Team Focus: Brittany Fears: Where the Ligue 1 Title Could be Won & Lost

It was a strange weekend over in Ligue 1. Over 48 hours only 22 goals were scored in ten games, and eight of those came in the epic 4-4 battle between Lyon and PSG. In Saturday’s 6 o’clock kick-offs only nine goals were scored. Of all ten games, only three of the sides playing away from home managed to find the back of the net and the matches showed the best and worst of Ligue 1 and that nothing is predictable in this league. Well almost nothing.

On Sunday both Lille and Marseille travelled to Brittany and in the end both sides would have been disappointed with their results, but when you look at the stats this season both sides really should have seen it coming. It seems that this season Brittany is the one place you don’t want to go in Ligue 1 wanting a victory. Stade Brestois, Stade Rennais and FC Lorient have collectively played 37 home games and only four times has the away side come away with all three points.

Lorient were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Lyon back in December, then in the last weekend in January both Brest and Rennes tasted defeat for the first time to PSG and Marseille respectively. Rennes were very unlucky; after taking the lead against Marseille it took an own goal from Onyekachi Apam to get the away side back into the game and then Benoit Cheyrou won it late on for the away side. On the same weekend Brest went behind to an early Milan Bisevac goal, and after that PSG struggled and the hosts showed why they have one of the best defences in the league.

This weekend, the Breton sides again showed they are a formidable force when put up against two of Ligue 1’s best sides. In the afternoon kick-off Marseille were helpless against a heroic performance from Brest goalkeeper Steeve Elana. The away side enjoyed 22 shots at goal, including five on target, but Elana was a match to all of them. In the end he was rewarded with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.8 and only beaten to man of the match by goal scorer Paul Baysse.

Marseille’s current run was interrupted last week with the 1-1 draw against Valenciennes but this defeat comes as a serious dent in their Champions League ambitions. Pre-game the odds favoured Marseille to pick up the win, but gamblers should have been a little more cautious. Marseille have travelled to the Stade Francis le Blé eight times in the last 32 years and including this weekend they haven’t picked up a single victory. Who can forget Brest’s 7-2 win over Marseille back in 1980?

Although they have struggled to pick up wins, Brest have only conceded 12 home goals this season, that’s an average of less than one a game and as good a record as PSG have enjoyed at the Parc des Princes. With only one defeat as hosts this season, it is the seven home draws that see them sitting 11th in the table. With 14 draws overall they have a good chance of breaking the record for draws in one season, which currently stands at 20.

In the Brest back four; credit has to go to the rejuvenated Jonathan Zebina. The 33-year old defender made the move to Ligue 1 this summer and once he settled in his performances have been superb. He leads all Brest players with an average of seven clearances a game, and on average fouls less than 1.3 times each game. He is the perfect model of professionalism to help bring through fellow defenders Paul Baysse and Johan Martial.

On the same night, after Brest’s home win over Marseille, title contenders Lille travelled to the Stade de la Route de Lorient and faced a tricky tie against Rennes. For 38 minutes the game was all Rennes. The home side had Lille pinned back into their own half and Rudi Garcia’s side struggled to get the ball out of their own half. It looked very likely it would be another win for the Breton side. Then disaster struck and in a quick two minute turn-around Rennes were reduce to 10-men and 1-0 down.

This is where the strength of the Breton sides shines through. Playing against the 11 men of Lille it looked like it would be a second home loss for Frederic Antonetti’s men, but through the constant berating of his players Rennes never gave up and were given their just reward. Deep into injury time Jean Armel Kana-Biyik raided forward from his position at centre-back, played in a high deep cross to the back post and new signing Mevlut Erding was on hand to provide the excellent finish. Rennes had avoided defeat, kept their home record intact and kept themselves in the race for the third Champions League place.

This weekend Rennes take the 150km trip towards the coast to take on fellow Breton side FC Lorient. Amazingly in 12 homes game Les Merlus have only conceded 6 goals, and unfortunately all the stats lead towards a low scoring draw. At home Christian Gourcuff’s side have only scored 17 goals, and Rennes only have 18 when playing away from home. Lorient have made the Stade Le Moustoir into their fortress. In the last 40 home games they have only tasted defeat six times. Fellow strugglers Sochaux and Caen have already lost that amount of home games this season.

If Rennes are to succeed where others have failed this season they will have to get past the man mountain that is Bruno Ecuele-Manga. There is no doubt Lorient missed the Gabon centre-back during the recent African Cup of Nations. This season his stats are very impressive with an overall rating of 6.81 backed up by 9.9 clearances a game, 2.1 tackles, 1.9 interceptions and incredibly only 0.8 fouls a game. He is a crucial part of the Lorient back line, and though other defenders have suffered from suspensions and injuries, when they have “Ecuele” protecting the goal they very rarely concede.

League leaders Montpellier still have to travel to Rennes and Lorient. PSG have an away trip to Lorient to look forward to, and then Lille still have a tricky trip to Brest before the season is out. As the league continues towards its exciting climax, all eyes are on Montpellier, Lille and the nation’s capital Paris. However, with the way results have panned out this season it seems that the title could be decided in the beautiful region of Brittany.