While the focus last weekend was the domestic debut of Javier Pastore for big-spending Paris St Germain, plenty of others caught the eye. Montpellier racked up a 4-0 win over Rennes to become the only side with a 100% record so far, while Saint-Etienne battled away to Marseille to maintain their own unbeaten record. An Eden Hazard-inspired Lille finally chalked up their first victory of the campaign and lifted the champions into the top half of the table for the first time this season. Here’s the lowdown on some of the week’s best performers:
Defenders
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Montpellier. WhoScored rating 7.87
Montpellier’s win over Rennes established a two-point lead at the top of Ligue 1. While the strikers picked up the plaudits, it was the defence that proved the platform to success- three of the Montpellier back-four feature in our Ligue 1 team of the week.
Yanga-Mbiwa was the most impressive member of the defence. The big centre-half had more touches (90) than any teammate and made 61 passes for the league leaders, second only to Marco Estrada in midfield, as well as hitting 4 accurate long balls to start attacks from the back. His pass accuracy, 95%, was outstanding and an ability to bring the ball out of defence was shown with 2 successful dribbles from the heart of defence.
Defensively, his stats shone- Yanga-Mbiwa made 3 tackles, 3 interceptions and 6 clearances, helping his side to another clean sheet and illustrating the sort of performance that has seen Montpellier concede just 1 goal so far this season. WhoScored.com awarded the centre half 7.87 for his efforts.
Faouzi Ghoulam, Saint-Etienne. WhoScored rating 7.31
Saint-Etienne continued their unbeaten start to the season with a goalless draw at last season’s runner-up Marseille. They were up against it for much of the match, having just 35% of possession and managed only 4 shots at goal but prevailed thanks to a strong defensive performance.
Faouzi Ghoulam was their key performer; the left-back repelled the Marseille attacks on numerous occasions and registered 3 tackles, 3 interceptions and 4 clearances at the back. He also won 3 aerial duels, though aside from 3 crosses, offered little going forward due to his opponent’s domination. Ghoulam picked up a WhoScored.com match rating of 7.31 for an inspired performance.
Midfielders
Eden Hazard, Lille. WhoScored rating 8.49
Eden Hazard was the man of the match as champions Lille finally picked up a Ligue 1 win. The winger excelled in the 2-1 triumph at Caen and had more touches (96) than any other player on the pitch. When in possession, Hazard didn’t disappoint- he delivered 7 crosses from wide left and made 3 key passes, joint-top in terms of creativity for Rudi Garcia’s side.
Hazard’s ability to beat a man is shown with 5 successful dribbles and he was also Lille’s biggest goal threat- he had 4 shots over the ninety minutes, with 3 on target. Hazard grabbed an assist and also made a crucial six-yard block to defy the hosts, as he picked up a WhoScored.com rating of 8.49- the highest of any outfield player in Ligue 1 over the weekend. He’s now top of our average ratings for Ligue 1 season so far; an average of 8.00 over his three appearances indicates the type of form Hazard is in right now.
Jaroslav Plasil, Bordeaux. WhoScored rating 8.31
The performance of Jaroslav Plasil helped Bordeuax pick up a point at home to Auxerre. The midfielder was at the heart of the home side’s play, having more touches (88) and making more passes (53) than any other player on the pitch. Plasil was also his side’s chief creator, with 4 key passes, and had an incredible 15 crosses in the 1-1 draw.
Defensively, his performance stood out, too. A total of 5 tackles, 1 interception and 2 clearances were also backed up by 3 aerials duels won, as Plasil picked up an assist and a WhoScored.com match rating of 8.31.
Forward
Sloan Privat, Sochaux. WhoScored rating 7.34
He didn’t see much of the ball in the 2-1 win at Nancy, but Sloan Privat’s contribution was crucial. The forward had just 25 touches, the least of any starting player on the pitch, but Privat won a brilliant 8 aerial duels as he helped his team to victory.
Privat was the most fouled (4) opposition player, an indication that Nancy targeted him as a danger man, and over the course of his eighty-minute appearance he had 2 shots, with 1 on target being the goal that put his team two-up just after the hour mark. WhoScored.com awarded Privat a rating of 7.34 for his performance.
