On the other hand, nothing is going well in Lyon, beaten 2-1 at the end of the evening by the poorly ranked Strasbourg in a heavy climate, in front of sometimes hostile supporters under the eyes of the new owner John Textor, present for the first time at Groupama stadium.

Earlier, Lens pocketed a 10th victory in a row in its citadel of Bollaert-Delelis, an unprecedented series at home which makes us forget the relatively neutral performance of its occupants.

"We like to win by being flamboyant, but I'm not going to get angry because we didn't play the match of the century! We won and we have 44 points at the end of the first leg", simply "exceptional", rejoiced coach Franck Haise.

Held back on Wednesday by Strasbourg (2-2), the artesian club regains its momentum and is only three points behind Paris SG, before the leader's move to fourth, Rennes, Sunday (8:45 p.m.) at the end of the 19th day.

Ligue 1, 19th day © / AFP

OL under the whistles

The Sang et Or, hesitant before the break, benefited in the second half from a generous penalty converted by Przemyslaw Frankowski (59th), then from a severe expulsion on the Auxerre side (65th, Isaak Touré) to maintain their advantage intact.

Lyon's Brazilian midfielder Thiago Mendes on the ground during the defeat against Strasbourg at Groupama Stadium on January 14, 2023 © OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

"The refereeing body gave in to the atmosphere", thundered Christophe Pélissier, the coach of the Burgundians, who left with "a lot of disappointment" despite the courageous performance of his players.

The Auxerrois, showered 5-0 by Toulouse on Wednesday at home, concede a fifth straight loss in the league and descend to the penultimate place with 13 points on the clock, two less than Strasbourg, released on Saturday from the red zone.

The Alsatians have confirmed the improvement in the interview since the departure of Julien Stéphan.

His ex-assistant Mathieu Le Scornet, interim coach, brought back a hopeful success for Lyon (2-1), a club in distress.

OL chained, in 2022, a third game without a win in the league, under the whistles fed by their supporters, ulcerated by the downgrading of the club seven times champion of France in the 2000s. Some ultras tried to enter the lawn at the final whistle.

Eighth with 25 points, the team led by Laurent Blanc can be overtaken on Sunday by Clermont (25 pts), traveling to Angers (3:00 p.m.), but also by Reims or Nice (24 pts each), opposed at the same time.

First for Malinovskyi

The air is much lighter on the OM side, credited with a sixth straight league victory on Saturday.

The third in L1 has widened a nice gap with Rennes and Monaco, eight points behind before their matches on Sunday.

Nigerian striker from Lorient Terem Moffi does a somersault to celebrate his goal against Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome, January 14, 2023 © Nicolas TUCAT / AFP

The Nigerian center-forward Terem Moffi however hit the mark on the first real action of the Lorientais (29th, 0-1) with an impeccable recovery from a corner.

The Marseillais, carried by the fervor of the Vélodrome, did not think about it.

From the head, Sead Kolasinac put the two teams tied (38th, 1-1) on a cross from Cengiz Ünder, still omnipresent.

Alexis Sanchez hit hard (53rd, 2-1), from the left with the help of a post, to put his people in front.

And Jordan Veretout (59th, 3-1) finished the job.

The latest recruit Ruslan Malinovskyi, who arrived this winter from Atalanta Bergamo, experienced a timid first tenure.

The Ukrainian discovered the Vélodrome, which he will find in six days for the reception of Rennes in the Coupe de France.

Chilean striker from Marseille Alexis Sanchez celebrates his goal against Lorient on January 14, 2023 © Nicolas TUCAT / AFP

He seemed to appreciate: "Volcano, great!!", he tweeted.

And his coach Igor Tudor encouraged him: "It's normal to have a little emotion on his debut. But he's a strong player, who needs a little time in training to understand some things. But I'm happy."

© 2023 AFP