Reims overthrows Lorient with a hat-trick from Balogun, Lille skates and Toulouse continues

Nothing stops Reims!

The equalizer snatched in the final second on Sunday in Paris (1-1), further reinforced the already very high confidence of its author, Folarin Balogun and the entire Reims team. Thus, even a completely failed start to the match at Auguste-Delaune, which allowed Lorient to lead 2-0 thanks to Enzo Le Fée (11th, well helped by a hand error from Yehvann Diouf) and Ibrahima Koné (36th), did not slow down the Champenois.

Relaunched by a penalty from Balogun (for a fault by Innocent, reported by the VAR) just before the break (44th), Will Still’s men went wild in the second half. Ideally served by Abdelhamid, Kamory Doumbia managed a superb control sequence oriented by turning around-crossing strike from the right to equalize (51st). Then Balogun squarely offered himself a hat-trick, to bring his total to 14 goals this season in L1 (15 in total), which allows him to be top scorer.

First thanks to a recovery from the right at the near post on a cross from Ito (61st), then a volley from inside the left on an opening from Agbadou (64th). Thus, this insatiable and stunning SDR, in the end winner (4-2), took his remarkable series of invincibility to fifteen games, including thirteen in Ligue 1 (five wins, eight draws). Too friable, the Hakes did not confirm their nice rebound against Rennes (2-1).

Toulouse goes on without shaking

Admittedly, Troyes opened the scoring, on a penalty obtained (for a fault by Dupé) and transformed by Mama Baldé (12th). But the TFC never really doubted, since less than four minutes later, they equalized by Dallinga (on a service from Van Den Boomen) and then unrolled to win largely (4-1). With a fox goal from Chaïbi at the near post on a corner from Van Den Boomen (36th), who after having succeeded in his seventh assist of the season in L1, followed up with his fourth goal, from a penalty (55th, for a foul by Salmier on Spierings), before Onaiwu in turn scored with a header from a Rouault hand-in following a corner from Sierro (88′). Since the spanking suffered in Marseille (1-6) on December 29, Toulouse has thus garnered thirteen points out of a possible fifteen (four successes, one draw).

Angers beats a disastrous record

And yet, Sima had opened the scoring with a shot from the left on a nice service from Bentaleb (13th). But the Angevin dream, however very modest, since it consisted of not alone holding the absolute record for the number of consecutive defeats in the entire history of Ligue 1, i.e. 13, was shattered in a resounding crash (loss 1- 2 at home). Because the young center-forward of AC Ajaccio Moussa Soumano (17) scored his first goal in L1, on his very first ball (65th, just after coming into play), then Souleyman Doumbia was excluded (following the intervention of the VAR) for a big sole on Marchetti (78th) and ten against eleven, the SCO cracked at the end on a goal from El Idrissy, opportunist (90th + 4). Thus snatching a capital success for the Corsican club in the breathless race to maintain. In which Angers, the last necessarily off the hook, no longer really appears.

Lille skates, Clermont capitalizes

After their defeat in Nice (0-1) on Sunday, LOSC again showed offensive clumsiness, this time at home, against solid Clermontois (0-0). It’s not for lack of trying, since the Lille have shot 23 times but they have framed only five times. Pascal Gastien’s men, they could have scored by Cham, who found the bar (36th).

But the Auvergnats will however be satisfied with this point, which allows them to already total thirty after 21 days and thus take a new step towards maintaining, thanks to this fifth match without defeat in a row (three wins, two draws) with just two goals conceded.