Jeu du Jour Week 30: Bordeaux bulldozed

To say that this hasn’t been the best week in Bordeaux’s recent history is something of an understatement. It began on Saturday as Les Girondins faced Marseille in the 16th Coupe de la Ligue Final at the Stade de France in Paris. Bordeaux, holders of the cup going into the match, were up against Didier Deschamps’ side who hadn’t won a single trophy since 1993 when Deschamps himself lifted the European Cup as club captain. For them, the long wait was about to end, but for Bordeaux, a tough week was about to begin.

In 2009, Bordeaux faced little-known Ligue 2 side Vannes and won the Final at a canter, 4-0. This time, Marseille would prove altogether tougher opponents. That said, Bordeaux were the happier team going in at half time with the score at 0-0. Laurent Blanc’s men had the better of the exchanges in the first 45 minutes, but that soon changed just after the hour mark when Mathieu Valbuena – on for injured Marseille skipper Mamadou Niang – crossed for Souleymane Diawara who duly headed in.

Six minutes later, Valbuena got his own name on the scoresheet with a shot that put Marseille 2-0 up before completing a memorable performance as his free kick was deflected in by Mathieu Chalmé to make it three. Seven minutes from time, Bordeaux pulled one back through Ludovic Sané, but by then it was all over. Deschamps had guided his team to a rare moment of glory, and if this performance is anything to go by, Marseille may yet come back to haunt Bordeaux in the remaining weeks of the league season.

While all the attention was on the Coupe de la Ligue Final, Lyon were busy trying to salvage something from the wreckage of their own league campaign. They played bottom club Grenoble on Saturday – under sufferance too following Bordeaux’s request to the LFP that Lyon’s game be moved from Friday to ensure both teams got the same number of days’ rest before their Champions League quarter final three days later. In the end, it would prove futile as Lyon comfortably ran out 2-0 winners with goals from Michel Bastos and Cesar Delgado – a psychological advantage gained before the Champions League circus rolled into town.

Six matches took place on Sunday, chief among which was the battle between Lille – freed from the distraction of the Europa League – and Montpellier – hoping to overtake Bordeaux at the top of the table. The result was a surprise to say the least: 4-1 to Lille, a result which slightly flattered the home side given Montpellier’s battle to equalise following Gervinho’s 17th minute opener. Souleymane Camara did the necessary for Rene Girard’s team, but they were on level terms for only seven second half minutes before the flood gates opened and Lille began the rout.

Montpellier remain in second on 56 points, but they now have Auxerre for company on the same total as well as Bordeaux. AJA’s goalless draw against Monaco on Monday night means all three teams are level, although Bordeaux now have two games in hand. Lille and Lyon are fourth and fifth respectively on 54 points followed by Marseille on 53, but like Bordeaux they also have two games in hand.

So just three points cover the top six teams, and they could soon be joined by a seventh as Rennes continue their charge up the table with a fourth consecutive win. Their 3-1 win at lowly Le Mans means they’re just four points behind Marseille and a victory over Lyon at home this weekend could put them even closer in touch with the leaders yet.

At the foot of the table, Nice continue to pull away from danger with a third consecutive win under caretaker coach Eric Roy. A 2-0 win at Toulouse puts Nice on 35 points, twelve clear of Boulogne in 18th and now level on points with Lens in 15th who went down 5-1 to Nancy.

Saint Etienne remain anchored in 17th spot after their 4-0 thumping by Lorient left them without a win in five league games. As it is, they remain safe for another week thanks to Boulogne losing again – their two game winning run coming to an end with a 3-0 loss at PSG.

All of which left us waiting for the mouthwatering prospect that was Lyon v Bordeaux in the Champions League on Tuesday, and here’s where Bordeaux’s week was officially confirmed as ‘very poor’.

In front of a home crowd, Lyon got off to a flyer when Lisandro Lopez capitalised on a mistake by Michael Ciani with only 10 minutes on the clock. Four minutes later, Marouane Chamakh was Johnny-on-the-Spot once again when he headed in from a Yoann Gourcuff cross to make it 1-1, but 13 minutes before the break, Michel Bastos smashed in an effort from a narrow angle to give Lyon the lead at half time.

Bordeaux needed a quick boost at the start of the second half and nearly got it as Wendel, Gourcuff, Plasil and Chamakh all came close with their own efforts. But it was to be Lyon who’d prove the stronger as Lopez got his second and Lyon’s third from the penalty spot in the 77th minute to seal a valuable first leg victory.

It’ll be all back to the Stade Chaban-Delmas next Wednesday for the second leg, by which time Laurent Blanc will have hopefully worked out where it all went wrong for his team this week, but the damage may already be done for Bordeaux in what’s proving to be a gruelling season all round.

That’s all for now, until next week’s Jeu Du Jour, it’s à bientôt...

Full results and standings available here

Jeu du Jour Week 24: Up for the Coupe

If there's one thing that Bordeaux's got, it's bouncebackability. Perpetually leading from the front, they're constantly being touted as frail and susceptible to the latest surge from this week's favoured title challengers, yet they always recover from the occasional dropped point here or there to maintain the status quo.

