Ligue 1 Review | Angers defy expectations after early season write-off

After the first three games of the season, there was a general consensus that Angers SCO probably weren’t good enough to stay in the top flight. There was perhaps a touch of confirmation bias about this belief as most had predicted Les Noirs et Blancs would struggle to stay afloat in Ligue 1 after a surprising promotion campaign and a lack of summer investment outside of free agents and loan deals. 

Angers had of course been thrown into the crucible as they started their campaign with games against RC Lens, Lille OSC, and OGC Nice, teams that will likely be challenging for Europe come the end of the season. However, the manager Alexandre Dujeux, argued that this was still not good enough and that his squad could not afford to make excuses for themselves. 

“If we wait for the less prestigious teams, we will not survive,” Dujeux explained, “This squad is worth more than what it’s shown in terms of results. It will prove that it deserves better.” And since then, that is exactly what Les Noirs et Blancs have proven, as they have shown that while relegation is still an obvious and real threat, it was far too early to write them off. 

Promising shoots for Angers

The problems would not right themselves immediately and Angers would remain winless until the end of October. A 4-2 victory over fellow strugglers AS Saint-Étienne finally ridding the club of their unfortunate label as the only team without a victory in Ligue 1. However, even in this winless run, there were shoots of promise that suggested that they had slowly adjusted to life back in the top flight. 

Les Noirs et Blancs have suffered only one further loss since their opening three games. A 3-1 defeat at the hands of Stade de Reims was sandwiched between four draws as the club focused on becoming a team that was hard to break down. Draws against Olympique de Marseille and RC Strasbourg Alsace, in particular, demonstrated a defensive determination that had been missing previously. 

Dujeux suggested after the 1-1 draw away to Marseille that the game should become a reference point for his team. “It must be taken as a foundation,” he explained, “it should reassure the boys and show them that we can do great things if we respect the fundamentals… we’re not bragging but this point should give us confidence.” 

Ligue 1’s last winless team secures two victories in a row

In the last two game weeks, it is exactly by respecting the fundamentals that Angers have managed to let blossom their promising shoots. The win over Saint-Étienne was followed by a famous defeat of AS Monaco away at the Stade Louis II on Friday. It was a victory that ended a run of 19 away games in Ligue 1 without a win, a record that stretched back until the 18th of September 2022. 

Defeating Monaco was of course a shock, the Principality have been the outstanding candidate to challenge Paris Saint-Germain’s grip on the title, but it was an entirely deserved victory. Angers played with vigour putting pressure on Monaco from the start and took advantage of a sluggish opposition to go 1-0 up within 30 minutes, but they also had the flexibility to respond to the game state and at half time dropped back and defended deep when Adi Hütter looked to swing momentum back to the hosts. 

Nobody expects Angers to continue their winning run into their next fixture as they will be hosting PSG. However, what the club have shown this season is that they have the intelligence and resilience to cause more than a few problems, and perhaps demonstrate that they have what it takes to secure safety. 

This week’s Ligue 1 subplots

• Monaco dropping points to Angers meant that PSG were the big winners of the weekend once they picked up a 1-0 victory over Lens. It was far from the capital club’s most convincing display in front of goal, but they did enough to stretch their lead at the top of the table by six points.

• Marseille returned to winning ways with a 2-1 defeat of FC Nantes on Sunday evening. Goals for Neal Maupay and Mason Greenwood were enough to secure the victory and cause Roberto De Zerbi’s squad to leapfrog Monaco into second due to their superior goal difference. 

• Julien Stéphan’s time at Stade Rennais is almost certainly in peril. Results have been poor for the club since he signed a contract extension in March, and an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to newly promoted AJ Auxerre this weekend could be a bridge too far for the manager with Rudi Garica and Niko Kovac touted as his replacement. Read the full story HERE.

GFFN | Nick Hartland