Five key stats from week 10 in Ligue 1

Ligue 1 came back with a bang this weekend. There were 28 goals across France’s top flight with six of those witnessing atleast three goals. Marseille’s woes continue. Zlatan Ibrahimovicand Edinson Cavani had a battle for the best goal of the weekend and Lille ended a nine-year goal drought in Montpellier. One quarter of the way through the season and le Championnat is as unpredictable as ever.

The Herve Renard Effect

Former Zambia boss took charge of his new side for the first time on Sunday. Obviously of all the Ligue 1 teams to face, Monaco would have been his first choice, a true baptism of fire for the man in the immaculate white shirt. It didn’t go according to plan at all, his side going 2-0 down after only 10 minutes and looking void of any ideas of what to do.

Usually a side in the relegation zone would crumble to a team with as much quality as Monaco but two things happened, Monaco took their foot off the pedal, and Sochaux kept their heads up and actually started to dominate possession.

Before the goals their pass completion was at 67% – they had made no shots and no interceptions. For the rest of the game they started to take control and fought back. Second half goals from Cedric Bakambu andJoseph Lopy levelled the game and their stats were equally as impressive. After the two Monaco goals they completed 78% of their passes, made 14 tackles, 21 interceptions and 16 clearances, also attempting 16 shots on goal.

The final stats show a very even game. Possession was split 50/50 – and both sides completed 77% of their passes. Sochaux won 8% more of their tackles at 85% they had four more shots and three more corners. After being stunned in the opening 15 minutes it was a superb response from Hérve Renard’s men. Lopy and Vincent Nogueira were instrumental in the midfield and with players missing through injury and suspension there is now genuine hope for Sochaux this season.

Marseille Struggle To Beat Ospina

After defeats to both Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille were hoping they could get back on track against local rivals Nice, but there was one man that had other ideas. The Colombia International goalkeeper travelled back from South America on Thursday and after having slept for most of Friday afternoon to recover from jet-lag he was ready to put a stop to Marseille’s aspirations.

Looking at the stats from Marseille’s performance and you can see that they did very little wrong. Finishing the game with 19 shots, 35 cross attempts and 14 corners, pretty much throwing everything plus the kitchen sink at the Nice goal, but nothing was getting through. The reason was an inspired performance from Ospina.

The Colombian made four excellent saves, including one spectacular reflex effort to turn an Andre-Pierre Gignac header over the bar. Dario Cvitanich gave the home side the lead five minutes before the break and it was all Marseille after the goal. 12 of their 19 shots coming after they went behind.

Marseille’s failure to beat Ospina makes it three defeats in a row for OM and the pressure mounts on Elie Baup. For the home side its three wins from three in their new home.

Irresistible Parisians Down Islanders

Performance of the week goes the league leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Winning 4-0 over Bastia in a game that could have been a potential banana skin. The secret to PSG’s success was to completely dominate the midfield battle, and without their normal trio of Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Motta and Marco Verratti the result gives Laurent Blanc even more cause for celebration.

With Matuidi partnered with Adrien Rabiot and the more attacking Hervin Ongenda they still controlled the middle of the park. Attempting 650 passes, completing 90% of them and controlling 60% of the games possession, this gave the home side the time and space to pick apart Bastia. The 4-0 score line suggests that Bastia failed to turn up in Paris but they actually gave a decent account of themselves, but just couldn’t compete with the impressive Parisians.

They had 11 shots on goal, only two on target and neither forced Sirigu to make anything more than a comfortable save. Defensively they made 19 tackles, 17 interceptions and 11 clearances, however when the opposition have a player of the calibre of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a player capable of the impossible, you are always going to struggle.

It was a moment of sheer brilliance from the Swede that gave PSG the lead on Saturday, with one flick of his right-heel he began a game of “Who can score the most outrageous goal” with team-mate Edinson Cavani.

Crucial Cameo For Cavani

Zlatan Ibrahimovic had done his part, after 50 minutes he had scored one of the goals of the season and then followed it up with a header and a 2-0 lead. It was then the turn of his Uruguayan strike partner Edinson Cavani to come on and take over from the Swedish talisman.

Although he only played for 40 minutes the forward managed to finish the game with a score of 91 – the highest from anyone in Ligue 1 on Squawka’s performance index this weekend. Not bad for a substitute. He managed six shots on goal, contributed with 16 passes all across the front line and scored another contender for goal of the season.

Without the shadow of Zlatan on the field he was able to take up the central position he craves so much, and he was superb. For his first goal he first beat his marker, then rounded Mickael Landreau in the Bastia goal before scoring from a near impossible angle.

Without Zlatan’s wonder-goal the media would have been going crazy for Cavani’s finish. Unfortunately it’ll take more than the performance of the week to escape the Ibrahimovic shadow.

Purple Patch For Le Téfécé

Quietly under the radar Toulouse have climbed up the table and with only one defeat in six games they sit 8th in the table and only five points off Lille in 3rd. Their 2-1 win at Reims was another example of Alain Casanova’s 3-5-2 formation working to perfection.

With a packed midfield Toulouse tend to keep their passes short and rarely go long. On Friday there were only a handful of long passes, the majority coming from goalkeeper Ali Ahamada. And when you have the impressive trio of Etienne Didot, Oscar Trejo and Clement Chantome running the midfield there is no reason why you would bypass them.

The majority of Ligue 1 sides tend to not take advantage of the space down the flanks, so many teams play with inverted wingers but Toulouse with two full-backs are managing to push down the flanks and get balls in the box. They attempted 32 crosses on Friday night, and although only six made their intended destination it is beginning to come together for La Viola and they are definitely one to watch in the next few weeks.