Here’s a round up of the U22 performances in this weekend of Ligue 1 action.

Marseille 2-2 Toulouse
For OM, Ben Arfa (5) came in at halftime and was the impact player Gerets hoped he’d be. No idea why he’s marked so low, because he was the reason for OM’s comeback.
For Toulouse, Sissoko (5) was impressive physically. He really is tough to contain.

St Etienne 0-0 Nancy
Audreu (5) played a solid game, on both sides on the field. Benalouane (6) was once again very solid. My favourite brains (or not) Kévin Mirallas (5) had a decent game, but played out of position as usual. Payet (6) had a good game with a goal that was wrongly ruled offside.
For Nancy, N’Diaye (5) once again made his physical side do the talking. Dia (6) once again was very active without any end result.

Valenciennes 2-0 Lyon
Mounier (4) didn’t create anything worth noting and Benzema (5) spent more time whining about his teammates than trying to get a decent ball.

Caen 3-1 Le Mans
Gervinho (3) sucked ONCE again, and in a big game to boot. Frustrating. Lamah (5) was decent, but didn’t make the good choices. Goulon (5) was half-decent, with good physical impact, but low awareness in offensive plays.

Lorient 3-1 Lille
Ayew (4) managed to shoot the crossbar on his only opportunity. Gameiro (6) didn’t score but you could see in this game how a forward can contribute for his team even if he isn’t on the scoresheet. This guy is really a good player.
Hazard (5) played in a weird position, alone up front. And he still managed to do well, as he almost scored (nice save from Cappone).

Grenoble 0-0 Nice
Paillot (6) had another very good game, extremely solid on his position, he doesn’t back down from any contact. He was once again easily the best Lyon player this week. Except he’s playing for Grenoble for another 3 weeks.
Ospina (6) made a couple of huge saves and was thus IMO the man of the match. Rémy (5) tried a lot without much success. But as I’ve said lately, I’ve liked his mindset since his NT callup.

Monaco 0-1 Auxerre
Nkoulou (5) had a very solid game. I like when his mind set is agressive enough. Mollo left early with an injury and Gakpe (4) moved a lot without making any impact.

PSG 0-1 Rennes
Sakho (4) was obviously disappointed with his deflection on the only goal of the game. His game was still above average.
For Rennes, Lemoine (7) was very active defensively, but he always slows things down offensively, and I’m fed up with that.

Nantes 1-2 Le Havre
Placide (6) was excellent and made a couple of nice saves, especially on Da Rocha’s shot. Kana-Biyik was struggling until he injured himself.

Bordeaux 2-0 Sochaux
Sertic (7) made his second consecutive start in less than a week, and he manages a splendid shot for the opener. Franky, he didn’t do much after that, but his efforts all along the game, his constant running, allows him to be our player of the week.
For Sochaux, Boudebouz (6) was the most dangerous player for his team, always a threat with the ball and he also hit the crossbar cleanly with a nice header. Erding (6) is always dangerous and he’s proving it week after week. With more support, he could score 15+.

Top 3
1- Sertic : nice start to his pro career.
2- Placide : goalie of the future for Le Havre most likely
3- Ben Arfa : really lifted his team.

Flop 3
1- Gervinho : same old, same old.
2- Benzema : stop whining like your hero Henry.
3- Mirallas : just because he’s my favourite target.

Highlights :

Sertic’s goal :

Here’s a round up of the U22 performances in this weekend of Ligue 1 action.

Nancy 0-2 Lyon
N’Diaye (5) made some clear mistakes, that’s to be expected from someone this young playing a defensive role. He played in midfield once again, where I like him less than as CB. His lack of speed cost him a yellow card (that could have been more in a more advanced position).
Mounier (5) was solid but didn’t have the opportunity to showcase his speed. Benzema came in late and scored the clinching goal on a counter attack. Also of note the exceptionnal match of Lloris who saved a penalty. Lack of communication with Boumsong late in the game though.

Grenoble 0-0 PSG
Not sure why media and Grenoble are whining about the Sakho handball. The ref saw it and decided it was not intentional. Tough decision sure, but you have to remember that Giuly scored in the first half after Hoarau was WRONGLY signaled offisde. Somehow, the slow brains of our journalists can’t remember it. Anyway, a deserved draw here, with Sakho (6) showing once again plenty of authority. For Grenoble, Feghouli (6) played well and had the toughest shot of the game for Landreau. As with Grandin (5), I would like him to weigh more on games, to take control of some offensive plays. These two guys have the ability to do so. They either don’t trust themselves, or aren’t trusted by their teammates.