For a few weeks now, Montpellier have been the team grabbing the headlines as they've not only reached but held onto second spot in the Ligue 1 table. Their sixth win in the last seven games came at the weekend as they squeezed past lowly Grenoble, yet for all their persistence, Bordeaux continue to keep Rene Girard's men at arm's length.

Those not in the know have made much of Bordeaux's recent stutter - knocked out of the Coupe de France last week and without a win in their two league games before the weekend - yet this has already happened several times this season to no great effect. Les Girondins returned to fine form on Sunday with a 3-1 win over Saint Etienne and still lead the table by three points.

OK, so that lead was nearer eight just before Christmas, but the point is that Bordeaux's consistency has seen off the challenge of all those who seek to knock them off their perch. Whether the miraculous form of last season's Ligue 2 runners-up Montpellier will also dry up remains to be seen, but my money's on Laurent Blanc winning a second successive title this season just as it was way back in Week 1.

Like Montpellier, Lille are retaining some credibility by maintaining their challenge at the top. They remain in third spot having bagged a 3-1 win over Boulogne, two goals coming from Polish striker Ludovic Obraniak. Rudi Garcia will be heartened to see his team keeping their noses in front of Lyon and Marseille where the league's concerned, especially having been knocked out of the French Cup and League Cup in the last week of January.

Boulogne, sadly, look dead certs for relegation having only won three games out of a possible 24 in Ligue 1 thus far. Their last victory came against Lens over two months ago and it pains us to say it but a return to Ligue 2 is almost inevitable now.

We mentioned Lyon and Marseille a moment ago and they're just one and two points behind Lille respectively. Both teams won in unconvincing fashion at the weekend - Lyon with a single goal over struggling Lens and Marseille beating Monaco 2-1 thanks to a late own goal by Nicolas Ndoubena. At this point we'd be obliged to say how frail both teams are looking this season, but as Lyon proved by beating Real Madrid in the Champions League this week, Ligue 1 is merely one of many pies they have their fingers in and success perhaps lies elsewhere for them. Marseille are playing Copenhagen in the Europa League as this is being written and a win looks quite likely for them.

Auxerre, the form team before Christmas, were inexplicably beaten 5-0 by Grenoble almost a fortnight ago - something akin to Muhammad Ali being knocked out by the bloke off the Mr Muscle adverts - but AJA got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win over Rennes. The goal was a bit special too, coming as it did from a long range effort by another Polish striker on form, Ireneusz Jelen.

Elsewhere, Toulouse still can't seem to get into the high gears as they flounder mid-table. Their 1-1 draw with Lorient at the weekend, though nothing to be ashamed of, was the sort of result you feel they'd have done better with last season. PSG, meanwhile, continue to defy those 'experts' who had them down as a top six side for this campaign, this week drawing 0-0 against Nancy to go *up* to 14th.

While on the subject of mid-table ordinariness, Valenciennes climb back into the top half having beaten Nice 2-1. A small consolation given they were where Lille were towards the start of the season. Nice remain without a win since November and are well and truly embroiled in a relegation battle, along with Le Mans who will be grateful for the single point they got from a goalless draw against Sochaux (about whom nothing interesting has been said all season in Jeu du Jour and for good reason. Charlie Davis even had a car crash in an attempt to make Sochaux a more interesting team, and if you want our opinion, it wasn't worth the effort.)

So going into Week 25, Bordeaux lead at the top on 51 points, followed by Montpellier on 48, then it’s Lille on 44, Lyon on 43 and Marseille on 42 points but with a game in hand. At the bottom it’s Grenoble on 10 points, then above them it’s Boulogne on 16, Le Mans on 17, Nice on 23 points and Saint Etienne on 23 as well.

And what of the Cup competitions? Well the Coupe de France Round of 16 was played about a week ago, and in it Monaco knocked out Bordeaux 2-0 to take on the mantle of favourites to win the trophy. Boulogne, in direct contrast to their league form, reached the last eight with a 1-0 win over Ligue 2 side Guingamp while Auxerre cruised to a 4-0 win over Plabennec – an amateur fourth tier side from the west of France.

PSG made somewhat heavier weather of their match against amateur opposition, scraping through 1-0 against Vesoul, but in case you’re wondering whether the ‘giant-killer’ legend is alive and well over the Channel, you’re in luck. Rennes came a cropper, losing 1-0 to another fourth tier minnow, Quevilly.

The draw for the quarter finals has been made, and the fixtures (to be played on March 23rd and 24th) are as follows:

Lens v Saint Etienne
Monaco v Sochaux
Quevilly v Boulogne
Auxerre v Paris Saint Germain

The Coupe de la Ligue, meanwhile, is set to reach its climax when the Final goes ahead on March 27th and reassuringly (for people that like to see big teams fighting it out for the silverware), it’ll be between Bordeaux and Marseille.

Bordeaux’s route to the Final wasn’t, on paper at least, the most difficult in that they beat Le Mans, Sedan of Ligue 2 in the quarters and Lorient in the semis, but Marseille had a much trickier set of obstacles to clear. They defeated an improving Saint Etienne in the Round of 16, then won in the dying minutes to beat Lille in the quarter finals before an extra time win over Toulouse sealed their place in the Final.

So there you are. Lots going on in France. Let’s hope next time I’m a bit more punctual in updating you… For now though, it's à bientôt...

Full results and standings available here