atmosphere at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, we witnessed a rather interesting match which saw ASSE push throughout the match. The last ten minutes have been completely crazy with the incredible comeback of the Greens including a gem from Hamouma.
The goals :
– After a handover from Germain, Souquet overflows on the right and crosses in the axis where Wahi resumes victoriously by throwing himself at close range (0-1, 11′).
– Served by Aouchiche in the axis in front of the surface, Hamouma pivots to get rid of Ferri and chained by a marvelous shot from the right which flies into the skylight of a Bertaud fig (1-1, 82nd).
– Nordin infiltrates the left side of the surface, fixes Sakho and continues with a curling strike from the right which beats Bertaud and ends in his small net (2-1, 90th).
– Nordin plays with Souquet then Cozza left side and crosses for Khazri, who resumes victoriously at the far post (3-1, 90th + 4).
Players’ NOTES
Maxifoot has assigned a score (out of 10) comments on each player.
Man of the match: Arnaud Nordin (7/10)
Launched in the 58th minute in place of Denis Bouanga, the Stphanois striker immediately showed his advantage. He went for the winning goal on his own with a good action in the area before doing a big job to serve Khazri on a plateau for the 3-1. Each time, the opposing defenders remained stunned by his ability to percussion.
ST ETIENNE :
Paul Bernardoni (5.5): beaten from close range on a goal he can do nothing about, the Greens goalkeeper has spent a rather quiet evening. The goalkeeper remained vigilant all the same, like his saving exit in front of Germain before the break.
Yvann Maon (5.5): the right piston of the Greens was able to speak about his offensive qualities in this match. Very active in his lane, the Stphanois chained the climbs and multiplied the crosses, notably finding Bouanga on his double opportunity. Replace the 58th minute with Sada Thioub (not not).
Falaye Sacko (6): loaned by Vitoria Guimaraes, the versatile defender, aligned in the center tonight, showed very interesting recovery qualities for his first. Little asked from a strictly defensive point of view, the Malian international nevertheless covers Wahi on his goal, which tarnishes his record.
Eliaquim Mangala (5): for his first complete match for a year and for his first with the Greens, the central defender showed a lot of desire, sometimes too much. Quickly warned, the Habs thus came close to expulsion before the break on a very limited rescue in front of Wahi. He still has to regain his feelings but does not hesitate to speak out and already behaves like a leader. A questionable placement on the opposing goal. Replace 77th minute with Adil Aouchiche (not).
Mickal Nade (5.5): author of an excellent comeback ahead of Wahi 0-1, the central defender has regularly imposed his power in the duels, but he still needs to improve in the raises. Not irreproachable either on the opener.
Timothe Kolodziejczak (4): a disappointing match from the left piston. Caught behind his back on the opposing goal, the former Niois weighed too little offensively and suffered from the comparison with Maon on the right.
Zaydou Youssouf (5): a little less prominent than Gourna-Douath in activity, the midfielder played his game and offered an interesting contribution to recovery even if he narrowly missed the ball. Replace the 70th minute with Aimen Moueffek (not).
Lucas Gourna-Douath (5): the midfielder scratched many balls in midfield and won most of his duels. His passes to the back, however, tended to slow play.
Denis Bouanga (5): as often this season, the winger is not successful. The Gabonese thus gets a big double chance before the break but he stumbles on an excellent Omlin. Interesting in his calls, he will have missed the finish… Replaced in the 58th minute by Arnaud Nordin (7, read comment above).
Ryad Boudebouz (4.5): the ASSE playmaker tried to make his technique speak to create breaches in the small spaces left by the opponent, but his attempts were generally unsuccessful. Replace the 70th minute with Romain Hamouma (not). For his big comeback from injury, the striker changed the face of the match by equalizing with a magnificent teleguided strike in the top corner.
Wahbi Khazri (6): back after playing in the CAN, the striker did not have to be in attitude and the Tunisian, as usual, showed the example by fighting on each ball and trying no less from eleven shots! He struggled to force the opponent’s lock before being rewarded with his goal after added time.
MONTPELLIER :
Jonas Omlin (7): the MHSC goalkeeper had everything to finish man of the match. Author of a double stop against Bouanga, a fabulous headline in front of Khazri then two new stops in the second period, the Swiss has long delayed the deadline. His exit through injury after a clash with Ristic helped change the history of this meeting. Replace the 69th minute with Dimitry Bertaud (not not), who can’t do much about goals conceded.
Arnaud Souquet (4.5): decisive passer on the opener, the right side showed his advantage offensively. But the former Niois suffered more purely defensively in the second half: he left Aouchiche too much space on the first goal and Nordin played him on the third.
Nicolas Cozza (4.5): the central defender held the barracks for a long time with his interventions which gave his team some air, but he lost his footing at the end. Author of a failed intervention on Moueffek, then put in the wind by Nordin, the Héraultais is involved in two of the goals conceded.
Mamadou Sakho (3): after a good start to the match, like his header in front of Bouanga, the evening turned into a nightmare for the central defender. Preceded by the opposing striker on his double chance, the former Parisian then made three big errors in recovery and was too easily eliminated by Nordin on his goal.
Mihailo Ristic (4): the first two goals came from the other side, however the left-back has some responsibility for the 3rd where he should have scored Khazri at the far post. With 17 lost balls, the Serb also showed excessive waste.
Florent Mollet (3.5): eagerly awaited in the absence of Savanier and Mavididi, the attacking midfielder will not have had the opportunity to show the extent of his talent. Not very hard hitting with the ball, he did not shine more on set pieces, like this free kick sent right in the face of Boudebouz. Replace the 84th minute with Lo Leroy (non not).
Jordan Ferri (5): the MHSC midfielder fought on every ball, like this action where he manages to grab the leather after three duels with his opponents, but his good will will not have been enough.
Joris Chotard (4.5): less prominent than Ferri, the midfielder did not have a great game, either in terms of recovered balls or in the use of leather.
Nicholas Gioacchini (3): despite a few incursions in the first period, the attacking midfielder had absolutely no influence on this match and let Maon completely take the lead in his lane. Replace the 68th minute with Sacha Delaye (not not).
Valre Germain (4.5): the face of the match did not allow the striker to stand out. The former Marseillais didn’t have much to eat but he stood out with a smart drop on the opener before being beaten by Bernardoni before the break.
Sepe Elye Wahi (6): author of the opener in foxing the surfaces, the hraultais striker was a real poison for the opposing defense, with calls in the back which put Nad then Mangala on the verge of breaking . Less in sight then in the second period. Replace 77th minute with Bni Makouana (not not).
+ Find the results and the classification of Ligue 1 on Maxifoot
And for you, who were the best and worst players of the match? Comment in the “comments” box below!
ST ETIENNE 3-1 MONTPELLIER (mid-time: 0-1) – FRANCE – Ligue 1 / 23rd day
Stadium: Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint Etienne – Referee: Thomas Leonard, France
Goals : R. Hamouma (82nd) A. Nordin (90th) W. Khazri (90+3rd) for ST ETIENNE – for MONTPELLIER
Warnings :
ST ETIENNE :
MONTPELLIER :
VIDEO: Hamouma’s superb strike
Wahi opened the scoring for MHSC.
Falaye Sacko made an interesting debut.
The joy of the Greens!
