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"In Nantes, I saw the heads of losers": who from Auxerre or Nantes will save their place in Ligue 1?

2023-05-27T07:10:20.717Z

Highlights: Auxerre (16th) and FC Nantes (17th) are separated by one point in the standings. Promoted applied, Auxerre holds the rope, but who knows what Nantes, moribund, guard resources? At the bottom of the standings, the 37th and 38th rounds promise to be breathless. Nantes in a pair with Stéphane Ziani to take over from Antoine Kombouaré, before the Pierre Aristouy - Oswaldo Vizcarrondo ticket was finally retained.


With two games left this Saturday and the next, AJ Auxerre (16th) and FC Nantes (17th), separated by one point in the standings, are fighting for


Promoted applied, Auxerre holds the rope, but who knows what Nantes, moribund, guard resources? At the bottom of the standings, the 37th and 38th rounds promise to be breathless between Auxerre (16th, 34 points) and Nantes (17th, 33 points) who are struggling to avoid the 4th and last place in the wagon to Ligue 2, where Troyes (18th), Ajaccio (19th) and Angers (20th) are already installed. Sector by sector, we weighed everyone's chances at the entrance of the final straight, by seeking the opinion of Rolland Courbis, the RMC Sport consultant - a time approached in Nantes in a pair with Stéphane Ziani to take over from Antoine Kombouaré, before the Pierre Aristouy - Oswaldo Vizcarrondo ticket was finally retained for the last four games.

The calendar

This Saturday, advantage to Auxerre, which moves to Toulouse (13th), while Nantes goes to Lille (5th). Toulouse have been freewheeling since their triumph in the Coupe de France - against Nantes - and have not won a match, or even scored a goal for a month. On the other hand, Lille, opponent of Nantes, is blocked, because focused on the top 5, and remains on a success in front of OM (2-1).

"I obviously give Auxerre more chances to get a result in Toulouse than to Nantes to get a result in Lille," said Courbis. Especially since Lille will recover its two central defenders (Fonte and Djalo), absent against Marseille..."

If by chance Auxerre wins in Toulouse while Nantes is beaten in Lille, the "game" will be folded in favor of AJA. "And I'm afraid that the last day doesn't count for much anymore...", risks Courbis.

🎥 Relive the conference 🎙️

Christophe Pélissier and Birama Touré answered questions from the media, days 2⃣ before the trip to @ToulouseFC👉

✈️https://t.co/Wg3QBEWYsh#TeamAJA

— AJ Auxerre (@AJA) May 25, 2023

In any other case, what to expect from Auxerre - Lens on one side and Nantes - Angers on the other, on the 38th and last day, saemdi 3 June? Two trompe-l'oeil posters, in the opinion of the consultant... "Auxerre will benefit from a Lens already assured of 2nd place - Editor's note: Lens receives Ajaccio, 19th, this Saturday. To see the level of Auxerre, especially its 2nd half against PSG, I would not bet on a victory of Lens for sure... »

What about the Canaries? Will they be able to pick 3 points at the expense of Angers? Not sure, according to Courbis: "If Nantes returns from Lille having taken an additional hammer blow on the skull, I imagine Angers rather showing its face of recent weeks, less catastrophic than at one time. "

Important detail: Nantes has a goal difference of 8 units higher than that of AJA. But it is still necessary that the Nantes return to equal points to assert this advantage.

The dynamics

The plumage of the Canaries, resplendent at the beginning of the year with a draw on the lawn of Juventus in C3 (1-1) and 10 points ahead of the relegation zone in L1, is hard to see today. How to keep faith in Nantes who have not known the victory on the last 13 games - 14 including the final of the Coupe de France?

💬📺 Pierre Aristouy before #loscfcn

— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) May 26, 2023

"They've been fighting a lot lately and haven't won one," Courbis said. And in this series, they took that right to the chin of the lost final. I am convinced that they are in this situation largely because of this poorly placed final (between the 32nd and 33rd day). A final is an event. Winner or loser, you can't play in the league three days later... »

Since then, no sign of recovery is perceptible from Loire-Atlantique. "The people of Nantes are simply knocked out," says Courbis. At La Beaujoire against Montpellier (0-3) I saw losers' heads on the close-ups in the stands, during and after the match. The defensive passivity of Nantes on the 3rd Montpellier goal is simply scary. »

For its part, Auxerre is only advancing in small steps but is always advancing. Admittedly, AJA have only gleaned 2 points from the last five games, but these included Lille, OM and PSG. In April, she had three victories in a row over Troyes, Ajaccio and Nantes.

The experience

In terms of squad, Nantes, whose group has an average age of 27 years, displays a maturity higher than that of the promoted, 25 years and 7 months. And qualitatively especially, Lafont, Pallois, Castelletto, Girotto, Chirivella, Sissoko, Blas, and Delort are supposed in theory to manage the situation better than the Burgundian captain Birama Touré and his group without stars, with the exception of M'Baye Niang.

But in such a situation, it is certainly from the bench that the best guarantees come. However, Aristouy, 43, two matches in L1, can not compete with Pélissier, author of four maintenance in L1, two with Amiens (2018 and 2019) and two with Lorient (2021 and 2022). "There is a huge difference between a Pélissier who knows what a rescue operation is, a real job in the business, totally different, and a young man like Aristouy, future very good coach," says Courbis. In this case, it was not a gift that was given to him... »

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2023-05-27

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