On 17th May, Paris Saint-Germain lifted their 13th league title. Three months later, the newly crowned European champions took to the pitch at FC Nantes to begin their quest for a 14th.
While the Parisians are naturally the favourites to retain their title, who knows if an unexpected competitor might not come along and give them a run for their money? But to do so, they will need to have a flawless run throughout a Ligue 1 season that has gotten off to a flying start.
And if you missed the first day, don’t panic! Sports Talk United is here to bring you a flavour of the action.
Brest and Lille back to back after a six-goal thriller
If you were unfamiliar with Ligue 1 at the start of the match between Brest and Lille, chances are you’ll quickly become a regular follower. It has to be said that the clash between the two knockout stage teams from last season’s Champions League was exciting, at the very least.
Everything started with a dazzling performance by Olivier Giroud. Back in France 13 years after leaving for Arsenal, the top scorer in the French national team’s history didn’t take long to make his mark. In the 11th minute, the 38-year-old player managed to shake off his man and place the ball beyond the reach of Radoslaw Majecki, sending the visiting fans into raptures.
The latter didn’t have to wait more than 15 minutes to celebrate again, after Hakon Arnar Haraldsson took advantage of a mistake by the Brest defence to beat the goalkeeper once more.
Outplayed, Eric Roy’s men still managed to reduce the deficit through Kamory Doumbia, perfectly positioned to capitalise on a mix-up in the Dogues’ box. A goal with reenergizing effects for the Bretons, who returned from the locker room with renewed offensive ambition.
And it was Doumbia once again, who scored the equalizer with a perfectly placed curling shot, who proved to be the embodiment of this. With 40 minutes left in the match, the score was tied.
But not for long.
In the 66th minute, Haraldsson took a corner, which was met at close range by Ngal’ayel Mukau to beat Majecki for the third time that afternoon. However, the Lille midfielder was only able to get into that favorable position because some of the Brest players had stopped their efforts. The reason? They saw the assistant referee raise his flag to signal that the ball had gone out of bounds. A confusing situation that ultimately led to a technical protest being lodged, without the goal being disallowed. Much to the delight of their opponents.
But their joy was short-lived. Less than 10 minutes later, Julien Le Cardinal equalized with a jump shot to bring the score to 3-3. Which remained unchanged until the final whistle.
Donovan Leon upsets FC Lorient
On Sunday afternoon, not one, not two, but all three promoted teams were featured in the first multiplex of the season.
FC Metz, who defeated Reims in the playoffs, hosted Strasbourg in an eastern derby, while Paris FC, newly owned by the prosperous Arnault family, traveled to Angers to celebrate its return to the top flight. But for both teams, who were beaten 1-0, the fairy tale came to an abrupt end. A similar fate also befell FC Lorient, who lost by the same score away to AJ Auxerre.
However, Les Merlus deserved better. They gave it their all.
But the unbeatable Donovan Leon had no intention of seeing his net shake on the first day of the championship. Building on his strong finish to last season, the Guyanese goalkeeper shone, making several decisive saves late in the game.
Enough to preserve the lead his team had earned thanks to a powerful strike from Lassine Sinayoko early in the second half.
Ten-man Rennes surprise De Zerbi’s OM
They were numerous, loud, and festive, the thousands of Stade Rennais supporters packed into the stands at Rhoazon Park on Friday evening. And not just for the fact that their stadium had been chosen to host the first match of the 2025-26 season, but also because of the gala match against Olympique de Marseille. Runners-up last season, Roberto De Zerbi’s men arrived in Bretagne with high ambitions and some interesting new signings.
But this was not enough to impress Habib Beye, the Rouge et Noir coach, who, before the match, had declared his players “ready to look them (Marseille) in the eye.” Yet this did not account for the sending off of Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal after half an hour of play, penalized for a late tackle on Amir Murillo’s ankle.
With a numerical advantage, OM dominated, controlling the ball, but struggled to pose a real threat. Mason Greenwood and then Adrien Rabiot both hit the posts, but to no avail.
And as the minutes ticked by, the possibility of Rennes pulling off the perfect coup became increasingly likely. Of course, it didn’t fail.
The fault lay with Ludovic Blas, ideally launched by Quentin Merlin behind a very high and poorly aligned Marseille defense, clinical in front of Geronimo Rulli, who had been perfect in the few interventions he had had to make up to that point.
A team victory, snatched in added time, which perfectly illustrates the “fantastic” team spirit praised by Beye after the match.
Ligue 1 MD1 results
- (8) Stade Rennais 1-0 OM (17)
- (13) RC Lens 0-1 OL (4)
- (1) AS Monaco 3-1 Le Havre (18)
- (16) OGC Nice 0-1 Toulouse FC (5)
- (10) Brest 3-3 Lille (9)
- (6) AJ Auxerre 1-0 FC Lorient (14)
- (7) Angers SCO 1-0 Paris FC (12)
- (15) FC Metz 0-1 Strasbourg (3)
- (11) FC Nantes 0-1 PSG (2)
