Ligue 1 Top Five, Round 15: Fulgini unlucky to be on the losing side
Angers lost vital ground to Marseille in the fight for second in Ligue 1 after being defeated 3-1 away at Nice. The visitors actually took the lead in the game through Fulgini after a slaloming run inside the box, evading three tackles before firing a right-footed strike into the bottom left corner. He worked remarkably hard, too, winning 17/23 duels, 2/3 tackles, as well as making four ball recoveries. He also completed 39 out of 49 attempted passes, but it was his dribbling that impressed the most as he completed more (9) than anyone else in the league this weekend.
Reims made it three draws in a row after a 1-1 result against Bordeaux. Chavalerin was one of the players unlucky not to be on a winning team as he ran the midfield with authority, winning 18/22 duels, 7/11 tackles, and 2/3 aerial duels. He also made nine ball recoveries, four interceptions, and completed 39/51 attempted passes as the visitors claimed a point.
Sanson was the star of the show for Marseille as they went four points clear of Angers in third place after overcoming Brest 2-1. His authoritative performance saw him win the ball back an incredible 14 times, as well as winning 10/15 duels and 100% of his tackles. He completed 44 out of 48 passes, with one of these balls setting up the winning goal in the 89th minute for Nemanja Radonjic.
A superb defensive outing from Traore helped Rennes bounce back from their Europa League loss against Celtic with a 2-1 home win against Saint-Etienne. Over the entire Ligue 1 weekend, nobody made more ball recoveries (15) than him, with the right-back also winning 100% of his tackles and the majority of his aerial duels. He also misplaced just three passes out of of 58.
Another dominating midfield performance now, this time from Savanier of Montpellier as his side won 4-2 against Amiens to impressively move up to fourth in the table. He kept the visitors at bay as much as he could with 15 ball recoveries (the most in the league alongside Traore and Benjamin Bourigeaud) and 12 out of 16 duels won. He assisted Gaetan Laborde's header with a curled corner-kick into the area, too.
HONOURABLE MENTION
Maxwel Cornet (8.1) recorded a goal and an assist in Lyon's win over Strasbourg, with his goal coming via a lovely, curled strike into the bottom left corner from the edge of the area.
ROUND TO FORGET
Kouadio Kone (4.5) was desperately ineffectual in midfield for Toulouse, losing two-thirds of his duels and not winning a single tackle. He completed just six passes before being sent off after two yellow cards in the 23rd minute. Awful.