21:00: Well, after another thrilling Saturday evening of Ligue 1 action, it is time for me to say goodbye. Until next time, Au Revoir!
20:55: Round Up: Well, that second half was absolutely hectic! When the mist clears, Sochaux and Evian come away with a point each, which is not disastrous but also not ideal. Montpellier will be the happiest of the bunch, after a crucial win against Guingamp, who gave it their all in the second period. Bordeaux and Rennes played out a thrilling 2-2 draw, while Toulouse could not quite claw back a 2 goal deficit agains the 9 men of Lille. Highlight of the day has to be Djibril Cisse’s goal. It was an absolute stunner if ever there was one.
20:52: FULL TIME: Bastia 2-2 Sochaux, Bordeaux 2-2 Rennes, Guingamp 1-2 Montpellier, Lorient 1-1 Evian, Toulouse 1-2 Lille.
20:50: Toulouse 1-2 Lille (Aurier). We have a late goal, but it is unlikely to affect anything! Aurier reduces Lille’s lead with just seconds to go.
20:48: Into the last few seconds of added time now… Bastia vs Sochaux has finished 2-2, the others still going…
20:45: Landreau rescues Bastia! Sochaux almost find a late, late winner to clinch the match 3-2, but the veteran keeper is sharp off his line to block the shot and get the ball to safety!
20:43: Guingamp are showing their immaturity a little here, because whenever they build sustained pressure, one of the players takes a long shot that blazes over the bar. Wasteful.
20:39: Final 5: We are heading towards the last 5 minutes now in the Ligue 1 matches! Some games are really in the balance, notably Guingamp vs Montpellier and Bastia vs Sochuax. Will we see some late drama?
20:36: Close: Bastia almost take the lead! Romaric powers in a header towards goal, but Pele, signed on a free in January, makes a brilliant save to deny him. Sochaux really clinging on to the point here.
20:33: Guingamp are absolutely battering Montpellier in search of that second equalising goal. Yatabare goes close to a second goal, but is crowded out by the Montpellier defence, and then Giresse fires over wastefully.
20:30: Red Card: In all that mess, there was a red card too! Beria has ben sent off for Lille for a full blooded challenge. Lille are not happy, but they now have a 2-0 lead to protect with 10 men.
20:28: GOAL: Bordeaux 2-2 Rennes (Alessadrini). Wow, they have turned it around! Rennes, who looked out of the game, have drawn level thanks to Alessandrini’s clinical finish. Bordeaux are shell-shocked!
20:26: GOAL: Bastia 2-2 Sochaux (Cisse). Stunning! Spectacular! A long ball is played over the defence from behind the half way line, and Cisse has to watch it all the way, and he does perfectly, as he thunders in a volley into the far corner. Brilliant.
20:24: GOAL: Bordeaux 2-1 Rennes (Doucoure). Rennes have one back thanks to Doucoure. Bordeaux have dominated, but Rennes now have every chance.
20:22: GOAL: Guingamp 1-2 Montpellier (Yatabare). Guingamp cut Montpellier’s lead to just one goal!
20:19: GOAL: Bordeaux 2-0 Rennes (Rolan). Another very good goal from Bordeaux. This time it is Rolan with the goal, and Rennes have really been hit by two moments of class from the home side. 2-0 the score.
20:16: On the subject of Evian, they have really responded well to going behind to that Aliadiere goal early on, and are showing signs of getting back into this game. With Sochaux winning, they may have to…!
20:13: Close: What a hit this is! Wass absolutely demolishes a shot towards goal for Evian from a free kick, and it beats Audard, who cannot react in time, but unfortunately for Evian it comes off the post! Very close there.
20:10: GOAL: Bastia 1-2 Sochaux (Bruno). Great goal. An inch perfect cross from the left is delivered right onto the head of Bruno, who powers a header past Pele in goal for Sochaux. The lead is halved for the away side.
20:07: Guingamp have come out with renewed confidence in this second period, and the fans seem to be responding. The home side really need to get something from this game to avoid being dragged into a relegation dogfight.
20:05: Cabella slips and draws jeers from the Guingamp faithful. To be fair, their own team have not given them much to cheer about at all so far.
20:02: KICK OFF: We are back underway across the ground in Ligue 1!
19:50: HALF TIME: Bastia 0-2 Sochaux, Bordeaux 1-0 Rennes, Guingamp 0-2 Montpellier, Lorient 1-0 Evian, Toulouse 0-2 Lille.
19:48: GOAL: Bastia 0-2 Sochaux (Corchia). Wow! A cross comes in from the left this time, and Ayew heads it back across goal for an onrushing Corchia to power a header past Landreau! Could Sochaux get out of the bottom three?
19:46: GOAL: Bastia 0-1 Sochaux (J.Ayew). Brilliant goal from Ayew, and it is crucial! A cross comes in from the right, and Ayew buries it into the top corner!
19:43: GOAL: Toulouse 0-2 Lille (Kalou). Lille win a penalty just before half time, and Kalou is on hand to take it. He steps up and confidently slots it past Boucher to double his side’s lead. Lille in cruise control.
19:40: GOAL: Bordeaux 1-0 Rennes (Hoarau). Clinical from the home side. Hoarau beats the offside trap and finds himself clean through on goal, and he finishes confidently past Costil to open the scoring!
