Almost reaching the halfway mark of the 2023–24 season, the league got a whiff of fresh air as a budding OGC Nice squad emerged as PSG’s top contender in the league standings.
After a pedestrian 2022–23 season, Nice have found the secret formula for creating the most formidable defence in all of Europe. Their magnum opus, their bread and butter, and their calling card have been undeniably, unequivocally, and undisputedly their defence.
The Bulwark created by Francesco Farioli has been scourging Ligue 1 teams all season long. Until no one figures out how to penetrate it, Nice will continue to produce winning Ligue 1 2023 results and continue to be one of the best teams in France.
Paris Saint-Germain and Ligue 1 have been synonymous for quite some time now. Understandably so, clinching 11 Ligue 1 titles and playing in the nation’s capital will surely captivate not just the French but all football fans around the world.
SBOTOP football fans are definitely delighted with how the Ligue 1 season is going, so read more below to brush up on the latest news and happenings in the French top flight.
Buyer’s remorse over Donnarumma?
Since his arrival in 2021, the Italian goalkeeper has been sturdy yet mediocre for PSG. His list of errors and miscalculations have left PSG and their fans to question if he was worth his hefty price tag.
Recently, Gianluigi Donnarumma has been suspended for two matches after a silly high challenge that forced him to be sent off during PSG’s 2-0 win at Le Havre. The goalkeeper was shown the red card in minute 10 of the match, handing the defending champions a man disadvantage.
Luckily for PSG, substitute goalkeeper Arnau Tenas was ready and waiting for the opportunity to showcase why the team signed him over the summer, and he did not waste any of it.
The young Spaniard played a stellar match and impressed everyone with a handful of vital saves and his ability to stay calm under pressure. Even though Donnarumma remains suspended, PSG and their fans can sleep soundly at night knowing that they have a very capable keeper in Tenas to fill the void and be the last line of defence for Luis Enrique.
Now that Tenas is under the microscope, it raises questions about Donnarumma’s future and fit with the club. Tenas seems to fit Luis Enriquez’s style better, and with the Italian’s growing list of errors, it’s inevitable for PSG to consider their options regarding Gianluigi moving forward.
But despite this issue, head coach Enrique still shows his trust and confidence in their first-choice goalkeeper.
“All mistakes are repeated and talked about. It is very unfair. Gigio Donnarumma is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, without a doubt, and he is a great man on and off the field,” Enrique exclaimed.
“When a striker or a defender makes a mistake, there is no problem, if a goalkeeper makes an error and even more so if that goalkeeper is Gigio, then there is total chaos. I have a great deal of faith in Donnarumma.”
The 53-year-old Spaniard stays calm and level-headed amidst the controversies hovering over his goalkeeper, and who could blame him? Despite Donnarumma’s recent antics, the Italian national team goalkeeper has appeared in 19 matches, keeping nine clean sheets, which is pretty impressive for any keeper in any top flight.
Can anyone stop PSG?
Despite having to deal with their goalkeeper predicament, it appears that nothing much has changed in the French top flight in terms of who’s the team to beat. It seems that PSG have been winning the Ligue 1 title since time immemorial, and it’s because they have.
This year, it’s more of the same. PSG top the league standings after 15 matches with an 11-3-1 record, accumulating 36 total points. Despite losing Messi and Neymar, their offence is still head and shoulders above any other team in France, and maybe even in most parts of the world.
The main catalyst for their potent offence is none other than the French sweetheart, Kylian Mbappe. The World Cup champion leads Ligue 1’s list of top goal scorers this season by tallying 15 in 14 matches. His tallied goals more than double the production of the second-highest goal scorer in the league, Akor Adams, who currently has just seven.
PSG currently have the most goals in the season with a total of 38, while Monaco are second with 31. Their potent offence paired with a respectable defence has been the perfect recipe for their success, having been spotless with an eight-game winning streak dating back to October 9. This magnificent stretch of football only bolsters their Ligue 1 2023 odds to come out as the champions this season.
Now the question is: Can any team in the French top flight rival the fearsome Paris Saint-Germain? Well, there’s this club in Nice that are having a stellar campaign, and they might be the ones to give PSG a proper threat to the title.
Nice playing nice football
Don’t look now, but OGC Nice are sitting pretty in the second spot of the Ligue 1 standings. Francesco Farioli and his squad are having a renaissance season, having the second-best record in the French top flight after 15 games.
Last season, Nice ended their campaign as the ninth seed, forcing them to miss European tournaments entering the 2023–24 season. But it seems like they’ll be back in action sooner than later, given that they’ve been steamrolling their opponents in Ligue 1.
Defence has been Farioli’s calling card this season. His team currently boasts the best defence in the top flight, conceding just six goals in the season thus far. They have found their identity, and they’re running with it, posting clean-sheet victories after clean-sheet victories. In fact, Nice’s bulwark has been so impenetrable that they currently have the best defence in all of Europe’s major divisions, and they also kept the most clean sheets.Centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo and goalkeeper Marcin Bulka deserve a ton of credit for how Nice’s defence is this successful. This combo has been the bread and butter for Francesco Farioli, and it seems like none of their adversaries have figured out a way to champion Nice’s labouring playstyle.
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