Ligue 1: a question of morale.
I watched Rennes v Monaco over the weekend. It was a Monegasque win, but it could just as easily have been a draw or a win for the hosts.
A game in which AS Monaco dominated for eighty minutes and ended with a man up and on the ropes because Rennes had a furious end to the game, they attacked, as if they had three extra players and the goal was bound to come. But it didn’t come. AS Monaco held on.
It was just an example, but that’s how Ligue 1 matches usually go. They depend a lot on the morale of the players, who either collapse or get their wings. But they’re generally young and they lack that balance you get in the second half of your career.
The French championship probably has the most exciting young players in Europe, but at the same time, because the level between the teams is fairly close, the difference is made by these mental swings in form during matches.
That’s why for an experienced Ligue 1 punter it’s an extremely attractive championship, but don’t forget to see the matches live! You have to see the matches, you have to feel the matches, you have to sense the ups and downs of mental form. Because being young often creates incredible waves of enthusiasm that are almost impossible to resist. There are a lot of crazy gangs in the French top league.
A roller coaster
Take Lyon, for example, who are with one foot in the second division. Is Lyon a modest, catastrophic team, weaker than Toulouse, first above the salvation line? It isn’t. They just gave it a clear 3-0 at the weekend. And yet they’ve picked up just ten points from fourteen games! Catastrophic record, agreed.
But that’s because Olympique Lyon’s footballers have often mentally collapsed in matches. That’s what happened not long ago in that 0-3 loss with Olympique Marseille. Going from 0-3 to 3-0 is clearly a morale problem.
If Lyon are going to save themselves from relegation, they will do so because they will hire a coach who is above all an experienced psychologist. If not…
Otherwise, we know how the French Premier League ends: PSG wins in the end. Harder than usual, but PSG nonetheless. It’s hard not to win the title given the value of the squad. But it won’t be easy.
The latest proof: they won narrowly against Nantes (who are a no scare team), with a goal scored after the 80th minute. The French Ligue 1 is a roller coaster. So watch out for vertigo when betting!