Nice 0-1 Rennes
Ospina (6) made a great save in the first half and was solid overall. Couldn’t do much on the goal. Rémy (6) was dangerous. He has to be more accurate in his runnings with the ball. Traoré (4) was horrible. The guy has just scored two lucky goals in two games, so obviously he was to get a start here, but frankly, he didn’t show much.
Lemoine (6) had another tough game I thought. He’s really down right now.

Toulouse 0-0 Valenciennes
Capoue (6) was rock solid. I would like him to be more involved in possession attacks. He has the technical ability to do so.

Lorient 1-2 Sochaux
Ayew (4) was bad once again and didn’t create much. He tried too much on his own to no avail. Gameiro (7) scored on a GREAT solo effort. He seems to be back to his pre-Xmas level and that’s bad news for the rest of L1.
Boudebouz (6) wasn’t really impressive until that GREAT pass for the winning goal. Marvin Martin (6) was once again impressive. I really like this guy’s game. Poised, calm, mature. Nice upside too. Erding (6) scored in his only real opportunity in the dying seconds of extra time. That’s what killer scorers do. And he sure is one.

Le Havre 1-2 Auxerre
Sambou (3) was THE key mistake after 50 seconds. That was really bad.
For Auxerre, Narry (6) was very active. A nice solid player.

Nantes 1-1 Caen
N’Dy (5) was OK for his first start, if you forget about the first goal. Same for Das Neves (5). Vainqueur (4) was disappointing. He seemed to play like a junior (which he is) contrary to his previous games.

Marseille 0-0 Le Mans
Corchia (4) suffered against Zenden and showed his limits as of now. Lamah (5) was uneffective but to me the most dangerous Le Mans player.

St Etienne 1-1 Bordeaux
Benalouane (5) made some bad mistakes and some key saves. So mixed results really. Matuidi (7) was Man of the Match after he scored that bomb from outside the area. That didn’t overshadow the rest of his dominant performance. Payet (5) was disappointing, not capable of creating danger.

Lille 2-1 Monaco
Mollo (4) seemed cocky and over-confident and that means an awful performance. Just because he’s scored his first goal the other day doesn’t mean he’s arrived. I still don’t like this guy’s behaviour sometimes.
Pino didn’t show much before leaving injured.

Top 3
1- Matudi : all around dominant performance and WHAT A GOAL!
2- Gameiro : hmmm… all around dominant performance and WHAT A GOAL!
3- Erding : hmmm, nah far from a dominant performance, but winning goal at the 93rd? Pretty good.

Flop 3
1- Sambou : OUCH! Bad mistake in the first minute and goal against.
2- Mollo : too cocky right now.
3- Vainqueur : come on, he can do much better.

Highlights

Matuidi’s rocket :

Benzema’s clinical finish :

Here’s a round up of the U22 performances in this weekend of Ligue 1 action.

Nantes 1-4 PSG
For Nantes, Vainqueur had to be subed early but was the best player for his team in his time on the pitch. I really like his combination of hard work and natural talent. Djordjevic (3) was invisible.
For PSG, Sakho (7) is still turning into a monster.

Toulouse 2-0 Le Mans
Sissoko (7) finished with one goal, one assist, and a big game on both ends of the pitch. Job well done.
Gervinho (2) continued to disappoint.

Lille 3-2 Sochaux
Hazard (6) finally had another start and was dangerous all the time. He also scored the winning goal on a nice placed shot after a dribble. With his outings being that good all the time, he’s bound to start some more.
For Sochaux, Erding (6) was very good I thought and had a key role in both his team’s goals. Boudebouz (6) had a solid game, very focused on the defense and still dangerous on his crosses.

Le Havre 1-0 Rennes
Lemoine (3) was underwhelming in this game. He made bad choices, but was his usual solid safe when not in position.

St Etienne 3-2 Caen
Benalouane (5) had a tough first hald but a very strong second half. Blaise Matuidi (5) followed the same path. Mirallas (5) was very good but made some bad choices in the last play. Payet played less than 30 minutes but earned a nice assist.

Lorient 1-1 Monaco
Obertan (3) was sick before the game and was weak on every possession. Gameiro (4) missed the only opportunity he had. He’s not in good form since the break.
For Monaco, Mollo (6) scored his first goal after a nice solo run on the left side. Pino (5) was dangerous in the first half. He’s really coming into his own lately.

