Ligue 1 week ending 19th September 2010

Saint-Etienne ponder the meaning of life at the top of Ligue 1 by Chris Stanley

‘Forty-two’ was the phrase ringing around the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Saturday night as Saint-Etienne achieved what even last season was impossible, not just improbable, when they leapfrogged Toulouse into first place in Ligue 1.

That number, for the uninitiated, is what Douglas Adams proposed is the true meaning of life in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but for several years now has also been acknowledged as the safety point in the French top-flight, and it’s a measure of how much ASSE’s stellar start has taken them by surprise that the first thing head coach Christophe Galtier talked about after their 3-0 romp against Montpellier was the 13 points they had achieved in pursuit of that more usual target.

Not that Saint-Etienne didn’t deserve the three points or the plaudits. Their victory was masterminded by Dmitri Payet, current top scorer in the French First and one of those players who was once the next big thing until he, well, deflated. Not so this season, and he proved it after 20 minutes, cutting through the Montpellier defence like a diamond-coated cheese wire and rifling home. Emmanuel Riviere, who should have scored with a header early on, made amends when he finally nodded a delicious cross past Geoffrey Jourdren eleven minutes later. Payet put the gloss on the victory with a stunning free-kick after 66 minutes. Montpellier left with nothing, particularly their record of not conceding any goals away from home this season.

You can hardly blame Saint-Etienne and their coach for their caution. All over Europe this week we have seen how quickly fortunes can change, and that was about as clear as it could get at the Stade Chaban-Delmas where Bordeaux welcomed Lyon. Fresh from a dogged point in Monaco and a somewhat fortunate opening to their Champions League campaign, Lyon looked forward to piling on the misery on Jean Tigana’s stuttering side. With old Girondin Yoann Gourcuff fully fit, the signs looked good.

But this is post-Noughties Lyon, stripped of the legends of the glory days. Yes, there are players like Bastos and Toulalan present, but they’re not Essien, Benzema and Fred. Gourcuff pulled the first half strings but Lyon contrived to spurn all of their decent chances. This was exploited by a manic Bordeaux, who went one-up after an hour via the back of Dejan Lovren’s head, although Alou Diarra claimed the goal. In a pulsating half, Lyon chucked on Bafetimbi Gomis, who missed one chance and saw a certain equaliser smack the Bordeaux bar before Jussie sealed the points for a relieved Tigana, which punted his under-achievers up to 13^th.

But the game of the weekend was situated close to the Swiss border, as Sochaux held their own Goal of the Season competition with Nice being the unfortunate stooges. Les Lionceaux are threatening to be a real force this season, and with a vibrant and inventive attack it’s not difficult to see why. Ideye Brown’s soft shoe-shuffle and toe-bunt combination was a goal fit to win any match, but in the second half the talent floodgates opened and Sochaux took advantage. Ryad Boudebouz bought the spirit of Van Basten to the party as he arrowed a perfect volley into the Nice net, but it was Marvin Martin who took the honours as he showed two opponents how pretty the ball looked before dinking it over David Ospina from outside the box. Maiga’s closer a minute from time merely seemed sarcastic.

While the lads from the Peugeot garage were filling their boots in the shadow of the Jura mountains, Marseille had their own derby to contend with against Arles-Avignon. Incredibly, this was the first league derby between the two neighbours, and after it finished it was obvious why that was. Arles-Avignon, having suspended their luckless coach Michel Estevan for five days in midweek, started the game much the better but failed to take advantage, thanks in part to a storming game from L’OM keeper Steve Mandanda. Benoit Cheyrou punished them when his innocuous-looking free-kick floated harmlessly past Vincent Plante with Gabriel Heinze making a nuisance of himself. The newcomers counted themselves a tad unlucky for the second – the ball was put into the path of Gignac, who was onside, but he laid it back cheekily to Andre Ayew, who wasn’t, and who tapped his team into a 2-0 half-time lead.

Ayew, who starred for Ghana in the summer, spent last season on loan at Arles and it was his talent which played a part in getting them promotion. It might add to their relegation this season, especially if combined with the Keystone Kops defending which completed his brace. Under no pressure, the ball was played by Arles to Mathieu Valbuena in their own box, who found Gignac. His weak shot was parried into the path of Ayew, who made sure. Six losses on the bounce for Arles.

Auxerre’s miserable midweek form continued as they went down to a late Moussa Sow header away at Lille. They weren’t the only team to suffer a last-gasp goal – Valenciennes dropped two points by allowing Lens to equalise in injury time. Caen are still defying the critics thanks to a 1-0 squeaker away at Lorient, and Brest dominated Nancy, coming away with a very impressive 2-0 win.

What of the former leaders? Well, Toulouse and Monaco fought out a drab 0-0 in the principality. That would be it were it not for the hype surrounding Enzo Zidane, the Real Madrid-schooled son of Zinedine. Is he French, or Spanish? They don’t care f he’s any good, naturally. But this week it all seemed to fit. The son of a national legend all over the television, Sochaux turning back the clock to the 30’s when they last won a title, and Saint-Etienne at the top for the first time in three decades. The answer to the meaning of life is clear – France needs to look to its past to figure out the future.