19:36: Guingamp resort to plan B. Cabella picks up the ball on the left, and Pereira absolutely clatters him from behind and leaves him on the floor. Yellow card there for Pereira, and fully deserved at that.
19:34: Rennes made a good start in the first few minutes, but since then Bordeaux have completely dominated. The possession so far stands at around 61% for Bordeaux, and 39% to Rennes, who cannot touch the ball at the moment.
19:31: GOAL: Guingamp 0-2 Montpellier (Stambouli). Montpellier double their lead! A corner is flicked on at the near post and Stambouli meets the ball at the back post, after Guingamp’s defence is caught napping, and applies a clinical low finish past Samassa.
19:28: GOAL: Toulouse 0-1 Lille (Roux). It was coming. Lille finally break down Toulouse and Roux, who had hit the post a few minutes ago, pops up with the crucial goal.
19:26: GOAL: Guingamp 0-1 Montpellier (Sorbon O.G.). Perfect start for Montpellier, nightmare for Guingamp. A Tiene shot is turned in to his own goal by Sorbon, and MHSC have the lead.
19:23: Bastia vs Sochaux has started brightly, without either side really creating an opportunity of note. Bastia probably have the slight edge over their opponents at the moment.
19:20: Hits the Woodwork: Almost a classic case of mockers there, as Lille hit the post! The ball falls to Roux just outside the box, and he decides to have a go, but his shot cannons off the inside of the post and to safety!
19:17: Toulouse are doing well to break up Lille’s attacks so far. Lille, in 3rd and looking to hold onto their Champions League spot, are having most of the ball, but not doing much with it.
19:14: Close: Guingamp almost have the lead in their crucial clash with Montpellier! Yatabare is played in on goal to the left, he takes it well in his stride but his shot is too close to Joudren, who blocks it to safety.
19:11: Close: Evian almost hit back immediately! The catch Lorient on the break, Wass is through on goal, but he skews his shot horribly wide! Should be 1-1.
19:09: Free kick in a good position for Montpellier… Tiene behind it… and he curls it just wide! I reckon Samassa was struggling there, and MHSC have made by far the better start.
19:07: GOAL: Lorient 1-0 Evian (Aliadiere). Brilliant goal. Aboubakar has the ball on the left hand side of the box, with two defenders around him, but he somehow finds space to squeeze the ball to Aliadiere with a cross, and Aliadiere does the rest as he scores with a well-placed header.
19:05: Not many chances to talk about so far in an of the games. Rennes have probably looked the liveliest side so far.
19:00: KICK OFF: We are underway in all 5 Ligue 1 matches!
18:55: Round-Up: There have already been two matches in ‘Week 31’ of Ligue 1. Yesterday, Marseille beat Ajaccio 3-1 to finally get a much needed win and all but condemn Ajaccio to relegation. Earlier today, PSG breezed past Reims with a second-string squad, and will be fully prepared to take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
18:51: Lille team vs Toulouse: Enyeama – Béria, Kjaer, Basa, Souaré – Balmont, Gueye, Delaplace – Martin – Roux, Kalou.
18:51: Toulouse team vs Lille: Boucher – Veskovac, Spajic, Yago – Aurier, Didot, Aguilar, Chantôme, Sylla – Ben Yedder, Ben Basat.
18:50: Evian team vs Lorient: Hansen – Abdallah, Mongongu, Cambon, Sabaly – Wass, Tié Bi, Sorlin, Bérigaud – Benezet, Ruben.
18:50: Lorient team vs Evian: Audard – Gassama, L. Koné, Ecuele Manga, Guerreiro – Jouffre, Coutadeur, Traoré, Monnet-Paquet – Aboubakar, Aliadière.
18:49: Montpellier team vs Guingamp: Jourdren – Jebbour, Hilton, El Kaoutari, Tiéné – Stambouli, Saihi – Sanson, Cabella, Camara – Niang.
18:49: Guingamp team vs Montpellier: Samassa – Martins Pereira, Kerbrat, Sorbon, Dos Santos – Beauvue, Diallo, Sankharé, Giresse – Yatabaré, Mandanne.
18:48: Rennes team vs Bordeaux: Costil – Danzé, Kana-Biyik, Armand, Mbengue – Doucouré, Konradsen, Makoun – Grosicki, Toivonen, Alessandrini.
18:48: Bordeaux team vs Rennes: Carrasso – Mariano, Planus, Sané, Orban – Rolan, Sertic, Traoré, Maurice-Belay – Saivet, Hoarau.
18:47: Sochaux team vs Bastia: Pelé – Faussurier, Sunzu, Carlao, Marange – Sinkala, Prcic – Corchia, Roudet, Contout – Ayew.
18:46: Bastia team vs Sochaux: Landreau – Diakité, Modesto, Squillaci, Harek – Boudebouz, Sablé, Romaric, Palmieri – Bruno, Raspentino.
18:45: Welcome one and all to yet another Live Commentary of some Saturday night Ligue 1 action. As usual, we have 5 games on today from 19:00 GMT, and there are some really crucial matches that could well decide who gets relegated to Ligue 2 and who will stay in the top tier. The five matches are: Bastia vs Sochaux, Bordeaux vs Rennes, Guingamp vs Montpellier, Lorient vs Evian and Toulouse vs Lille. Team news coming up shortly…
