Saint-Étienne bows against Strasbourg: the tops and flops of the match

Last Saturday at 5 p.m., AS Saint-Étienne faced the Racing Club in Strasbourg. Unfortunately for the Greens, this meeting ended in a defeat, while the team needed points to ensure its retention in Ligue 1.

As every week, our editor has established the tops and flops of this match against Strasbourg!

In front of a well-organized team, Eirik Horneland’s players alternated the right and the worst. Some stood out, while others left some doubts.

Let’s start with the tops of this meeting:

• Aligned to the heart of the game, Aimen Moueffek once again proved that he was an essential player in the Stéphanois game. From the beginning of the game, he imposed a high pace and multiplied the support races as well as the high recoveries. At the 12th minute, he intervened to end a dangerous offensive by the opposing team. Its fast forward recovery quality allowed to fluidize the game, notably with this vertical pass found by Cardona at the 34th minute. Moueffek maintained its intensity even in the second period, constantly harassing the carrier of the opposing ball.
• Zuriko Davitashvili also showed that he could be a threat to the opposing team. His goal equalizing at the 19th minute is the perfect illustration of this: an overflow followed by a slalom in the defense and a lucid conclusion. His overflowing right at the 27th minute, punctuated by a tense center that would have deserved a better conclusion, was also noticed. His ability to eliminate on his first support brought freshness to a team sometimes lacking offensive ideas.

The derby gave peps back to this team that doesn’t give up. Leadd to the score in Strasbourg, they found resources to equalize and could even lead to the score at the beginning of the second half. However, malfeasance and defensive wandering condemn this team to having to realize offensive exploits and be realistic.

Now the flops of this game:

• Irvin Cardona had the perfect opportunity to launch his game from the 3rd minute: perfectly served by Moueffek at the second post, he hit right on Petrovic before missing his left-hand recovery in front of the empty goal. A huge double opportunity that could have completely changed the game scenario. Unfortunately for him, his game remains globally marked by a disturbing technical waste. At the 48th minute, on a corner fired by Davitashvili, he manages to place a decrossed cover… which crashes on the transverse. New regret at the 59th minute: on Davitashvili’s offering, Cardona finds herself alone at the six meters but his strike of the left foot dish is too soft and too axial, allowing Petrovic to easily capture the ball.
• Denis Appiah seemed feverish throughout the game. As early as the 9th minute, it is put in trouble on a simple lateral opening, missing its control and offering a avoidable corner. His failed recovery at the 39th minute almost cost much, forcing Moueffek to return to disaster. Defensively, he has often retreated from opposing initiatives, and offensively, he has not proposed enough solutions to stretch the block.
• Yvann Mason could quickly reappear… From the start of the game, at the 7th minute, Nadé was beaten in his duel by Emegha on the left side. Strasbourg’s goaltender takes advantage of this to centre back towards Moreira, which opens