Nancy 0-2 Auxerre
Dia (6) played as he usually does : lots of running, some impressive speed, but no end product.
For Auxerre, Narry (6) played a physical game and had a nice powerful shot close to the goal.

Marseille 1-0 Bordeaux
No U22 prospect started there.

Nice 1-3 Lyon
Ospina (6) got scored on 3 times and can be faulted on the third a little, but he was spectacular the rest of the time. He even stopped a penalty. Rémy (4) played alone up front and was invisible.
For Lyon, Benzema (7) finished with a goal and assist. He did miss a penalty but was dangerous all the time.

Grenoble 0-0 Valenciennes
Grandin (4) was IMO the most dangerous Grenoble player, but missed the last play. He still tries to do too much by himself. Feghouli (4) missed basically everything he tried. Paillot (5) ruled the air and was solid on the ground. Good game for him.

Top 3
1- Sissoko : all around great game, and one goal, one assist on the board.
2- Sakho : Strong like a bull.
3- Benzema : good game, goal, assist. Too bad he missed that penalty. Hazard and Mollo deserve some props as well. Heck, Ospina and Erding also had great games.

Flop 3
1- Gervinho : right now, he should be benched.
2- Djordjevic : can someone tell me if he even touched a ball?
3- Rémy : he may have been alone up front, but he didn’t have Obertan’s excuse (sickness) to be that weak on the ball.

Highlights

Sissoko’s goal :

Mollo’s goal :

Hazard’s winning goal :

Benzema’s goal :

L’Equipe’s rating between ().

Lorient 1-2 Rennes
Gameiro (5) was not at his best tonight against a physical Rennes team.
Lemoine (6) did a good job and for once, I have to give credit to Sow, who I’m not a fan of. He finished with a goal and an assist, which proved key.

Caen 0-1 Lyon
Benzema (7) came through with a rocket that gave his team 3 points. Lloris (6) was very good I thought.

Toulouse 2-2 Nice
Sissoko (6) had a solid outing, better than his previous ones, and Capoue (5) was OK, even better than he usually is with the long balls.
For Nice, Ospina (7) made some miracles again, and Modeste (5) scored a nice counter attack goal.

Lille 3-1 Le Havre
Emerson (5) had an average game, with less offensive impact than usual. Cabaye (8) was monstruous and scored a key goal, though some would say he should have been re-carded before the goal. Hazard came in late and had a few nice plays.

St Etienne 2-0 Auxerre
Machado (6) scored a nice goal after a rebound off the wall after a FK. Benalouane (6) lead a fantastic rush that resulted in Gomis’ goal and IMO deserved a better rating. Mirallas (5) was OK but made poor choices. Young LB Andreu (6) had to be subed due to injury.
For Auxerre, Riou (6) couldn’t do anything on both goals. Narry didn’t last 45 minutes.

Grenoble 2-1 Le Mans
Feghouli (4) had yet another weak game. Paillot (7) on the other hand showed his stuff defensively and scored a goal to boot.
For Le Mans Dossevi (3), Gervinho (4) and Bouhours (4) were extremely weak. Maiga (5) scored a goal and that’s it, while Coutadeur and Louvion (both 6) were OK.

Nantes 1-1 Sochaux
Djordjevic (4) came on at the 29th but didn’t show much.
For Sochaux, Jokic (6) had a good game against Bagayoko. Carlao (6) was very solid as usual, and the tandem of Privat (5) and Erding (6) was OK, with Erding scoring after some awful defending.

PSG 2-2 Valenciennes
Carlos Sanchez (3) has arguably his weakest game in L1. He was even subed at halftime.

Monaco 3-4 Bordeaux
Pino (7) started the game perfectly and has a goal and an assist. Mollo (5) frustrated me once again, Nkoulou (4) and Mongongu (5) didn’t win their battles, while Ruffier (5) finished with 4 goals against.
For Bordeaux, Gourcuff (6) was as he’s been the last few weeks, common. Traoré (2) was awful and was benched at half time.

Marseille 0-3 Nancy
Ben Arfa (2) was supposed to be on the pitch yesterday. Really?
For Nancy, Dia (7) scored a goal after some comical defending.

Top 3 :
1- Benzema : difference between a boring 0-0 draw and 3 points in an away game? Benzegoal!
2- Cabaye : huge game again.
3- Pino : great game for the technical columbian.

Flop 3 :
1- Ben Arfa : come on, now, that’s awful.
2- Sanchez : a fantastic performance last week followed by an awul one this week.
3- Gervinho : this is the type of game where he’s supposed to take over. He didn’t.

