Bordeaux Vs. Montpellier, 2011 Ligue 1: Crazy Comeback Sees Montpellier Earn Draw

There have been sensibler finishes to matches, I suppose. Despite going down to ten men midway through the first half when Marc Planus went in very hard on John Utaka, Bordeaux had things in total control going into the last few minutes against Montpellier. It was 10 vs. 10 by that point after Mapou Yangambiwa picked up his second booking in the 80th minute, the hosts were 2-0 up* and things really ought to have been completely in hand.

And yet they weren’t. With two minutes to go and Montpellier pressing, Michael Ciani made the odd decision to stick out his arm in the penalty area and concede a penalty. Younes Belhanda stepped up to the spot and rather cheekily chipped his shot straight down the middle, with Cedric Carrasso diving out of the way of the shot. 2-1 with barely any time left still seemed like a very tough as for Montpellier, but they had soon drawn level after the defence went to sleep and a combination of players saw a flicked free kick scrambled home from close range.

There was time enough for one more piece of drama when Bordeaux striker Yoan Gouffran went tumbling over Montpellier goalkeeper Geoffrey Jourdren, but upon replay it looked like the world’s most obvious dive. The referee concurned, and the last action of the evening was Gouffran furiously protesting a booking for simulation while time ran out for a 2-2 draw. Obviously, one point hardly does Montpellier much good, but that comeback will surely give them some momentum after the 3-0 home loss to Paris St.-Germain.