22:00: Round-Up: Well, it’s great to have Ligue 1 back isn’t it! 18 goals in our 7 games, including a thrilling 3-3 draw between Bastia and Marseille and a 3-2 win for Nice over Toulouse, is an impressive amount for the opening Saturday. Let’s hope the rest of the season can live up to it! Until next time, Au Revoir!
21:53: FULL TIME: Bastia 3-3 Marseille, Evian 0-3 Caen, Guingamp 0-2 St-Etienne, Lille 0-0 Metz, Montpellier 0-1 Bordeaux, Nantes 1-0 Lens, Nice 3-2 Toulouse.
21:50: GOAL: Guingamp 0-2 St-Etienne (Erding). St-Etienne seal the win against Guingamp! It’s brilliant from Erding, who takes the ball past Samassa in goal for Guingamp and slots home into an empty net.
21:48: Toulouse are, as you would expect, pressing hard against Nice, who hold a slender 3-2 lead as things stand. Heading towards added time in most of our games.
21:45: Evian have looked completely toothless today against Caen, perhaps as a result of the departure of Kevin Berigaud to Montpellier, and have been swept aside by the energy of the newly promoted outfit.
21:43: Lille are pressing hard for the winner against new boys Metz, but the away side’s defence has been holding strong so far. Can they see it through?
21:41: Close: Montpellier should be level! New signing Kevin Berigaud has a free header inside the box, but can only head at Carrasso, who is on hand to make an acrobatic save.
21:39: Close: Gignac almost has a hat-trick! He takes aim from the very right of the penalty box, but his low shot flies narrowly wide of the far post. Good effort.
21:37: Toulouse are pressing hard against Nice to find a leveller. However, aside from that spell just before half time in which Nice conceded 2 goals in 2 minutes, they have looked solid so far in this match.
21:33: GOAL: Bastia 3-3 Marseille (Maboulou). Bastia are level! Maboulou clever turns past Morel, who is then tripped by defensive partner N’Koulou, leaving him free to slot past Mandanda!
21:30: GOAL: Nice 3-2 Toulouse (Bosetti). Nice, who were 2-1 down, are now back in the lead again, as Bosetti scores a close range header past a helpless Boucher in goal for Toulouse!
21:27: GOAL: Bastia 2-3 Marseille (Tallo pen.) Bastia convert a penalty of their own, as Tallo slots home coolly, to give themselves a lifeline against Marseille!
21:25: GOAL: Nantes 1-0 Lens (Bammou). Brilliant coaching! Nantes substitute Bammou scores within minutes of coming on to give his side the lead against new boys Lens!
21:23: GOAL: Bastia 1-3 Marseille (Gignac pen.) Gignac converts a penalty after a Squillaci handball to give Marseille a 2 goal cushion!
21:20: GOAL: Nice 2-2 Toulouse (Cvitanich). Dario Cvitanich equalises for OGC Nice after tapping in from inside the 6 yard box! Real poacher’s goal.
21:16: Substitution: Montpellier, 1-0 down against Bordeaux, bring on summer signing Kevin Berigaud in the hope of getting back into the match. Good substitute to have there.
21:14: St-Etienne look very solid in defence away against Guingamp. Remember, they already have a 1-0 lead, and may not need much more to win the game if things continue like this.
21:10: Nice have started the second half brightly, but cannot find a way past Boucher, who made some very good saves in the first period. Toulouse still 2-1 in front.
21:08: Close: Bastia have started the second half on the front foot, and come close again as Ayite curls a free kick just over the crossbar.
21:06: A half-chance presents itself for Bastia at the beginning of the second half, as Gillet has a shot from the edge of the box, but he doesn’t quite hit it sweetly and it goes out for a goal kick.
21:04: Nantes vs Lens has been by far the quietest game so far today. In a first half of very limited chances, Nantes seemed to just edge the proceeding, but that one could go either way.
21:02: KICK OFF: We are back underway in all of our Ligue 1 games!
20:54: Well, what a thrilling first half of action that was! Ligue 1 is back with all its thrills, spills and surprises. 11 goals in our 7 games so far, and let’s hope that the second half brings just as much excitement.
20:48: HALF TIME: Bastia 1-2 Marseille, Evian 0-3 Caen, Guingamp 0-1 St-Etienne, Lille 0-0 Metz, Montpellier 0-1 Bordeaux, Nantes 0-0 Lens, Nice 1-2 Toulouse.
20:46: GOAL: Nice 1-2 Toulouse (Ben Yedder). Football is harsh sometimes. Nice were almost in at half time with a lead, but they are now behind, as Ben Yedder scores Toulouse’s second goal in two minutes.
20:44: GOAL: Nice 1-1 Toulouse (Braithwaite). If you open your textbook to back post headers, you will see this goal. Braithwaite climbs above the defender to head back past a wrong-footed Hassen to equalise.
20:41: GOAL: Guingamp 0-1 St-Etienne (Erding pen.) Mevlut Erding keeps his calm from the penalty spot to open the scoring for his side against Guingamp.
20:39: GOAL: Evian 0-3 Caen (Duhamel). Evian are falling apart here. Duhamel is left unmarked inside the box, and proceeds to power home a header. Dreamy stuff for Caen.
20:37: Lille should really be ahead against Metz. Carrasso has already saved them once, and again they survive after a goal-line scramble following a Lille corner.
20:35: GOAL: Evian 0-2 Caen (Duhamel). And, as I say that, Caen double their lead! Duhamel is on hand to tap home after Hansen can only parry a shot straight to him. Keeper should have done better there.
20:33: I have to say that of the three new clubs, Caen have impressed the most so far. The have looked compact and dangerous on the counter, and hold a deserved 1-0 lead away against at Evian.
