Lille needed a late header from substitute Marko Maric to win 2-1 at promoted Metz in Ligue 1 Sunday.
Croatian midfielder Maric headed home from a corner one minute from time to give Lille their 1st triumph after a 0-0 home draw with Lorient in their opening match.
Brazilian defender Michel Bastos had put Lille ahead when he surprised Metz keeper Richard Trivino by curling a corner kick directly into the net on 20 minutes.
Metz, who lost 1-0 at Le Mans on their return to the top flight last weekend, had hoped for their 1st point of the season when Senegalese forward Momar N'Diaye put them level with a deflected shot on 84 minutes.
Paris St Germain were away to Racing Lens in the last game of the 2nd round of games later Sunday.
Olympique Lyon, chasing a 7th successive title, slumped to a 1-0 defeat at Toulouse on Saturday.
12 August 2007
Alain Perrin managed to take a lot of positives from Saturday inspite of watching his side go 1-0 down to Toulouse in the last minute.
The manager mentioned that it was an "unusual" game, one that saw a debatable red card for his side, and then a last minute goal for the visitors.
"When one has 2 injured players, and one sent off... one can said it is a bad day for Olympic Lyonnais," he said.
However, the coach praised his men, saying he was "disappointed" for them after they held out for almost an hour with only 10 men.
Looking ahead to the tie with Lorient next week, the manager knows that he will be without the red-carded Kallstrom, and would well lose Cris and Govou, both of whom left the pitch injured.
But for the rest of the players, the former Sochaux coach stressed optimism.
"It is the position of the trainer to be positive in defeat. It is in defeat that one can are preparing and unite a group. We'll see what we can improve, and what we can learn after this match," he said.
12 August 2007
Johan Elmander grabbed the winner a minute from time as 10 man Lyon were sunk by Toulouse in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
It looked like the champions were going to survive the 1st half sending off of Kim Kallstrom, for foul and abusive language, when Elmander struck late on, the Sweden forward pouncing on Achille Emana's short pass and stroking home from close range.
Marseille failed to find a cutting edge for the 2nd week in succession as Rennes claimed a deserved point at the Stade Velodrome.
After starting the campaign with a stalemate against Strasbourg last weekend, OM would have been hoping for much more a week later.
But their strikeforce malfunctioned once again, lone forward Djibril Cisse again failing to receive any service, and by the end of the match it was Rennes who were more likely to score.
The point means the Brittany club get off the mark following their disppointing 2-0 home defeat to Nancy a week ago.
Le Mans overcame an early setback to move top with a convincing 3-1 away triumph at Sochaux.
Rudy Garcia's side collected their 2nd successive triumph thanks to a fantastic hat trick from Brazilian forward Tulio De Melo, after Valter Birsa had fired the hosts ahead.
It was sweet revenge for the visitors against a team now managed by Frederic Hantz who left Le Mans to take the Sochaux position in the summer.
Nancy also moved into the leading group at the top of the table with a 1-0 triumph over Caen.
Brazilian forward Kim scored the only goal after 7 minutes as Nancy earned their 2nd triumph of the season, keeping a 2nd clean-sheet in the process.
And Bordeaux made it 2 wins out of 2 after a pair of goals from Wendel da Silva sent them to a comfortable 2-0 win over Auxerre at the Stade l'Abbe-Deschamps.
The Brazilian winger scored either side of half time, however the game will also be remembered for another double, 2 missed penalties from Auxerre forward Toifilou Maoulida.
Pascal Feindouno scored twice as St Etienne defeated Valenciennes 3-1 to claim their 1st win of the season.
St Etienne troubled Valenciennes with their pace as Feindouno found the net twice in the 2nd half after Bafetimbi Gomis' 1st half strike. Substitute Johan Audel replied for the visitors.
2 goals from Rafik Saifi helped Lorient claim their 1st 3 points of the campaign with a narrow 2-1 win over Monaco at Le Moustoir.
Christian Gourcuff's side preserved their unbeaten start to the campaign in impressive fashion, however rode their luck in the closing stages as the visitors came close to rescuing a point after Serge Gakpe had pulled one back.
Vincent Hognon scored an 86th minute winner for Nice to secure a narrow 1-0 win over 10 man Strasbourg at the Stade de Ray.
Hognon managed to wrongfoot keeper Stephane Cassard by deflecting David Hellebuyck's free kick into the net in the closing stages to leave the visitors reeling.
It had looked as though they had secured a brave point after Manuel Dos Santos was sent off only seconds after the interval for collecting a 2nd yellow card.
