Matchday 38 - Talk About a Crazy Finish

By: Sam | May 29th, 2007

That’s all, folks. Forget the fact that the first 37 weeks of the season were short of goals, that Lyon walked away with their sixth title whilst laughing in the face of suspense itself, that French clubs put forth a lukewarm effort in European leagues… The last day of Ligue 1 was something to behold. Here’s why:

Before the matches were played, this is how spots 3-6 looked like:

Lens, 57 points; Bordeaux, 57 points; Rennes 56 points; Toulouse, 55 points.

Lens were playing on the road at the relegated-already Troyes, Rennes was visiting Lille, who had nothing to hope for anymore, and Bordeaux and Toulouse were battling it out at the Stadium for what was going to be the deciding match.

After these, spots 3-6 looked like:
Toulouse, 58 points; Rennes, 57 points; Lens, 57 points; Bordeaux, 57 points.

Nifty, no?

Let’s have a look at what happened in the big one, Bordeaux and the dark horse Toulouse. Keeping a close eye on what was going on in the north of the country, it was Bordeaux who struck first and looked very much on course to bring their boring-ass footie to Europe’s big stage once again when Wendel took a powerful free kick from 25 yards out that went straight through Nico Douchez’s legs. This, coupled with the early goal Lens had just conceded to Troyes, looked like a sign that Ricardo’s men were on easy street. They weren’t, as you may know, for the Swede genius who goes by the name of Johan Elmander was in the building. A cross from Paulo Cesar found his diving head, which then found the back of the net. Then, a cross from Paulo Cesar found his diving head, which then found the back of the net. No that’s not a mistake, his two goals in the 37th and 51st minutes were nearly identical. The third came on 73 minutes, from who else but the very same man, Johan Elmander, who this time took a pass and slid it past Ramé to make it three. With no score at Lille, Toulouse were steadily in the Champions League.

But at what cost? Well, they made a few clubs very sad. None more sad than the surging Bretons, however, none other than Rennes. Playing Lille at the Stadium du Nord, they (get this) wanted to win. Pretty badly, in fact. In a lame first half that saw few chances, Rennes was fourth, with Lens down, Bordeaux down and Toulouse up. At the time where Elmander had scored his third, Rennes went crazy when John Utaka opened the scoring for them, after Bruno Cheyrou made an exemplary play to serve the Nigerian after an effort on goal, who impeccably smashed it up into the net. At that point, Rennes was safely in third. Well, safely. You know. Because on the last play of the game, Obraniak floated in a Lille free kick, on which the giant Nicolas Fauvergue got a floaty header himself, that serenely swooped over Pouplin for the equalizer. Look at highlights of the match, and I swear you will feel sorry for the players and the coaches after that goal. Painful. With that, Rennes was demoted to fourth place, synonymous of a UEFA Cup spot.

The other game, Lens and Troyes, was set to be a walk in the park for the Sang et Or, third place before the matches started. With nothing to play for, Troyes was still standing proud and fielding the best they had to offer, with names such as Le Crom, Nivet and Amzine. Nine minutes in, they were ahead, on a Gaël Danic header. When defender Ramos got a red midway through the first half, Lens were gripping their collars nervously. But hey, they figured, why do that when you can just give up? Two goals from Matuidi and Lachuer, two minutes apart, spelled the death of Lens’ Champions League hopes. But again, who needs that when you’ve got the Intertoto Cup?

Lyon, recently shocked by the stepping-down of their beloved coach Gérard Houllier, proved that they didn’t know no one by that name. Fittingly, two goals by Player of the Year Florent Malouda and one by revelation Karim Benzema carried the champs to a 3-1 win over Nantes at home, in front of their delighted fans. Read about this on the highly touted Lyon Offside.

Other scores: Monaco 2-0 Nancy; Nice 3-3 Le Mans; Marseille 1-0 Sedan; Lorient 0-1 PSG; Valenciennes 1-3 Auxerre; Sochaux 1-0 Saint-Étienne