20:31: Montpellier want a penalty after Congre is hauled down inside the box as a free kick is swung in, and I think Bordeaux are very lucky to get away with that one. Don’t often see those given though.
20:29: Close: How are Nice not 2-0 up?! Boucher is the hero, first clawing the ball back just as it was dribbling over the line, then acrobatically saving another long range shot.
20:27: Close: Divock Origi almost opens the scoring for Lille, but his low header is kept out very well by Carrasso, who dives down quickly to his left.
20:25: GOAL: Nice 1-0 Toulouse (Cvitanich). What. A. Goal. Dario Cvitanich picks up the ball from all of 30 yards, and hits an absolute screamer that curls into the top corner, past a helpless Boucher. Brilliant.
20:22: GOAL: Bastia 1-2 Marseille (Thauvin). Horrible defending… Thauvin takes a shot which is going straight to Areola, but Romaric has a swipe at the ball, only succeeding in deflecting the ball pas the goalkeeper.
20:18: GOAL: Montpellier 0-1 Bordeaux (Diabaté). Great goal! A cross comes in from the left, and Diabate produces a Zlatan-like flick to score the opening goal in this match!
20:15: GOAL: Bastia 1-1 Marseille (Gignac). Instant response from the favourites! A cross from the left is powered home by Gignac with a strong header. Goalkeeper had no chance with that one.
20:13: GOAL: Evian 0-1 Caen (Kante). Great start for the new boys. A pull back falls to an unmarked Kante inside the box, and he applies a simple finish into the bottom corner.
20:11: GOAL: Bastia 1-0 Marseille (Maboulou). What a hit! Maboulou cracks a stunning, dipping shot from well outside the box past a helpless Mandanda! Brilliant.
20:09: It will be interesting to see how Montpellier cope offensively after the huge loss of Remy Cabella to Newcastle United. Their defence looks in order though, as Congré clears a dangerous looking cross into the box.
20:05: Close: Oooh, Bastia almost open the scoring! A free kick comes in from the left, and madness ensues in the Marseille box, with shots flying in and blocks everywhere, and eventually Marseille survive. Close call though.
20:03: Remember, the Bastia vs Marseille match is as interesting in terms of the new coaches as the footballers. Bastia are led by former great Claude Makelele, while Marseille look rejuvenated under the leadership of Marcelo Bielsa.
20:00: KICK OFF: We are underway in all 7 Ligue 1 games!
19:56: Round-Up: We got a flavour of what can be expected today in yesterday’s match between Reims and PSG, which ended 2-2. It was a highly entertaining spectacle, with missed penalties, missed open goals, and goals aplenty. Let’s hope for more of the same this evening.
19:52: Toulouse team vs Nice: Boucher – Veskovac, Spajic, Grigore – Matheus – Rodiger- Akpro, Didot, Regattin, Sylla – Ben Yedder, Braithwaite
19:52: Nice team vs Toulouse: Hassen – Puel, Genevois, Bodmer, Amavi – Eysseric, Mendy, Hult – Pied, Cvitanich, Bauthéac.
19:51: Lens team vs Nantes: Riou – Gbamin, Landre, Kantari, Baal – Hansen, Le Moigne, El-Jadeyaoui – Chavarria, Touzghar, Coulibaly.
19:51: Nantes team vs Lens: Dupé – Cissokho, Hansen, Vizcarrondo, Veigneau – Devaux, Veretout – Gakpé, Bedoya, Bessat – Aristeguieta.
19:50: Bordeaux team vs Montpellier: Carrasso – Faubert, Sertic, Sané, Poundjé – Plasil, Traoré – Rolan, Khazri, Maurice-Belay – Diabaté.
19:50: Montpellier team vs Bordeaux: Jourdren – Gissi, Congré, Hilton, Tiéné – Lasne, Stambouli, Sanson – Montanio, Camara, Mounier.
19:49: Metz team vs Lille: Carrasso – Métanire, Marchal, Choplin, Bussmann – N’Gbakoto, Rocchi, N’Daw, Sido – Sarr – Falcon.
19:49: Lille team vs Metz: Enyeama – Béria, Kjaer, Basa, Souaré – Balmont, Mavuba, Gueye – Corchia, Origi, Mendes.
19:48: St-Etienne team vs Guingamp: Ruffier – Clerc, Bayal, Perrin, Tabanou – Lemoine, Clément, Cohade – Hamouma, Erding, Gradel.
19:48: Guingamp team vs St-Etienne: Samassa – Jacobsen, Kerbrat, Sorbon, Baca – Beauvue, Mathis, Dos Santos, Giresse – Mandanne, Yatabaré.
19:47: Caen team vs Evian: Vercoutre – Appiah, Da Silva, Pierre, Imorou – Adéoti – Duhamel, Féret, Kanté, Nangis – Raspentino.
19:47: Evian team vs Caen: Hansen – Angoula, Juelsgard, Cambon, Sabaly – Benezet, Sorlin, D. Koné, Camus, Wass – Bruno.
19:46: Marseille team vs Bastia: Mandanda – Sparagna, Nkoulou, Morel – Dja Djédjé, Imbula, Mendy – Payet – Thauvin, Gignac, Alessandrini.
19:46: Bastia team vs Marseille: Areola – Diakité, Squillaci, Romaric, Palmieri – Cahuzac, Gillet – Ayité, Boudebouz, Maboulou – Brandao.
19:45: Well, it’s good to be back! Yes, after a summer blessed with the excitement of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the French football season is back and ready for action. Boy have we missed the weekly Saturday night action, but today we have 7 games from 20:00 GMT: Bastia vs Marseille, Evian vs Caen, Guingamp vs St-Etienne, Lille vs Metz, Montpellier vs Bordeaux, Nantes vs Lens and Nice vs Toulouse. Let’s get straight into some team news…
