2009/10 Europa League and UEFA CL- French Clubs Thread

i wated both matches, so different from each other that one could almost have thought they were playing two different sports.

lille-fener was very enjoyable: taut, incisive, clean pressing and until the very end when players were tired very few unforced errors. the ball was on the ground and in play almost the whole time; throwins very few and passes back to the keeper perhaps none.

that all only occured to me while watching the yawner that was copenhagen-marseille. the fecklessness of both sides could only partially be explained by the sorry state of the pitch. the ball was sent out of play constantly, and often inexplicably.

it seemed both teams were using their keepers as their plaque tournante, as an extreme example: backpass to mandanda, clearance to bonnart who passes to cissé in the center circle... who touches the ball twice and passes... back to mandanda!

neither side showed any intention of pressing anywhere near the halfline much less beyond, and yet the game was being hashed up by clumsy fouls.

the scoreline is very flattering to OM, who didn't seem to care at all, witness one ball in the air (from the danish keeper) that came to a player right next to cissé.. who didn't jump for it, didn't even look at it. the only play for the first hour came from a team that hadn't played an official match since the beginning of december. the combination between koné and niang was very nice but it was the first meaningful thing anyone in blue had done to that point.

and OM obviously considered that their duty full done because they simply stopped playing, shameful even in comparison to their lazy performance up to then. they just let copenhagen walk up and get even on a penalty that may have been a harsh interpretation of niang's arm touching the ball but was perfect justice in punishing a team that evidently couldn't be bothered, for even after that it seemed OM was considering 1-1 a good result!

if ben arfa and kaboré coming on changed things the way they did it's even more damning. copenhagen was really such a poor side that just TWO players making an effort (and honestly not looking like thor's thunder themselves) could roll right over them in the last 5 minutes; so quid the rest of the game? this is the team JPP called the greatest lineup a french club has put together since marseille traded him to milan?

now, the LOSC is a different matter. if i was allowed to recruit 3 of their players i wouldn't know whom to pick, i'd want them all. but then, as so often with players signed away from lille, it would be the story of a man who goes into a bar with his talking dog, and cons someone into buying him for $1000... "so you sold me, huh? well, just for that i'll never say another word as long as i live!"

 

and what about balmont (whom we also know!) gervinho and debuchy? (too bad for LOSC's chances these two are out for 6 weeks!)

chedjou's no slouch either: besides being rugged, he may be the fastest sprinter in L1.

the most impressive is how lille can keep renewing the team. who knows? maybe in 2-3 years when rami's at lyon and cabaye's on the chelsea bench (and bastos joins keita in turkey) we'll be talking like this about aubameyang and vandam!

 

not too long ago i said lille... but what to saw about montpellier? a promu looking like they're in the hunt until november OK, but it's march! chapeaux bas!

that said, the end of the season, with the title in sight, is a moment of truth where breeding tells and it's possible both the above teams will buckle. i mean, lyon and bordeaux didn't come out of nowhere and grab the crown: in the 3 seasons preceding their first title lyon was 3rd, 2nd, 2nd with a league cup; for girondins it's two times 2nd and two league cups.

of the pedigreed teams i see OM as being the least reliable, bordeaux as the one losing momentum and OL as the one hitting its stride. but i'm obviously biased.

 

sorry, i kind of missed the subject!

if you're talking about the europa league i think the LFC - LOSC matchup will tell us a lot. that's the cream of the crop imo.

 

Lille beat Liverpool 1-0!!! Now it's Marseille's turn. I know they have the quality to beat Benfica, so let's make it 3 out of 3 for French clubs this week!

 

Oh thank god. That away goal will go a long way for them.

 

as able to watch most of both matches, and once again was more impressed by lille. liverpool is 6th in the EPL right now and the way they looked against the LOSC i doubt they would be better than 6th in L1. very ordinary it wasn't just hazard either, lots of players did well, like balmont, rami and frau.

OM definitely deserved their draw, even a o-1 victory as the goal comes from an inhabitual error from mandanda, but the match was flay in comparison. ben arfa scored on a good header but beside that looked like the hatem of old, always one dribble too many. lucho clumsily missed a chance but looked pretty good, as did cisse, another player i generally don't rate. on the other hand both niang and cheyrou were a notch below, and taiwo was dreadful. and we can alll breathe a sigh of relief, le petit matthieu still knows how to fall down. diawara and m'bia looked very solid together.