TOPS
The Stéphanoise Defense held the shock
If Saint-Etienne managed to hold the draw against Lille (1-1), it owes it first and foremost to its defense, which never broke over a meeting which seemed to escape the Greens.
Never caught by default by a Losc it is true harmless in the first period, the men of Claude Puel suffered without ever giving up in the first peroid.
Sometimes late, as on Ikoné's goal (65th), the central axis led by the rock Harold Moukoudi struggled to ward off the danger at the end of the match (86th, 90th).
On the right side, captain Mathieu Debuchy, often at the limit (52nd), never balked and fought a big fight for his return as holder.
And ASSE will need him.
To illustrate its importance, Saint-Etienne has conceded only one goal with its captain on the field since the start of the season.
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Trauco - Bouanga, hyperactive left side
Not always at the level since his arrival in Forez, Miguel Trauco delivered a high-level performance this Sunday.
Very active on his lane, the Peruvian worried Mike Maignan from the start (14th).
Applied defensively, he never gave up ground made it pass a complicated evening to Isaac Lihadji for his first tenure.
It is again he who takes over Yazici at the end of the match (84th).
A notch higher, Denis Bouanga has long made the difference by passing, especially on this opening in one touch which brings the penalty (32nd).
Faced with Stéphane's difficulties in the second half, he never counted his efforts, both defensive and offensive.
He was the only dangerous Stéphanois after the break and could have scored the goal of the year if his midfield lob had hit the mark (82nd).
Benjamin André sounded the revolt
Fairly angry at halftime, Benjamin André was at the origin of the Mastiff revolt.
Still active in the midfield, the vice-captain orchestrated a higher pressing after the locker room.
Result, Saint-Etienne had all the trouble in the world to exceed the middle line.
He came close to equalizing by finding the bar on a corner (61st) and allowed himself a nice number in an unusual right winger position before a service for Burak Yilmaz who would have deserved a better fate (76th).
FLOPS
Domagoj Bradaric, at fault
Domagoj Bradaric missed everything in the first half.
Overtaken by the assaults of Wahbi Khazri at the start of the match then by Mahdi Camara before the strike of Miguel Trauco (14th), the Croatian had a complicated start to the match, punctuated by a loss of balance in his area which led to a penalty on Wahbi Khazri (32nd).
Unable to center in the first act, he was like his team since he recovered well in the second half.
He is the penultimate pass on Ikoné's goal (65th).
His center treat suggests that he is capable of much better.
The Lille first half
"When we got back from the locker room, we saw a whole different Losc, if we had played a full match, I think we would have won this match", summarized Benjamin André at the end of the meeting at the microphone of Téléfoot.
It's simple, the Losc did not offer anything during the first 45 minutes.
A single shot, off target, no opportunity and a performance far from the usual standards of Mastiffs, overwhelmed in impact and by the rapid transitions of their opponent.
An unworthy absence of a team that could pick up at PSG at the top of the Ligue 1 standings. An absence embodied by Jonathan Ikoné (28 balls hit in 66 minutes), ghostly in the first half before equalizing in the second.
Romain Hamouma did not weigh
Aligned from the start alongside Wahbi Khazri on the front of the attack, the former Caennais will have suffered from the comparison with his Tunisian friend.
Apart from this strike in first intention at the end of the first period (44th), Hamouma will have been absent from the debates until his exit in the 74th minute.
He is struggling to regain his form at the start of the season (three goals in three matches) which coincided with the good form of the Greens.
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League 1 standings
