The man many love to dismiss (le Vanney) DNP, but Bastia nail down their oh-so-typical 1-0 score. Bastia now tied with 3 other teams for first, and looks like they may have found a formula to avoid relegation zone this year (dare we say UEFA shot?)
5! And 9 pts above relegation "zone" at the moment... Teams that play tight defense have a better shot of avoiding relegation IMO...Bastia is actually surfing off of last half of last year..in which they started 'clicking' on defense.. We'll see...
I will go way out on a limb and suggest that Bastia will not be occupying a Euro spot at the end of the season (ok, maybe intertoto playoff for best away clubhouse cuisine.) That said, it is a very lovely start to the season. They actually owned first place by themselves for about 24 hours last week. Will PSG get a win this year is the real question.
Although 5 games it is really early returns, I bet if one goes back and runs the stats...it is extemely low odds that a team tied for a lead in a major league winds up relegated. Majority of time, the teams with massive problems are already at mid/lower table even after 5 games...
The goal was scored off a corner by Vanney's replacement Anther Yahia who later also hit the crossbar. Yahia is mentioned in an article in L'Equipe as one of the "young wolves" that new manager Ciccolini has shown confidence in. Not a good sign for M. Vanney's chances of getting back on the pitch.