Five games into the new season, and Lyon are top with five wins out of five. Business as usual? It certainly looks that way, particularly as there have already been three grands chocs between the members of the traditional top four, with the title holders having already beaten both Juvisy and PSG. The scoreline was the same in both matches (3 – 0), but while the home win over Juvisy in game two looked fairly routine, with goals from Lotta Schelin, Laetitia Tonazzi and Eugenie Le Sommer, the trip to Paris for game four was a tighter affair. It was goalless at half-time, with the home side making chances, but they couldn’t hold on, and after Louisa Necib opened the scoring, gaps started to appear and Schelin and Tonazzi took advantage.
PSG’s financial backing meant they got second spot last season and a Champions League run in this, but their hopes to challenge Lyon for the title have already had a setback, therefore. The damage was limited in the key match of round five, beating Montpellier 2-1 at Mosson in an increasingly bad-tempered encounter. The home side made chances through good attacking play but the Krahn-Georges axis in PSG’s central defence looked very impressive, cutting off almost all that Montpellier had to offer. The opening goal came from the wing, Marina Makanza powering up the left, and with Benameur saving the first shot, pouncing on the loose ball to finish firmly.
The home side were struggling with PSG’s speed, however – the visitors’ rapidity in closing down their opponents was causing trouble in the middle of the park, and their breaks were becoming more and more ominous. Homecoming queen Marie-Laure Delie levelled it just before half-time, and PSG started to turn the screw. Laetitia Philippe made some good saves from Tobin Heath and Kosovare Asllani, but as the second half progressed, one got the impression that Jean-Louis Saez was happy to hang on for the draw, as attackers Viviane Asseyi and Hoda Laalami-Lattaf were replaced with midfielders Marine Pervier and Claire Lavogez. PSG had also made a change, however, with Lindsey Horan coming on for Asllani.
The winning goal was contentious, but probably merited on the balance of play – with Jennifer Beattie down injured outside the area, the referee waved to play on, which left Montpellier facing an attack with one of their central defenders missing. Horan scored, Philippe was booked for protesting to the referee, and the official’s decision was made to look even worse as Beattie was taken straight off, limping badly, to be replaced by Kelly Gadea.
The final twenty minutes saw Montpellier desperately seeking the equaliser, but while Makanza pushed hard, there was little support behind the attackers, and the PSG defence were holding their lines, with Jessica Houara a constant threat on the break. The Parisiennes are third, therefore, level on points with Juvisy. Montpellier are fifth but have a game in hand after their opening fixture of the season was postponed due to MHSC being without a goalkeeper (Laetitia Philippe was suspended and Solene Durand a little busy off winning the U19 Euros in Wales) – that game against Saint-Etienne has been rescheduled for 10th November. Meanwhile, Guingamp are in fourth with two wins and two draws.
There was one mild surprise in round five as Lyon beat Arras by an unusually narrow scoreline, Arras being the first side to put two past the reigning champions since Montpellier in November 2012 (in a 6-2 loss, but still). With the Champions League kicking off midweek, OL were fielding something of a B-team, including Pauline Peyraud-Magnin in goal instead of Sarah Bouhaddi. Tonazzi had scored early, but when Peyraud-Magnin was sent off in the second half, Patrice Lair had already made all three changes, so rightback Corine Franco was called into action. Laurie Dacquigny equalised, but while Lara Dickenmann and Tonazzi made it 3-1 for the home team, Arras kept the tension going right to the end with a goal from Jennifer Bouchenna in the 90th minute.
MHSC 1 – 2 PSG
Juvisy 3 -1 Rodez
Lyon 3 – 2 Arras
Guingamp 1 – 0 Soyaux
Henin-Beaumont 3 – 0 Yzeure
Muret 0 – 4 Saint-Etienne
After that unsettling result for the OL, they will face Dutch champions Twente in the seiziemes of the Champions League. Their opponents feature five members of the Dutch national team who qualified for the 2013 Euros and pulled off a surprise 0-0 draw in their opening match against eventual winners Germany, before losing 1-0 to Norway and Iceland. This could however be a routine silly-nil encounter for Lyon, particularly as they did rest some key players this weekend. PSG couldn’t really afford to do that, and are also facing a much harder test as they will meet Swedish champions Tyreso, whose roster includes experienced Swedish internationals such as Caroline Seger, Sara Thunebro and Lisa Dahlqvist, representatives of the Spanish team that impressed at the 2013 Euros, Veronica Boquete and Jennifer Hermoso, and, well, Marta, five-time FIFA player of the year. Those games will be played this Wednesday, 9th October, at 7pm CEST: Twente v Lyon on Eurosport, Tyreso v PSG on Bein Sport 1.