Poor Again

PSG performed badly again.

But this time, unlike in the Super Cup, they could not snatch the win at the death.

Montpellier, the former French champion, met PSG, the current French champion, today, at the Stade de la Mosson.

And the hosts made by far the most impressive start, going up one goal in the 10th minute.
The Parisian defense could have done better. But that takes nothing away from Cabella's good, accurate finishing.

Early in the second half, PSG was not to be denied, however, with Maxwell forcing the ball over the line after an extremely intelligent headed pass by Ibrahimovic, which practically gifted the Brazilian with the equalizer. 1-1.
Final score.

PSG leads in the table now (alongside Montpellier), because they haven't lost, but they most surely won't still be leading after this matchday concludes. (Unless no teams win or score more than one goal.)
Not the start the high-spending club had wanted.

Highlights:

France - UEFA Club Competitions Participants - 2012-2013

Montpellier HSC --> Champions League Group Stage
Paris Saint-Germain --> Champions League Group Stage
Lille OSC --> Champions League Play-off Round
Olympique Lyon(nais) --> Europa League Group Stage
Girondins Bordeaux --> Europa League Play-off Round
Olympique Marseille --> Europa League Third Qualifying Round

First Title

Montpellier HSC won the first French league title in their history.

They only needed a draw at Auxerre, already relegated, to claim the title, but they did one better, and won, 2-1.
(The one team which I'm sorry was relegated, by the way, is Caen. Caen had succeeded in beating Lyon both home and away. So, too bad that they went down. Meanwhile, useless teams like Sochaux and Evian are still in Ligue 1...)

Anyway, getting back to Montpellier, they conceded a goal to the hosts in the 20th minute. At that time, if the score held, PSG only needed to win at Lorient to become champions instead.
In minute 28 of that match, played at the same time, though, Lorient scored.
Four minutes later, John Utaka equalized for Montpellier, and PSG's task seemed hopeless.

In the second half, as the game was progressing towards the inevitable end, Auxerre fans began to show their disappointment by throwing things onto the field. The game was interrupted temporarily.
In the meantime, PSG equalized, through Pastore (61). 1-1 at Lorient, too.
The match at Auxerre briefly started again, and then once more was stopped by the referee, for more than 20 minutes.
Motta (75) scored PSG's second goal, and now the minds of the Parisians were wondering to Montpellier's fixture (which could have been a 3-0 decision in favour of the team that produced Laurent Blanc, if the game could not be resumed but which could also start again and... who knows?)

When Auxerre - Montpellier started again, PSG's victory was already final.
But Auxerre needed to score again for Paris Saint-Germain to take the title.

There was another goal, yes, but Utaka scored it (in minute 76, which, and this must be emphasized, was much later than the 76th minute of the other nine matches). So, Montpellier got their assurance, and the first Ligue 1 title.
All the PSG players could do was watch. And they probably were watching.

Highlights from Lorient - PSG 1-2:


Highlights from Auxerre - Montpellier 1-2:


Now all the champions of all the big leagues in Europe have been determined, for 2011-2012. The French champion was the last big unknown.

Lille Ruins PSG's Hopes

With four matches left, PSG finds itself 5 points behind leaders Montpellier.

Montpellier was good enough to win at Toulouse on Friday, 1-0, but the Parisians dropped all three points at Lille.

Despite going 1-0 up through Pastore's goal, four minutes after the restart, Ancelotti's men could not hold on to the lead. They surrendered a penalty, transformed into a goal by Eden Hazard in minute 71, and soon afterwards, they conceded another one, after a brilliant pass by the same Hazard - Roux (79) the scorer.

PSG has been playing badly of late, and there are no signs that they could pull a perfect run in their last four matches. But, even if they do so, Montpellier would likely have to lose two of theirs, which also looks unlikely.

Wow, Montpellier could be champions! Finally, a small team can win one of the big leagues.

Highlights from Lille - PSG 2-1:

Lille OSC 2 - 1 Paris Saint-Germain footyroom.com by Futbol2101

PSG Still Behind

Paris Saint-Germain could not take advantage of Montpellier's defeat at Lorient earlier in the day.

Four hours before PSG's match ended, Lorient had beaten the leader, 2-1, at home. And, by the way, Montpellier scored the last goal in that game, not any of the first two.

No wonder, then, that PSG started the game at Auxerre very confidently. But, after going up one goal quite early (through Nene, in the 23rd minute), PSG faltered very late, allowing Le Tallec to score a somewhat preventable goal, with 4 minutes left in regulation.

This stopped Ancelotti's team from drawing level on points with Montpellier Herault, but Montpellier's form can certainly give the PSG men some confidence.

Highlights from Lorient - Montpellier 2-1:


See highlights from Auxerre - PSG 1-1 here.

PSG Still Second

Paris Saint-Germain lost at Nancy Lorraine. In the 89th minute, Mollo scored, with great precision, a goal that saw PSG remain second in the table, even with one more game played than Montpellier.

Most people were probably expecting PSG to take advantage of Montpellier's postponed match, even to a lesser extent than the maximum possible, but they didn't.

