Friendly round-up: Nice cruise past OM as Rennes impress against Club Brugge
Thirteen friendly matches involving Ligue 1 McDonald’s clubs took place on Saturday 25 July, with all of the weekend’s top-flight action completed before a quiet Sunday.
The most eye-catching result came at the Robert Louis-Dreyfus training centre, where OGC Nice recorded a convincing 3-0 victory over Olympique de Marseille.
Brad-Hamilton Mantsounga opened the scoring after 20 minutes before Sofiane Diop doubled Les Aiglons’ advantage shortly before half-time. Young midfielder Aboulaye Camara completed the scoring in the 68th minute as Nice followed their opening 4-0 win over Nîmes Olympique with another clean sheet.
Stade Rennais also produced an encouraging performance against strong Belgian opposition at Roazhon Park. Estéban Lepaul continued his impressive start to pre-season by finding the net for the third successive match, before Issa Soumaré scored Rennes’ second in a 2-1 victory over Club Brugge.
Lepaul has now scored against Caen, Guingamp and Club Brugge during Rennes’ opening three friendlies, while Habib Beye’s side have responded to their opening defeat with consecutive victories.
RC Lens were held to a 2-2 draw by Charleroi despite twice responding strongly during an entertaining encounter in Avion. Parfait Guiagon put the Belgian side ahead from the penalty spot, but Abdallah Sima quickly equalised with a header from Florian Thauvin’s corner.
Thorgan Hazard then converted a penalty shortly after the restart to give Lens the lead, only for Lasse Nordås Romsaas to make it 2-2 seven minutes later.
Troyes make it three wins from three
Newly promoted ESTAC Troyes maintained their perfect preparation record with a commanding 3-0 win over Grenoble Foot 38.
Junior Koné struck twice inside the opening 26 minutes, either side of a goal from Rayan Ifnaoui, as Stéphane Dumont’s side settled the contest before the half-hour mark. Troyes have now defeated Nancy, Red Star and Grenoble in their first three summer outings.
Angers SCO also secured a second consecutive victory, overcoming Créteil-Lusitanos 2-1. Usman Simbakoli opened the scoring for the second match running before Créteil equalised through Yanis Ferhaoui. Marius Courcoul restored Angers’ advantage in the 73rd minute following an assist from Jim Allevinah.
FC Lorient continued their unbeaten start by defeating EA Guingamp 2-0 through goals from Bandiougou Fadiga and young midfielder Théo Bernardeau. Les Merlus have now won each of their first three friendlies, having previously beaten Concarneau and FC Nantes.
Le Havre AC came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory over Red Star. Aliou Badara Cissé gave the Ligue 2 side a first-half lead, but Fodé Doucouré equalised after the restart before Yanis Zouaoui struck the winner seven minutes from time.
Fellow promoted side Le Mans FC also enjoyed a successful afternoon, beating FC Nantes 1-0. William Harhouz scored the only goal in the 68th minute, while goalkeeper Ewan Hatfout helped Le Mans preserve their clean sheet.
LOSC Lille suffered their first defeat of pre-season against Union Saint-Gilloise. Louis Patris gave the Belgian side the lead before Lille youngster Saad Boussadia was sent off in the first half. Gaëtan Perrin equalised after the interval, following clever work from Olivier Giroud, but Besfort Zeneli scored the decisive goal for Union in the 74th minute.
AS Monaco were beaten 2-0 by Sporting CP in Lisbon. Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky kept Les Monégasques level during a difficult first half, but Rafael Nel and Jesse Derry struck after the break to give Sporting their second victory over Ligue 1 opposition in less than a week.
AJ Auxerre were also unable to build on their opening victory. Theo Bair gave Will Still’s side an early advantage against US Orléans, but late goals from Ange Bailly and Ribeiro turned the match around and earned the Ligue 3 club a 2-1 win.
Toulouse FC began the Jens Berthel Askou era with a 1-1 draw against Rodez AF in Montauban. Cristian Cásseres opened the scoring during a promising first-half display, before the Ligue 2 side responded after the interval.
RC Strasbourg Alsace, meanwhile, ended their training camp with a 2-0 defeat against Blackburn Rovers. Racing are still searching for their first goal and first victory of the summer after also losing their opening friendly against Sporting CP.
Saturday 25 July – results
Angers SCO 2-1 Créteil-Lusitanos
AJ Auxerre 1-2 US Orléans
RC Lens 2-2 Charleroi
LOSC Lille 1-2 Union Saint-Gilloise
Le Mans FC 1-0 FC Nantes
Le Havre AC 2-1 Red Star
Olympique de Marseille 0-3 OGC Nice
Sporting CP 2-0 AS Monaco
Stade Rennais 2-1 Club Brugge
RC Strasbourg Alsace 0-2 Blackburn Rovers
Toulouse FC 1-1 Rodez AF
ESTAC Troyes 3-0 Grenoble Foot 38
EA Guingamp 0-2 FC Lorient
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