A trembling but victorious leader, and a third place saved. PSG trembled, but the leaders of Ligue 1 increased their lead over Marseille to 13 points by beating Bordeaux 4-3, Sunday at the end of the 26th day of the championship. At the same time, Rennes saved their third place by beating Nîmes while Saint-Etienne, who thought the hardest done, was rebounded by Reims in the last seconds.
200 goals for Cavani
Five days after the 2-1 defeat at Dortmund in the knockout stages of the Champions League, PSG found two reasons to smile: their historic best scorer, Uruguayan Edinson Cavani, reached the 200 goals mark in the jersey Parisian, and the championship leaders increased their lead over Marseille at the head of the classification thanks to their 4-3 victory against Bordeaux. But the club of the capital made a few scares, being led from the 18th minute (0-1) then letting themselves join at 2-2 a few seconds after taking the advantage. Marquinhos and Mbappé finally closed the debate in the second half.
Other reasons for concern: the three goals conceded a week after 4-4 at Amiens, and the dispensable exclusion of Neymar in the last moments of the game. In the Ligue 1 ranking, PSG nevertheless took advantage of Marseille's defeat on Saturday against Nantes (1-3) to offer themselves a 13-unit advantage over their first pursuer.
Rennes retains third place
Doubled by Lille on Saturday in 3rd place in the classification, Rennes threatened to leave the top 3 for the first time since the 18th day, but finally regained its place on Sunday by beating Nîmes 2-1. The match started on a high note, with a goal from Nolan Roux in the 33rd second. Rennes did not take long to reply, M'Baye Niang being responsible for restoring equality from the 8th minute, thanks to a slightly academic but effective dip in the area.
The Reds and Blacks gradually took the ascendancy, without managing to materialize, in particular thanks to an impassable Paul Bernardoni. Until the 89th minute and the second liberating goal of M'Baye Niang. After Lille's 3-0 victory against Toulouse on Saturday, Rennes resumed 3rd place with a point ahead of the Northerners (44 against 43). For their part, the Crocodiles, who had wiped out eight days ago from the red zone, plunged back there (18th) and saw their series of four victories in a row come to an end.
Saint-Etienne gets hooked in Reims
The Greens, in full crisis and close to the red zone, were forced in the last second to the draw against Reims Sunday (1-1). After four consecutive defeats in the league, and the sidelining by coach Claude Puel of taulier Stéphane Ruffier, historic goalkeeper of ASSE, the club from Stéphane thought it had done the hardest with Denis Bouanga, author, of the lead, from his 9th goal of the season in L1 in the 73rd minute. But a guilty fault on the part of Yann M'Vila gave Boulaye Dia the equalization penalty, calmly transformed by the Rémois (90th + 3).
This first point in five matches will not be enough to reassure the Greens: if Nîmes has certainly not managed to overtake them at the end of the afternoon, Saint-Etienne is only two units ahead of the barrage place occupied by Dijon.