The action continues in Ligue 1 as four sides sit on the maximum six points at the top of the table.
Lyon, Marseille, Bastia and Bordeaux are the only four sides to achieve two wins from their opening two matches in the league so far.
Friday night’s fixture saw Lille draw 1-1 at home with Nancy. 23-year-old Djamel Bakar opened the scoring for Nancy but Salomon Kalou, formerly of Chelsea, equalised with a header just before half time.
The score may have been settled but the drama was not over there as a red card was shown to Nancy forward Benjamin Moukandjo for his second bookable offence of the match.
“Comeback” was the word of the day on Saturday as three of the six sides to compete in the weekend’s second day of action came from a goal down to win their respective matches.
Lyon were 4-1 winners against newly-promoted Troyes. It was the away side who took the lead when Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, on loan to Troyes from PSG, hit the back of the net with his attempt early in the second half.
The goal seemed to awaken the Lyon players who began their comeback through Bafétimbi Gomis less than five minutes later after Lisandro missed a penalty for the side. Michel Bastos added Lyon’s second before Lisandro made up for his penalty miss by extending his side’s lead late in the match.
Bafétimbi Gomis added his second of the match in injury time to give Lyon the 4-1 victory.
Bastia came out on top against Reims in a battle of the newly promoted sides. Nicolas Fauvergue opened the scoring for Reims very early in the match.
Reims defender Anthony Weber conceded a penalty in the second half and was given a straight red card for the foul.
Anthony Modeste scored the resulting penalty to ensure Bastia were on level terms. Reims were then reduced to nine men after captain Mickael Tacalfred was given his marching orders.
This allowed striker Ilan to score an injury-time winner for Bastia giving them the win and maximum points from their first two matches this season.
Brest defeated Evian 1-0 but left it late as Paul Baysse struck the winner in 90 minutes. Neither side showed their true potential in this match and Evian especially have started the season very slowly.
Ligue 1 champions Montpellier may have been banking on victory when newly signed Argentine striker scored in his second league appearance for the club. Their opponents Lorient, however, had other ideas and two injury time goals from Alain Traoré and Jeremie Aliadiere wrapped up three points.
Montpellier will be left wondering how they managed to let the win slip out of their hands.
Toulouse secured a 2-1 victory over St Etienne. Etienne Capoue struck first before half time before Wissam Ben Yedder extended the lead on the hour mark.
St Etienne were unable to fight back but did score a consolation goal from the penalty spot through Max Gradel.
In a relatively boring affair, Valenciennes and Nice played to a 0-0 draw. Neither side was able to impose themselves during the match and a point each still flatters both sides on this performance.
Sunday’s round of fixtures began with Bordeaux’s victory over Rennes. The match was goalless until French-born Polish midfielder Ludovic Obraniak found the net with his shot. This victory gives Bordeaux maximum points from their two opening fixtures.
Marseille were impressive in a 2-0 victory over Sochaux. André-Pierre Gignac, who was rumoured to be leaving the club this summer, scored after half time to give the home side the lead before Rod Fanni struck in added time to extend the lead.
The final match of the weekend saw Paris Saint-Germain take on Ajaccio. After one hour played and the scores level, PSG’s Argentine striker Ezequiel Lavezzi was shown a red card, reducing his side to ten men.
As the match went into injury time the floodlights went out, providing a break in play with just two minutes of the match to be played. Ajaccio were ultimately unable to make the one-man advantage count as the match finished in a 0-0 draw.
Lille 1-1 Nancy; Lyon 4-1 Troyes; Bastia 2-1 Reims; Brest 1-0 Evian; Lorient 2-1 Montpellier; Toulouse 2-1 St Etienne; Valenciennes 0-0 Nice; Bordeaux 1-0 Rennes; Marseille 2-0 Sochaux; Ajaccio 0-0 PSG.
Good week – Bastia: Not many would have expected this side to get two wins from their opening two fixtures. Some may judge the victories on the quality of opponent but the real test comes next week away to Rennes.
Bad week – Montpellier: Letting victory slip by some sloppy defending is not how champions defend their crown. Lorient scored a memorable victory late in the game but Montpellier will be aggrieved as they did have three points in their own hands before letting victory slip away.
You can follow Jason Milligan on Twitter @J_746. You can also read more of his work at French Football Weekly.
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