Ligue 1 surprise package Brest are in a huge six-pointer on Sunday when they take on AS Monaco in a second-versus-third clash.
Les Pirates finished last season in 14th place, and at the start of this campaign, the Ligue 1 2024 betting odds would have predicted another tough season. Brest’s finest achievement in football was a Ligue 2 Winners Medal back in 1981, and the Brittany club has twice reached the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France.
In contrast, Monaco are giants of French football, with eight Ligue 1 triumphs and five Coupe de France wins, as well as winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1992. Just one point separates the two sides, and so anything other than a Monaco win will see Brest stay second, as fourth-placed Lille are three points further back.
Brest are managed by former Lyon, Nice, and Marseilles star Eric Roy in his first season as head coach after he spent much of the last decade as a sports pundit. The star man on the pitch is former Rennes winger Roman del Castillo, who has scored eight goals and made eight assists, scoring twice in a 4-3 loss to Lyon last week. Meanwhile, 21-year-old attacking midfielder Kamoury Doumbia is also impressing in his first season on loan from Reims. He has scored six goals and made four assists, and Brest fans would be happy to see Doumbia make a permanent move to the Stade Francis le Ble.
Experienced midfielder Pierre Lees Melou will sit this one out after he received his marching orders in the defeat to OL.
Monaco are going well, up in third place and on a good run of results with four wins and two draws, one a goalless stalemate against Paris Saint-Germain, from the last six games. Adi Hutter’s side is skippered by Wissam Ben Yedder, who has scored 11 goals and made one assist. With young USA striker Folarin Balogun on seven goals and three assists and Japan star Takumi Minamino on seven goals and five assists, this is a team with a fluid and dangerous attack.
Elsewhere, Lyon’s recovery from a bottom-three place has almost turned full circle now as Pierre Sage’s side has put in a spectacular set of Ligue 1 2024 results and climbed to seventh in the table and just two points behind Lens in the European places.
Lyon are away to Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday.
Mbappe upsets the Catalans
PSG’s second-leg Champions League tie against Barcelona turned out to be hugely controversial, as the referee sent off Barca centre-back Ronald Araujo with more than an hour to play at a time when the Catalans were cruising with a two-goal lead.
The red card mystified most people on the ground and infuriated Xavi and his Barcelona team.
Kylian Mbappe scored twice as the Ligue 1 side turned the tie on its head, and then the France skipper is reported to have upset his hosts, allegedly resulting in a 60-man scuffle in the players’ tunnel. Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo said Mbappe shouted, “This is football and it is on the pitch where we have to talk.”
And then it apparently kicked off!
Mbappe’s planned move to Real Madrid in the summer means he is an unpopular figure in Catalonia already, but while the Blaugrana weeps, PSG are still on course for a treble, including a first-ever Champions League. And the win over Barcelona means the Qatari-owned club has earned 120 million euros from its European success, which will certainly help matters in the post-Mbappe era.
Meanwhile, Barcelona face Real Madrid in El Clasico next up, and, here at SBOTOP, we’ll be right there on Sunday night with all the best highlights.
Martinez’s hot reception in Lille
There will be some grumpy faces in Northern France too, where Public Enemy Numero Un travelled to Lille on Thursday as Aston Villa prepared to protect a 2-1 Europa League quarterfinal lead. Argentina stopper Emiliano Martinez will be in the Villa nets, and he can expect plenty of stick from the Lille fans.
The World Cup-winning goalkeeper angered France supporters in 2022, firstly by starring in Argentina’s penalty shootout success against Les Bleus in the final and then by his overzealous and fairly disrespectful celebrations.
As the party continued back in Argentina, the goalie was seen holding a baby doll with Mbappe’s face on it. He had apparently been insulted by Mbappe’s suggestion that South American football was lagging behind Europe, and Martinez was making his point.
He loves winding up the opposition and has legendary status with both Argentina and Aston Villa, but Martinez’ club manager Unai Emery tried to take control of the situation before the Premier League team arrived in France, saying: “We have to be ready for the pressure from their supporters, and we have to manage our emotions. Martinez is very important to us and we will protect him.”
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