One of the positive aspects of football is that it leaves little room for doubt. No sooner has one game ended than another one begins.
For the 18 Ligue 1 clubs, after another eventful weekend on the pitches of France, it was already time to lace up their boots again for the only midweek league matchday of the season. A slightly different schedule which may explain the few unexpected results produced in this tenth chapter of the 2025-26 season.
Metz pick up first prestigious win
There were many FC Metz supporters who took their seats in the stands at the Stade Saint-Symphorien on Wednesday, hoping to see their team achieve what would be a remarkable feat against Lens, then second in the league behind PSG. How many really believed it would happen? It’s hard to say. But certainly not the vast majority of them.
So imagine their surprise when the final whistle blew, just minutes after Gauthier Hein scored twice to finally give them their first win of the season. And no matter that the playmaker was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for celebrating by removing his shirt, the main thing was that Metz could finally breathe easier.
Especially since, at the same time, their rivals in the relegation battle were (almost) all dropping points. Not just Auxerre, who were swept aside 3-0 by Strasbourg, but also Nantes, who were beaten 3-5 by Monaco in a spectacular match.
PSG drop points…
In fact, apart from Metz, of the four other teams that have yet to break the 10-point barrier in Ligue 1, only FC Lorient managed to secure a point in the tenth round of the championship. And that was against PSG. No less.
A deserved draw for Olivier Pantaloni’s men, who took advantage of one of their only two shots on target of the game to snatch a result that felt like a victory against the reigning European champions.
The latter, for their part, not only failed to break down the solid block of Les Merlus, but also saw Desire Doue suffer another injury, his second of the season after the one he sustained with France, which is expected to keep him off the pitch for several weeks. A bad night for the Parisians.
…Lyon and Marseille too
But they can rest assured that they are far from being the only ones to have had a bad Wednesday evening. Apart from Lens at Metz (2-0), several other European contenders failed to capitalise on their rivals’ misfortunes.
Lyon, away to Paris FC, led 3-0 before being pegged back at the end of the match (3-3). Marseille, who were hosting Angers, thought they had clinched the win, but Ousmane Camara managed to secure a draw for his team in added time (2-2). Lille, looking to close the gap at the top of the table, suffered their third Ligue 1 defeat against Nice, who extended their unbeaten run in the league to five games (2-0).
Monaco, who defeated Nantes (3-5), and Strasbourg, who thrashed Auxerre (3-0), were for their part the big winners of the evening, climbing to second and fifth place in the table respectively.
Ligue 1 Matchday 10 results and table
( ) = League position
- (8) Nice 2-0 Lille (7)
- (18) Metz 2-0 Lens (6)
- (11) Le Havre 1-0 Brest (14)
- (16) Lorient 1-1 PSG (1)
- (5) Strasbourg 3-0 Auxerre (17)
- (12) Paris FC 3-3 Lyon (5)
- (15) Nantes 3-5 Monaco (2)
- (3) Marseille 2-2 Angers (13)
- (9) Toulouse 2-2 Rennes (10)
