The player: Jonathan David
No vacation for Jonathan David: since the start of the season, the Lille striker shines with his efficiency and consistency.
He scored against RB Salzburg (1-0) on Tuesday, a victory that brought his team closer to the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Canadian Lille striker Jonathan David is congratulated by Turkish striker Burak Yilmaz after opening the home scoring against Salzburg in their Champions League group match on November 23, 2021 at Stade Pierre -Mauroy Denis Charlet AFP
"I live (this period) very well personally, but the most important for me is always the victory," insisted the Canadian international.
In the league, the top scorer in Ligue 1 (10 goals) scored more than half of Lille's goals, but the collective results do not follow: the Mastiffs, who remain on five days without winning, vegetate in 12th place before the reception in Nantes on Saturday (5:00 p.m.).
The coach: Mauricio Pochettino
The atmosphere became tense around Paris SG coach Mauricio Pochettino, who had a bad week.
In question, a logical defeat in the Champions League on the ground of Manchester City (2-1), Wednesday, which underlined the delay that his team showed against the best European formations.
Argentinian Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino, during the Champions League group match against Manchester City on November 24, 2021 at the Etihad Stadium Oli SCARFF AFP
The press severely judged the tactical copy of "Pocket", to the point of asking the question of its future in the capital and to evoke contacts between the club and Zinédine Zidane.
To the point that the Parisian sporting director Leonardo stepped up to the plate on Friday: contacted by AFP, he confirmed Pochettino, "who has never asked to leave", and claimed to have had "no contact" with Zidane.
The Argentine, for his part, assured "to be happy" in Paris in response to rumors relayed by the British and French media sending him next season to Manchester United.
A victory with the manner at Saint-Etienne on Sunday (1:00 p.m.), where he led his first match on the Paris bench last January, would be the best way for him to come out on top of this difficult streak, especially if the experienced defender Sergio Ramos, summer reinforcement finally operational, made his debut in the Paris jersey.
The number: 4
Lyon travels badly.
OL remain in L1 over four away matches without a win, each time with a scenario that is difficult to digest.
Facing PSG (2-1), Saint-Etienne (1-1) and Nice (3-2), the Lyonnais were beaten or joined in added time.
In Rennes (4-1), the magnitude of the score questioned the level of play and the mentality of Gones.
The joy of Rennes, after a goal scored at home against Lyon, during the 13th day of Ligue 1, November 7, 2021 at Roazhon Park Sameer Al-DOUMY AFP / Archives
What is Lyon really worth, programmed to play the podium?
Tenth in the standings, OL must quickly regain their marks on Sunday (5 p.m.) in Montpellier, where striker Moussa Dembélé could return to L1 after two months of absence due to a fibula injury.
Because Nice, Marseille and Rennes, other candidates for the podium, each play against teams at the bottom of the table, respectively Metz, Troyes and Lorient, and could widen the gap on OL this weekend.
The sanction: behind closed doors in Marseille
Sanctioned by the disciplinary committee for the excesses of the classic against PSG in October (0-0), Marseille is serving a match behind closed doors on Sunday with the reception of Troyes.
This is starting to become a bad habit for the Olympians, already forced to play without an audience this season in the replay match against Nice (1-1), rescheduled in Troyes after serious incidents in August at the Allianz Riviera.
Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet gives a bottle of water, thrown by supporters, to a member of the security, during the match of the 11th day of Ligue 1 against Paris Saint-Germain, on October 24, 2021 at the Stade Vélodrome CHRISTOPHE SIMON AFP / Archives
But it is the sad daily life of Ligue 1 this season, shaken by a series of violent outbursts in the stands, the latest to date last Sunday during OL-OM with a plastic bottle throw on Dimitri Payet.
This incident caused the final interruption of the match and earned the Lyon club a penalty of total closed session as a precaution.
"Affected" by this episode according to his trainer Jorge Sampaoli, Payet is nevertheless "available" to resume training and will play on Sunday "if he is ready".
All French football is hoping for a weekend without further incidents, as the government works on proposals by mid-December to improve stadium security.
The program for the 15th day of L1 (in Paris time, GMT + 1)
Friday:
(9 p.m.) Lens - Angers
Saturday:
(5:00 p.m.) Lille - Nantes
(9 p.m.) Nice - Metz
Sunday:
(13h00) Saint-Etienne - Paris SG
(3:00 p.m.) Bordeaux - Brest
Monaco - Strasbourg
Lorient - Rennes
Reims - Clermont
(5:00 p.m.) Montpellier - Lyon
(8:45 p.m.) Marseille - Troyes
© 2021 AFP