The win moved Nice on to 3 points from their opening 2 games, whilst newly-promoted Strasbourg still remain stranded without a win.
08 August 2007
Swedish international forward Lasse Nilsson Wednesday signed a 4 year deal with French 1st division side Saint-Etienne.
Nilsson, 25, has spent the past 2 years at Dutch club Heerenveen, scoring 10 goals last season.
"Several clubs were interested in me however the challenge proposed by Saint-Etienne seemed the best choice for me," mentioned Nilsson, who was also targeted by French clubs Rennes, Lorient and Paris Saint-Germain and Spanish club Real Betis.
The deal is reported to be worth 3 million euros (4.1 million dollars).
07 August 2007
Lille coach Claude Puel was dealt a blow after 3 of his players picked up injuries on the opening day of the season.
Abil Rami and Yohan Cabaye were both injured during the 0-0 home draw against Lorient on Saturday whilst Luis Alberto Yanes also suffered a problem.
Rami sprained his knee and expects to be sidelined for around a month whilst Yanes, who plays with the reserves, has broken a bone in his foot and will require around 2 months to fully recover.
Finally, key midfielder Cabaye strained a thigh muscle. The injury, however, is not too serious and the 21 year old should only miss 2 games in Ligue 1.
30 July 2007
Heerenveen forward Lasse Nilsson is being chased by a trio of Spanish clubs.
The Swede was keen to secure a move over the summer in order to play in a more high profile league.
He is interested in heading to France after being linked with Paris St. Germain, Rennes and Strasbourg.
Lorient were also rumoured to be thinking about a bid, however now there are teams in La Liga who would like Nilsson.
The forward's agent Martin Klette informed Expressen, "There are 3 clubs in the Spanish top flight."
05 July 2007
Ligue 1 side Rennes Wednesday tied a raft of their player performers to longer term deals.
Captain and midfielder Etienne Didot is now contracted to the club until 2010 after signing a 2 year extension.
Forward Jimmy Briand, who was recently called up to the France squad, and Olivier Sorlin added another year to their respective deals to keep them at the Route de Lorient until 2010.
Highly rated winger Sylvain Marveaux was the 4th player to prolong his stay at the Brittany club, adding a further 2 years to his contract to tie him there until 2011.
Coach Pierre Dreossi informed club website staderennais.fr, "We are very happy with these extensions. Rennes are demonstrating once again their stability and seriousness. Our players are very happy at Rennes and they have shown that by displaying their wish to remain and make progress at Rennes."
Meanwhile, youngsters Kevin Bru and Guillaume Borne sign their 1st professional contracts, tying them to the club until 2011 and 2010 respectively.
30 June 2007
Toulouse sign Swedish defender Jon Jonsson from Elfsborg, the French club's coach Elie Baup mentioned Friday.
The 23 year old's signature is the 3rd of the close season for Toulouse, who will play in the UEFA Champions League next season having finished 3rd in the French league.
Already joined are goalie Rudy Riou from Istres and forward Andre-Pierre Gignac from Lorient.
30 June 2007
Algeria midfielder Karim Ziani has joined French side Olympique Marseille from Ligue 1 rivals Sochaux.
The 24 year old signed a 4 year deal after the Champions League contenders parted with US$ 11 million.
Ziani joined Sochaux a year ago after being voted Ligue 2 Players' Player of the Year for his contribution to Lorient's promotion to the top flight.
He made 36 league appearances last season and scored 8 goals.
The Algerian was a member of the Sochaux side that defeated Marseille in the French Cup final to earn a place in the Uefa Cup.
Ziani expects to be a key player for Marseille, who qualified for the group stage of the Champions League following a 4 year absence.
28 June 2007
Andre-Pierre Gignac has infuriated Lille by spurning the French football club only 4 days after signing for them and instead joining Ligue 1 rivals Toulouse who had offered the forward a better salary.
The then Lorient forward 1st signed for Lille Thursday before changing his mind Monday and signing for Toulouse.
Toulouse mentioned in a statement the contract Gignac had signed for them was definitely valid. Lille, however, were furious.
'We have an agreement and a written document,' Lille president Michel Seydoux informed a news conference.
'I am not telling you exactly what happened because the relevant committees were informed', he added, meaning he has taken the matter to the French Professional Football League (LFP), which were to meet Wednesday to talk about the incident.
Seydoux mentioned he had taken Gignac was now a Toulouse player however expects the LFP to prevent that sort of incident from happening again.
'I am not going to fight against players who do not want to come to Lille however this sort of situation does certainly not serve the image of French football,' he said.
