After the loss, the Greens are now in third place

Context

After their slip-up in Bastia, the Greens quickly hit the reset button to prepare for THE match of the year! That’s because Philippe Montanier’s men (2nd) are aiming to take down Troyes, the league leaders, at a Chaudron stadium where the last five visiting teams have been soundly defeated.

Starting XI

Chico Lamba is starting at right center in place of Julien Le Cardinal, who is out due to injury for this match. Aside from this change, the Loire Valley team’s starting lineup is identical to the one from their last game in Corsica. 

Game scenario

The Greens applied pressure from the start and created their first chance ten minutes into the game when Lucas Stassin struck the ball on the volley. His shot was deflected off the line by the thigh of a Troyes defender (12th). The Greens maintained their control and pressure, and Joshua Duffus, who came on to replace the early-substituted Zuriko Davitashvili, created his first chance, but referee Valnet called a handball on the forward (22nd). The Aube side managed to break free from the pressure and had two chances in quick succession, but neither Ifnaoui (33rd) nor Ripart (34th) could find the target. After these two scares, the Chaudron and its more than 38,000 fans thought they had opened the scoring through Kevin Pedro, but the referee ruled otherwise (37th). The end of the first half confirmed Saint-Étienne’s dominance of the match with a shot by Augustine Boakye (45’+3) and the visitors’ lack of precision, as evidenced by Diop’s shot, which sailed well over the crossbar.

Les Verts returned to the pitch with the same determination, but they were caught off guard by Ifnaoui in a repeat of the first-half play (0-1, 53'). The goal put Troyes back in the game, and they responded immediately to Lucas Stassin’s shot (56') with a shot of their own from Diawara. Fortunately, Gautier Larsonneur made a huge save (57th). Bolstered by their lead, Stéphane Dumont’s players took every opportunity to run down the clock. Abdoulaye Kanté (73rd), Irvin Cardona (75th), and Mickaël Nadé (84th) all tried their luck, but the Greens couldn’t find the equalizer. Worse still, Troyes punished them and dashed the Forézians’ hopes with a lob from over 35 meters by Bentayeb (0-2, 89th) and then a deadly final counterattack finished by Detourbet (0-3, 90th + 5).

Coming next

The Greens suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the league leaders and dropped a spot in the standings, with Le Mans (58 points) moving up. On Saturday (8 p.m.), they will travel to Rodez hoping to reclaim second place.