Highlights :

Sow’s assist and goal :

Benzema’s screamer :

Modeste’s goal (1st one) :
not yet

Cabaye’s goal :

Machado’s goal and Benalouane’s run that turned into Gomis’ goal :

Paillot’s goal :

Erding’s goal :

Pino’s goal :

Dia’s goal :
not yet

(L’Equipe’s mark) after each player’s name.

Rennes 0-0 Nantes
Sow (4) sucked, as usual, and Lemoine (5) was average.

Le Mans 1-3 Bordeaux
Bouhours (3), Maiga and Coutadeur (5) and Gervinho (3) had a tough game, but surprisingly, L’ Equipe rated Dossevi (6) highly even though he made absolutely no good choice the whole game. Big fat no for me.
For Bordeaux, Gourcuff (5) has officially hit the wall and Abdou Traoré (6), who was talked about recently on this blog, managed to have a good game. Lack of precision in the last pass though.

Auxerre 1-2 PSG
Riou (5) couldn’t do much on both goals, though he could have closed the angle better on the second one. Quercia (5) was awful, as he’s been for a while and Narry (6) was arguably Auxerre’s best player again.

Nancy 2-0 Grenoble
Dia (7) actually scored again ! He also had a good game.

Toulouse 3-1 St Etienne
Sissoko (6) had a very good game IMO.
I think it’s time I paid more attention to new comer Machado (6) since I hadn’t realized he was eligible to my list. The little midfielder scored a beautiful free kick and had a good game. Matuidi (5) had another game out of position. Payet (3) was inexistant.

Sochaux 2-2 Caen
Another guy I didn’t pay much attention to was Sloan Privat. Well his two goal including a highlight-reel bicycle kick reminded me I shouldn’t have overlooked him. Erding, Martin and Boudebouz (all 5) had game to forget.

Valenciennes 3-1 Monaco
I did say before the game I liked that Carlos Sanchez (7) more and more but boy, what a goal !!!
For Monaco, Pino’s (6) fine technique was impressive on his goal. Pokrivac (4) was once again awful. Ruffier (5) couldn’t do much on any VA goal and saved his team a few times. He was much better than his mark indicates.

Lyon 0-0 Marseille
Lloris (6) had one big save to make and he did. Ederson (5) was tackled hard all game and is injured for a while. Benzema (5) didn’t have any impact.
For OM, Ben Arfa (4) tried to do too much but was also well defended.

Nice 0-1 Lille
Ospina (8) was exceptionnal again for Nice. This guy has a bright future.
Cabaye (6) was great really, more than his mark indicates.

Le Havre 1-3 Lorient
Nestor came on at the 38th and suffered against Gameiro (7) and Vahirua.
Gameiro was exceptionnal once again and earned yet another goal. Another game winner by the way.

Top 3
1- Ospina : without him, Nice loses 4-0.
2- Gameiro : his speed and cool finish are deadly.
3- Tie between Sanchez and Privat : WHAT A GOAL !

Flop 3
1- Payet : physical games are really not for him.
2- Gervinho : come on, we expect better !
3- Pokrivac : another poor performance when a game is fast paced and physical.

Highlights :

Machado wonderful free kick :

Dia’s goal (2nd one) :

Pino’s goal (1st one) and Sanchez’s goal (2nd one) :

Privat’s wonder goal (his first was just a tap in) :

Gameiro’s goal :
Not yet.

Caen 1-1 Rennes
Toudic (6) had a good game I thought, while Lemoine (5) made a costly mistake that turned into a goal. Kembo (5) had a solid game at LW.

Nantes 2-1 Lyon
Lloris (5) had a solid game but couldn’t do anything on both goals. Gassama (4) had a solid game, better than his mark shows IMO, and the penalty whistled against him is pure comedy. Djordjevic was injured after 15 minutes.

St Etienne 2-0 Le Havre
As I expected, Les Verts won clearly. Matuidi (5) had to play MB though and did all right, but the big story was Mirallas and Payet coming on as subs and cracking the game open. Mirallas had two assists and Payet had the first goal.
Nestor (4) had a solid game, but both goals came from his side, and that doesn’t spell good game.

Lille 1-1 Toulouse
Hazard came on too late to impact the game, and that’s a shame because his ability to break a defense with one dribble would have been useful. Cabaye (6) was impressive.
For Toulouse, M’Bengue (6) was OK and Capoue (6) did what he does best : play tough football.

