Surprising Wins in Ligue 1: Lorient, Metz, Stade de Reims Shine; Olympique Lyonnais Gets First Point

Surprising Wins in Ligue 1: Lorient, Metz, Stade de Reims Shine; Olympique Lyonnais Gets First Point

Surprising Wins in Ligue 1(Image-Getty)

In a surprising turn of events, less-favored teams - Lorient, Metz, and Stade de Reims - emerged victorious in Ligue 1 on Sunday, while Olympique Lyonnais finally claimed their first point in the new French league season with a hard-fought 0-0 draw against Nice.

Olympique Lyonnais, led by former France manager Laurent Blanc, had suffered defeats in their initial two matches. However, they managed to salvage a tough and tumultuous deadlock, marking their entrance into the points tally.

The match between Olympique Lyonnais and Nice displayed a rather average performance, failing to showcase a significant improvement in Lyon's form. Nevertheless, escaping a third consecutive loss brought a sense of relief.

Lorient showcased an impressive feat by swiftly racing into a 2-0 lead and ultimately overpowering Lille with a commanding 4-1 victory - their first win this season.

Captain Laurent Abergel capitalized on an errant pass from Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, securing the opening goal. The lead was swiftly doubled as Julien Ponceau executed a magnificent strike into the net's roof within 90 seconds. Although Jonathan David managed to pull one back for Lille early in the second half, Romain Faivre reinstated Lorient's two-goal advantage with a deft chip over the goalkeeper. Vincent Le Goff sealed the deal with a fourth goal shortly thereafter.

Reims' latest acquisition, Teddy Teuma, shone with two exceptional goals - a direct free-kick and a powerful half-volley - propelling his team to a 3-1 triumph over Montpellier on away turf. This victory marked Reims' second consecutive win, elevating them to the third spot with six points, trailing behind early leaders Monaco and Olympique de Marseille.

Racing Strasbourg, under the leadership of Patrick Vieira, secured their second successive home win by defeating Toulouse 2-0. The victory was earned with relative ease as they faced limited threats from their opponents. Striker Emanuel Emegha, recently signed from Sturm Graz in Austria, claimed his debut Ligue 1 goal with a well-executed header in the 51st minute. Jean-Ricner Bellegarde sealed the deal with a late second goal, propelling their points tally to six.

In a noteworthy upset, promoted Metz clinched a 1-0 victory against Clermont Foot, earning their first win of the season. Georges Mikautadze's goal relegated the hosts to the bottom of the standings. Clermont's dismal performance saw them suffer defeat in all three matches of this season.

In an earlier Sunday match, the other promoted club, Le Havre, demonstrated resilience by recovering from a 2-0 deficit against Stade Rennais to secure a 2-2 draw. Ludovic Blas and Christopher Wooh had initially given Rennes a comfortable lead, but Nabil Alioui's goal before halftime narrowed the gap. Alioui further impressed with a 70th-minute equalizer, shortly after his team was reduced to 10 men following Samuel Grandsir's dismissal.