Nancy had opened the scoring in the first half, through Bakaye Traore, in the 18th minute, but Sissoko had tied it 5 minutes into the second half.

In hindsight, perhaps a draw would have been the more equitable result.

Highlights:

A Hell of a Week for PSG

Paris Saint-Germain failed to get the win again, in front of their home fans, this time in the Ligue 1.

After being ousted by Lyon in the Coupe de France, on Wednesday, Ancelotti's team is now no longer top in the French league, either. The draw against Bordeaux at home put the Parisian team on only 60 points, the same number of points as Montpellier, but the latter has a better goal difference.

Bordeaux also scored first at the Parc des Princes, when Maurice-Belay opened the scoring in the 77th minute, but the lead only lasted roughly four minutes, as prolific forward Hoarau tied the score with a cheeky shot that squeezed beneath the Bordeaux goalkeeper.

Carlo Ancelotti has some serious work to do, apparently.

Lille has also gotten somewhat closer to the leaders, too. They are on 53 points now.

See highlights here.

Two Red Cards and Defeat

This just wasn't Montpellier's day.

Hilton and Stambouli both got red cards, and Montpellier had to play one third of the match with 9 men.

The second red card (an accumulation of two yellows, actually) also resulted in a penalty, which goalkeeper Jourdren parried, but the ball unfortunately (for Montpellier) ricocheted back into the net.
Andre Luiz was credited with the penalty goal.

So, Montpellier fails to gain three big points.

However, PSG also did not win. Carlo Ancelotti 's team, however, gained a point, and now leads in the standings by two points over Montpellier HSC.

Highlights from Nancy - Montpellier 1-0:


Highlights from Caen - PSG 2-2:

Will the Leader Change Again?

Montpellier became leader in France just last week, when PSG did not beat Lyon.

But it seems very likely that the team from the south of France will surrender this position back to PSG, after only one matchday, because of their disappointing result at Dijon. Montpellier only managed a draw there, after being down one goal for roughly 21 minutes, and only succeeding to tie the score in the 88th.

This is, indeed, small-team mentality, if you ask me.
And, ironically, coach Rene Girard had even said that the toughest times are still to come and that they know it. Hmm... Do they?

The Parisian team plays Ajaccio at home, and it is expected to get the full three points.

We shall see, though, on Sunday.

Highlights:

The Match That Changed the Leader

PSG scored a (minor) victory, a draw and a loss today.

It may sound incredible, but one could certainly argue for all three.
The last-gasp equalizer from the in-form striker Guillaume Hoarau, to make it 4-4 at Stade Gerland, was celebrated as a victory by the Parisian players and staff.
On the other hand, failing to win in Lyon means PSG loses their first-place position, in favour of excellent Montpellier, who managed to get its fifth win in six previous matches today.
The draw, of course, is the actual score.

A very honourable mention should go to Hoarau, who also scored against Montpellier last week, again in the dying moments of the game. That's one player who delivers!

But, although they showed great tenacity to get the point with literally seconds left on the clock, PSG players played a poor game today.
They allowed three goals in six minutes, between minutes 34 and 40, which ruined the game for them.

And Paris Saint-Germain's defense mechanism was a terrible disappointment. (Not even to mention that their attackers missed a sitter or two, or maybe even three, in the second half.)

In addition, Lyon is no longer a team to be feared terribly, as perhaps they were three or four years ago. Caen beat them, in Lyon, just two weeks ago. And Caen is struggling, below mid-table.

So, basically, Paris SG did badly. Ancelotti did badly. And PSG is now second.
It's up to Montpellier now to build on their momentum.

Watch highlights from Lyon - PSG 4-4 here.
Highlights from Montpellier - Bordeaux 1-0:

So Close

Montpellier almost made it to the top of Ligue 1. With three minutes left in regulation, at the Parc des Princes, they were still leading 2-1.

After PSG opened the score through a great free-kick strike by Alex, in minute 41, Belhanda made it 1-1 in first-half injury-time.

Bad defending from PSG, just like at the first goal, allowed Utaka to sneak in another header, with 8 minutes left in regulation.

But Ancelotti's team fought back successfully, and got the draw that keeps them in first place, thanks to a Hoarau tap-in following some mesmerizing play by Jeremy Menez in the Montpellier penalty area. Full-time: Paris Saint-Germain - Montpellier 2-2.

Montpellier does not get first place, but they should be inspired by the surprisingly good performance in Paris.

Watch highlights:

Is Montpellier for Real?

Montpellier HSC never won Ligue 1.
But they've been doing better and better in the past few seasons. Maybe they can be a contender, finally.

The game against Lyon certainly showed that they can play well in crucial games. They certainly outplayed Lyon, and they more than deserved the resulting scoreline:

tirs = shots; cadres = on target

Clearly, based on the statistics, Montpellier was the team that attacked throughout this derby.

But can Montpellier keep up against PSG, Marseille (who's climbing fast in the standings) and maybe even Lyon?
...Although Lyon clearly is not a great team. They could never score 7 goals in one game, without outside help... (For those who might have a hard time placing this allusion, it hints at the last game Lyon played in the CL in 2011, in Zagreb.)

This link has streaming highlights.