French Ligue 1: PSG Defeat Lyon Thanks To Hugo Lloris Error

PSG did not bring their finishing boots to their Ligue 1 game with Lyon today, but luckily for them, it didn’t appear that Lyon’s boots had any useful purpose, at least as far as playing football is concerned. Obviously, there’s a chance that Lyon’s problems had more to do with the men in the shoes than the shoes themselves tonight at the Parc des Princes, but Claude Puel and company will be looking for someone or something to blame after their poor showing in a 1-0 loss.

Despite their numerous chances throughout the night, PSG took until the 76th minute to finally capitalize on one and put Lyon to the sword. Hugo Lloris was brilliant throughout the game except for in this one moment, when he came out for a free kick in a situation where he should have stayed on his line. He left an empty net as the ball sailed behind him and substitute Ludovic Giuly rushed towards the endline to keep the ball in play. He desperately touched it back in front of the goal, and while down on his knees, defender Zoumana Camera touched the ball in with his knee, giving PSG the goal and ultimately, the win.

The names on the lineup cards and the formations of the two teams in this match suggest that PSG are the underdogs, despite playing in front of a great crowd at home. So, it would probably be a good idea if they finished whatever chances they got. Unfortunately for Lyon, they gifted Paris St. Germain a large volume of chances in the first half of their game, but fortunately for Lyon, their opponents’ finishing was woeful.

Hugo Lloris was massive in net for Lyon, but there were plenty of places where PSG didn’t even make him work when they should have. One chance that stands out is a miss by Nene late in the second half, who screwed a close range volley wide of the near post when he should have very easily hit the target.

Marseille have come from behind to defeat Montpellier this afternoon in front of a mostly hostile crowd, but some fantastic away support as well at Stade de la Mosson. The first half was a rather cagey one, but the game came to life in the second half, producing three goals and two massive red cards. These teams face each other in the League Cup final next week, so the red cards handed out to Loic Remy and Abdelhamid El Kaoutari could turn out to be massive.

The opener was scored by Oliver Giroud of Montpellier, who apparently dreams of playing in the English Premier League. After his great left-footed finish from just inside the penalty area, the big target man could be realizing that dream sooner rather than later.

At halftime, Marseille and Montpellier are locked up in a 0-0 draw that has been surprisingly watchable, despite a lack of clear cut chance. This is also the description that can be used for basically every Ligue 1 game in the history of ever. Marseille and Montpellier are both working hard and passing well, but both teams are defending well and keeping their shape, limiting the number of total chances in the match.

Montpellier will be wanting the match to stay just the way it is, but unfortunately for them, Marseille have a loaded bench. Andre Ayew is almost certain to figure at some point. However, Marseille don’t have much in the way of attack minded substitutes available in the center of midfield, so Lucho Gonzalez is simply going to need to up his game.

Marseille don’t have Brandao available to them, but otherwise, Didier Deschamps has a strong side to pick from. After Lille won yesterday, Marseille are very much in need of three points against Montpellier to keep pace with their main rivals in the Ligue 1 title race. Montpellier have fallen behind a bit recently in the race for Europa League spots, but they are not completely out of that race and points against Marseille would go a long way towards getting them into Europe next season. Here are the lineups.

Marseille lineup (4-3-3): Mandanda; Taiwo, Heinze, Diawara, Fanni; Mbia, Cheyrou, Gonzalez; Valbuena, Gignac, Remy