It’s time to say goodbye now after an exhilarating evening of French football. Ajaccio almost staged a dramatic comeback, Guingamp were on the verge of losing but then could have won, Saint-Etienne produced a good display to beat Valenciennes, Montpellier and Nantes played out a bore-draw and Nantes secured an important win over Sochaux. Until next time, au revoir!
FULL TIME: Roundup: Ajaccio 2 – 3 Evian, Guingamp 1 -1 Bastia, Montpellier 0 – 0 Reims, Valenciennes 1 – 3 Saint-Etienne, Nantes 1 – 0 Sochaux.
MISSED PENALTY: Yatabare misses a golden chance to win the game for Guingamp as his low penalty is well saved!
GOAL: Guingamp 1 -1 Bastia. Guingamp equalise, but there is more drama to come…
CLOSE: Ajaccio almost equalise as Evian’s goalkeeper is forced into two good saves! Nailbiting stuff here.
GOAL: Ajaccio 2 – 3 Evian. Surely they couldn’t… Ajaccio score another goal and are now within one goal of rescuing a point! It was a great goal as well, Tallo spinning his marker and firing into the bottom corner.
Chance: As I say that, Ajaccio almost score another! However, the free-kick is well saved low to his left by Evian ‘keeper Laquait.
GOAL: Ajaccio 1 – 3 Evian. Another consolation goal, this time for Ajaccio against Evian. With just 5 minutes to go, a comeback seems very unlikely.
PENALTY: GOAL: Valenciennes 1 – 3 Saint-Etienne. Valenciennes get a penalty for handball when it looked like it hit the defender on the leg. It is duly converted, but surely it’s just a consolation…?
GOAL: Nantes 1 – 0 Sochaux. Nantes take the lead with just 10 minutes to go. It was a powerful header from a free-kick from the far right. It was a scrappy game before the goal, but it should open up now as Sochaux look for the equaliser.
Ligue 1 table update: Ajaccio currently replacing Toulouse at the bottom of the table following their dismal performance against Evian.
GOAL: Valenciennes 0 – 3 Saint-Etienne. Saint-Etienne extend their lead even further. Surely damage limitation now for a Valenciennes side who have just not showed up today. Corgnet has bagged a brace.
GOAL: Ajaccio 0 – 3 Evian. It looks to be game over now as Evian score a third goal. Ajaccio have been disappointing today.
GOAL: Valenciennes 0 – 2 Saint-Etienne: Another goal for Saint-Etienne as they deservedly extend their lead agains Valenciennes. A very impressive away performance so far.
GOAL: Guingamp 0 -1 Bastia: Khazri scores a great goal from a powerful shot from outside the box which evades the Guingamp keeper.
KICK OFF: Back underway in all 5 games in Ligue 1. Just the 3 goals in the first 45 minutes, let’s hope for more now!
HALF TIME: Score update: Ajaccio 0 – 2 Evian, Guingamp 0 – 0 Bastia, Valenciennes 0 -1 Saint-Etienne, Nantes 0 – 0 Sochaux, Montpellier 0 – 0 Reims.
43 mins: GOAL: Ajaccio 0 – 2 Evian. Another brilliant goal, this time almost every attacking player is involved, the attack finished off expertly by Berigaud. Evian dealing in stunning goals today!
38 mins: Chance: Sanchez has a good chance for Montpellier, but hits it straight at Agassa in the Reims goal.
32 mins: WHAT A GOAL: Ajaccio 0 – 1 Evian. Unbelievable goal from Evian against Ajaccio! A stunning free kick from Brice Dja Djedje flies right in to the top corner to give Evian the lead! Stunning.
30 mins: SCORES UPDATE: It remains goalless in all other games apart from Valenciennes vs Saint-Etienne, in which the away side have taken a deserved lead.
17 mins: GOAL: Valenciennes 0 – 1 Saint-Etienne: Saint-Etienne take the lead through Benjamon Corgnet. Good start from the side who of course lost attacking asset Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to German side Borussia Dortmund.
15 mins: Ligue 1 table round-up: A reminder of the Ligue 1 table: PSG top the table from big-spending Monaco, having played a game more. Marseille and Saint-Etienne complete the top 4 while Toulouse prop up the table at the bottom.
10 mins: 10 minutes have gone by with no goals so far. Quiet in most games, but do not expect scores to stay goalless for too long!
TEAM NEWS: Evian: Bertrand Laquait, Youssouf Sabaly, Jonathan Mensah, Cedric Mongongu, Brice Dja Djedje, Djakaridja Kone, Olivier Sorlin, Daniel Wass, Facundo Bertoglio, Nicolas Benezet, Kevin Berigaud
KICK OFF: We are underway in all 5 games!
TEAM NEWS: Ajaccio: Guillermo Ochoa, Benjamin Andre,Ronald Zubar, Grenddy Perozo, Laurent Bonnart, Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi, Benoit Pedretti, Johan Cavalli, Paul Bastien Lasne, Chahir Belghazouani, Adrian Mutu
18:55: Welcome one and all. 5 tasty Ligue 1 games on show from 7 today, including 2011/12 champions Montpellier taking on Reims at home. Today’s games will go some way to enlightening us on the progress these teams made from last season – it should be an exciting evening!