Monaco 1-1 Sochaux
Pokrivac (5) had an awful game and Thuram was solid (6) though he could have done something on Santos’ goal.
Erding was subpar for Sochaux, while Carlao (5) was very useful both sides of the pitch. Much better than his mark indicates IMO. Jokic (5) was all right.

PSG 3-1 Le Mans
Bouhours (4) had a good game going forward, bringing danger a few times. He did suffer defensively, but who doesn’t when you face Sessegnon? Maïga (5) was OK, while Dossev (5) made bad choices, and Coutadeur (4) and Gervinho (5) had under-average games for their standards.

Lorient 1-0 Nancy
Gameiro (7) had yet another good game and yet another goal.

Grenoble 0-0 Auxerre
Riou (5) didn’t have too much to do. Narry (5) had a solid game, as usual. Quercia (4) still made bad choices.

Top 3
1- Kévin Gameiro : another game winning goal and a nice game all around
2- Kévin Mirallas : two assists after coming on the pitch? Not too shabby.
3- Dimitri Payet : finally a decisive play for him.

Flop 3
1- Lemoine : partly responsible for his team dropping two points
2- Quercia : please leave him on the bench!
3- Nestor : abused by Mirallas twice, finally score 2-0… hmmm, not good….

Highlights

Gameiro’s goal :

Payet’s goal (first) and both Mirallas’ assists :

Sochaux 0-0 Bordeaux
Erding (5) had some nice moves to get free of the tight Bordeaux defense, but he didn’t do well with the ball in his feet. Carlao (4) did OK I thought. Jokic (4) on the other hand I thought was not good at all.
For Bordeaux, Obertan (4) was making poor choices every time he touched the ball.

Lyon 0-0 VA
Lloris (6) was fantastic and he was surprisingly busy. Ederson (6) was OK, but not much could be done on that field.
Sanchez (5) had IMO another very good showing, much better than his mark gives him credit for.

Le Havre 0-2 Nantes
Faty (4) had a solid game. Filip Djordjevic (6, U21 Serbian player) had a good game, scoring his first L1 goal.
Nestor didn’t play after all.

Auxerre 0-1 Monaco
Lol, let’s just say that I didn’t think a fast-paced game would be good for Pokrivac (5), but he scored a great goal to prove me wrong. He didn’t have a great game so I wasn’t completely wrong, but he did the most important. Lilian Thuram’s little cousin, Yohann (6), replace Roma in nets and was very impressive.
For Auxerre, Rémy Riou (5) had a good game, Narry (7) was impressive again, Langil (5) created danger and Quercia (5) was invisible.

Lille 1-1 Lorient
Cabaye (5) had a very average game.
For Lorient, Gameiro (6) did much better than I expected, and his quickness was a key to his team’s point.

Le Mans 2-0 Caen
Gervinho (6) scored a goal and had several chances he managed to miss. Maiga (7) was the best player on the pitch and scored a nice blast. Coutadeur (6) had a solid game and was key in several attacking plays. Bouhours (6) and Dossevi (6) both had solid games, though I felt Dossevi tried to do too much as times. Bouhours was very good I thought defensively. He’s developping really well.
Toudic (4) didn’t have any impact.

Rennes 1-0 PSG
Lemoine (7) was impressive once again. He’s winning me over. Sow (5) sucked. Like most times.

Toulouse 0-0 OM
M’Bengue (5) suffered big time. E. Capoue (6) once again impacted the game with his physical presence. Sissoko (5) played out of position and did well…. defensively.
Ben Arfa (3) missed everything he tried.

Nancy 1-2 St Etienne
Dia (6) had a good game and scored a nice goal.
Benalouane (6) made one mistake and otherwise had a very good game I thought.

Top 3 :
1- Maiga : key goal, good overall game.
2- Lemoine : was everywhere.
3- Lloris : key saves.

Flop 3 :
1- Ben Arfa : after seeing him dominate Liverpool this mid-week, he was dominated by Toulouse’s players. Something’s not right here.
2- Obertan : sure the pitch was not made for technical players, but he shouldn’t have created something.
3- Sow : how he manages to be the worst man on the pitch with this much consistency is impressive.

Highlights :

Maiga’s goal (1st one) and Gervinho’s goal (2nd one) :

Djordjevic’s goal (1st one) :

Pokrivac’s goal :

No highlight yet for Dia’s goal.

He continued to play a few minutes here and there, and against PSG in Coupe de La Ligue action, he was impressive once again.

Here’s a video piece of every time he touched the ball against PSG.

His first L1 goal against Auxerre :