From its kick-off to its final whistle, the ninth day of Ligue 1 proved once again to be highly entertaining. And you couldn’t afford to be late on Friday if you wanted to see the first goal of this new weekend of league action, with Nantes’ Youssef El-Arabi finding the back of the net after just two minutes of play.
Nor could you be too quick to leave on Sunday evening, to see Afonso Moreira send the Groupama Stadium into a frenzy in added time in one of the most eagerly anticipated clashes of the early season. After all, it’s all about timing.
Metz more than ever in the danger zone
It didn’t take until the start of the ninth match day for alarm bells to start ringing at FC Metz. Winless and with only two points to their name since the campaign began, the Lorrains travelled to Lille this weekend in an attempt to end their terrible run.
A futile attempt by Stephane Le Mignan’s men, who sank again (6-1), registering their seventh defeat of the season. A record, if you can call it that, which Les Grenats only share within Europe’s “Big 5” with Wolves, also beaten on seven occasions in their domestic league. Already difficult, the situation now looks critical for Metz, whose future already seems to be shaping up far from the elite of French football.
PSG reclaim top spot
Seeing PSG lose their position at the top of the league table is not a common occurrence. Last season, only Olympique de Marseille and AS Monaco managed to knock them off their perch for two matchdays. Yet, with the 2025-26 season still in its infancy, the reigning European champions have already been forced to play second fiddle on four occasions.
Which is why they had to remind anyone who might be eyeing their place that they would not be given any gifts. And it would be Brest who would pay the price for this little clarification. Achraf Hakimi, who bagged a brace, Desire Doue, scoring a late goal, and Vitinha, once again imperious in midfield, were enough to bring everyone back down to earth.
Starting with Marseille, who, had they won away at Lens, would have had the opportunity to consolidate their excellent start to the season. But that was not to be. Beaten by Sporting CP in the Champions League earlier this week, the teammates of Benjamin Pavard, who was directly involved in both of the Sang et Or’s goals, faltered once again. To the point where their opponents on the night overtook them in the standings.
Lyon earn three points, but lose Malick Fofana
But Lens weren’t the only ones to have a good weekend. Lyon, who had suffered two consecutive defeats in Ligue 1, lifted their heads thanks to a precious victory over Strasbourg, the ‘surprise’ team of the early season. Having been behind, Les Gones managed to turn the tide, even allowing themselves to miss a third penalty this season.
A hard-fought victory that OL largely credited to winger Afonso Moreira, signed this summer from Sporting CP, who scored the winning goal at the very end of the match. For the young Portuguese player, it was the perfect end to a perfect week, having already found the back of the net against Basel in the Europa League (2-0) last Thursday.
For Lyon, whose squad will be even more limited following the long-term absence of Malick Fofana, perhaps more than for anyone else hoping to compete for the top spots in Ligue 1, being able to count on the success of their summer signings will prove crucial.
Ligue 1 Matchday 9 results and table
( ) = League position
- (11) Paris FC 1-2 Nantes (13)
- (12) Brest 0-3 PSG (1)
- (6) Monaco 1-0 Toulouse FC (9)
- (2) Lens 2-1 Marseille (3)
- (5) Lille 6-1 Metz (18)
- (15) Angers 2-0 Lorient (16)
- (17) Auxerre 0-1 Le Havre (14)
- (10) Rennes 1-2 Nice (8)
- (4) Lyon 2-1 Strasbourg (7)
