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On Saturday, the remaining matches of the ninth round of the French championship took place, in which a couple of surprises were recorded. Although the previous season's vice-champion Bordeaux secured their first victory, newcomers Lorient sensationally defeated the mighty Paris Saint Germain, while Valenciennes managed to snatch a draw against Auxerre.
Ricardo's Bordeaux team struggled for a long time against Toulouse, but after a difficult start to the match, the vice-champions recovered and celebrated a 2-0 victory.
The first goal was scored in the 57th minute by Marouane Chamakh. Two minutes before the end of the match, Julien Faubert doubled the lead. Bordeaux secured the victory and responded to Lyon, who defeated Nantes 3-1 on Friday.
Monaco started the season very unsuccessfully - losing 0-1 to last season's mid-table team, Nancy. The only goal of the match came in the 55th minute, scored by Moncef Zerka. Meanwhile, trying to save the game, Monaco forward David Gigliotti was sent off in the 80th minute. Therefore, Monaco suffered their first defeat in this French championship.
A sensation occurred in the capital, where local favorites PSG suffered a painful 3-2 defeat against Ligue 1 newcomers Lorient.
Stade Parc des Princes came to life in the 29th minute with a goal from PSG newcomer Pierre-Alain Frau, but three minutes later, former PSG full-back Fabrice Fiorese calmed down the enraged fans. The "Parisians" surged forward once again in the 45th minute, with Fabrice Pancrate scoring.
In the beginning of the second half, F. Fiorese leveled the score, and at the end of the match, with 14 minutes left, Lorient's Rafik Saifi managed to score the third goal for his team, which later turned out to be the winning goal. PSG suffered a painful defeat at home, while the newcomers earned their first 3 points.
Lille, who finished third last year, secured a victory over Rennes with a 2-1 result, unlike PSG.
In the 10th minute, Mathieu Bodmer scored the first goal for Lille, while in the 42nd minute, Abdoulaye Keita secured the club's victory. However, Rennes did not give up and, in the 56th minute, Olivier Monterrubio scored from the penalty spot. Unfortunately, that was all Rennes could do, suffering a slight defeat against Lille and losing their first points.
Another sensation occurred in the match between Auxerre and Valenciennes. Valenciennes made their first appearance in Ligue 1 championship after 13 years, as the team was relegated to a lower French league due to a corruption scandal.
The newcomers took the initiative and managed to break through in the 43rd minute when Steve Savidan scored. But proving once again they can bounce back after conceding a goal, Auxerre leveled the score once again. In the 50th minute, Jean-Pascal Mignot equalized. However, the hosts ended the match with incomplete squad after John Radet saw his second yellow card, which led him to leave the field two minutes before the end of the match.
Opportunity was missed by Valenciennes, and the referee blew the whistle, declaring that no one had proven their superiority in this match. The result was a 1-1 draw.
Playing away from home, Sochaux managed to secure 3 points against St Etienne despite conceding a quick goal, winning the match 2-1.
St Etienne gained the advantage in the 17th minute when Frederic Piquionne scored a goal. However, in the 22nd minute, Sochaux defender Jerome Leroy equalized. The 74th minute was decisive for St Etienne. The same Sochaux defender J. Leroy led his team forward, helping to secure their first points.
In another match, Lens and Troyes went head-to-head. Lens celebrated a narrow victory with a single goal scored by Ivory Coast national team forward Aruna Dindane in the 37th minute, defeating Troyes.
Lens took the lead with a 1-0 win, with Troyes goalkeeper conceding the only goal in the match in the 37th minute.
Le Mans also won with the same score against Nice - the victory brought by Liban Grafite's 18th-minute goal.
Results of the first round of the French championship:
Nancy 1 - 0 Monaco
55‘ [1 – 0] Moncef Zerka
80‘ David Gigliotti (Monaco) sent off
Auxerre 1 – 1 Valenciennes
43‘ [0 – 1] Steve Savidan
50‘ [1 – 1] Jean-Pascal Mignot
88‘ Johan Radet (Auxerre) sent off
Bordeaux 2 – 0 Toulouse
58‘ [1 – 0] Marouane Chamakh
88‘ [2 – 0] Faubert
Le Mans 1 – 0 Nice
18‘ [1 – 0] Libano Grafite
Lens 1 – 0 Troyes
37‘ [1 – 0] Aruna Dindane
PSG 2 – 3 Lorient
29‘ [1 – 0] Pierre-Alain Frau
32‘ [1 – 1] Fabrice Fiorese
45‘ [2 – 1] Fabrice Pancrate
53‘ [2 – 2] Fabrice Fiorese
75‘ [2 – 3] Rafik Saifi
Rennes 1 – 2 Lille
10‘ [0 – 1] Mathieu Bodmer
42‘ [0 – 2] Abdoulaye Keita
56‘ [1 – 2] Olivier Monterrubio (11m.)
St Etienne 1 – 2 Sochaux
17‘ [1 – 0] Frederic Piquionne
22‘ [1 – 1] Jerome Leroy
74‘ [1 – 2] Jerome Leroy
Nantes 1 - 3 Lyon
4` [1 - 0] Nourdin Boukhari
5` [1 - 1] Karim Benzema
63` [1 - 2] Sebastien Squillaci
88` [1 - 3] Fred
