After their great success against Toulouse (6-1) on Thursday, OM confirmed their good post-World Cup form.

In the wake of a lackluster first period, Nuno Tavares opened the scoring with his right foot after an effective left hook (46th), then Maxime Estève scored against his side under pressure from Chancel Mbemba (60th).

But Tavares made a second hook with the left foot, just as devastating, on … Arnaud Souquet this time, collecting an expected red card (87th), then Pau Lopez offered a penalty to the Montpellier - converted by Téji Savanier (90th) - completely missing its release.

Despite this slump, Igor Tudor's players won, and still stick, with 36 points, to Lens (40 pts), second behind Paris Saint-Germain (44 pts).

Before that, Lille drew against Reims (1-1), when they seemed to have the game in hand.

Benjamin Andre (left) in front of his teammate José Fonte.

On January 2, 2023, Lille had several chances to win against Reims but ultimately had to settle for the point of a draw © FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP/Archives

Enterprising, the Lille opened the scoring by their Canadian striker Jonathan David, ideally placed after a good sequence of another Jonathan, Bamba (32nd), but did not know how to widen the gap in the score, and a goal from the Swede Jens Cadjus (79th), with a deflected shot at the entrance to the penalty area, deprived them of three points.

"Taking It On Our Own"

"We had several occasions where we could have made the break. We can only blame ourselves," summarized Losc captain Benjamin André at the microphone of Prime Video after the match.

In the standings, the Lille residents fall to 7th place (30 points), while Reims is 11th (21 points, eight points ahead of the first relegation).

At the start of the afternoon, Strasbourg started the year 2023 as it had ended 2022: with an infuriating defeat.

Beaten on Wednesday by Kylian Mbappé's Paris Saint-Germain (2-1), author of the victory penalty in the last moments, the Strasbourg players this time conceded two unlucky goals, then came back to score (2-2), before to give in one last time.

The young Strasbourg midfielder Ismaël Doukouré (right), battling with the Trojan Xavier Chavalerin, during the defeat of RC Strasbourg 3-2 on January 2, 2023 at La Meinau © SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP / Archives

Two goals enlightened this meeting: the strike of the Strasbourg player Ismaël Doukouré, sublime, floating before hitting the crossbar then lodging in the skylight (54th), to which the Trojan Xavier Chavalerin responded, with a half-volley no less superb after a corner (78th).

This eighth defeat of the season (for a single victory) keeps Strasbourg in penultimate place, four points behind Ajaccio, the first non-relegation, while Troyes climbs to 13th position, five points from the red zone.

At the end of the match, an explanation took place between players and supporters, frustrated to see their team in bad shape after a successful 2021-2022 season (sixth place).

Scheduled during the holiday period, the 17th day of Ligue 1 ends with Rennes-Nice (9:00 p.m.).

© 2023 AFP