The sold out Stade de La Mosson was the place to be last night in Montpellier as France took on a feisty Chilean side. Personally, I like it when Les Bleus go en Provence to play…there’s always a great atmosphere and the sold out stadiums prove that the locals are indeed proud hosts.
Line-ups
Laurent Blanc had a bit of a re-shuffled line-up for us—some changes enforced and some experimentation. With Mexès still recovering from knee surgery and Rami facing a suspension in the next Euro 2012 qualifier, it made sense to pair 2 defenders together vs Chile who will continue that partnership vs Albania next month.
It seemed logical to go with the young Sakho alongside the Franco-Klingon Kaboul, but with the PSG captain struggling, Blanc went for another known quantity in Abidal.
*TANGENT: Now, I remember the dark Euro 2008 days when Domenech was lambasted for playing Abidal—a left back—as a CB, and he duly showed why: some awful defending (think last group game vs Italy but don’t think too long!). But, we also know that Abidal is in some serious form for club and country that not even liver surgery could derail and I do think he’s got the skills to play there (although he’s still more devastating as a fullback).*
Anyway, that left his usual left back spot open and with Evra apparently injured, Clichy was recalled. Sagna of course remains on the right side (note to self, ask Santa for some right back competition for Christmas, ta).
There was a small surprise in midfield where Martin partnered with Nasri in front of a lone DM, M’Vlia. What’s that?? Only 1 DM, and 2 super-technical ninjas? *Bless* Thank you baby jeebus! I was positively salivating as this point.
According to French TV, the PSG coach, Antoine Kambouaré, had a chat with Blanc about limiting his players’ time on the pitch, so Rémy was favoured to Ménez. Florent “6 goals in 69 appearances” Malouda was out there too and of course Karim “back from fat camp” Benzema (more on that later!).
Game timeline
Oh, 1 more thing (sorry, I love table setting!), did anyone else notice how NO ONE sang La Marseillaise?? OK, there a few lips moving, whispering, but really, what happened to the whole “everyone has to sing the national anthem” mantra? Even Blanc was subdued. And Platini was tight lipped in the stands too. And before you say “well he’s a UEFA man so he can’t be patriotic”, if that were the case he’d have been watching Germany-Brazil or Italy-Spain. The French TV guys noticed this non-signing too but didn’t pass judement…
Ok, THE GAME!
Good pace to start with, with both sides pressing high—I was pleased to see us doing this. It was evident though, that Martin had been told to remember his defensive duties while Nasri could go walkabouts. Martin was helping M’Vlia out a lot—but he was getting forward too so I wasn’t complaining too much.
Despite the good match rhythm, there were missed touches in the opening 10mins and the first chance didn’t come until a Benzema over-the-bar-curler in the 8th minute. Tepid.
The Chileans were really playing well though—their high pressure forcing us into errors as we tried to play from the back. In fact, Chile were playing 3-5-2! WTF?! That is cool, I kinda wish we had it in us to do that.
Just like that though, MARTIN with a sweet pass onto Rémy who does his usual awkward 1 on 1 moves, fails to spot the man on the back post and falls over. Hmm. I’m not sold on Rémy—yet. His Ligue 1 stats look good, his physique looks great, but his play looks…awkward, almost like a gangly teenager after a growth spurt (if you’re a Rémy fan, don’t worry we make up later on).
Still, France had weathered the Chilean mini-storm and was controlling the game. Another half-chance followed as Martin shot over the bar (13th minute).
The deadlock was broken on 20 minutes as Nasri sent a great through ball towards the corner flag for Benzema to chase, collect and whip a low cross in. Rémy got in front of his man and headed in. Bingo! Rémy does have great aerial ability—as proven in his opening Ligue 1 goal at the weekend. THAT, we have lacked.
And what can you say about Benzema? He shed 6-7 kilos during the off-season and looks amazing. Darting in all over the place, great touch, always looking to take people on and shoot. If his pre-season is anything to go by (6 or 7 gols I believe?) he could have a HUGE season for Madrid.
The whole goal move took less than 10 seconds—starting from Lloris. I like!
The game broke down a bit after that with Chile gaining possession. But the France defence was solid and composed even though Chile did well to get men in the box.
A clumsy Rémy foul in 1st half added time allowed Chile to go for goal, but the free kick sailed over.
HT 1-0 France.
Oh snap—Alexis Sanchez is on now. I may have forgot to mention that he was a sub to start the game. And it’s clear right away that the 1st half may have been a different story if he had started the match. He’s quick, very quick, and his passes find gaps. eek.
So, just like the opening of the match, Chile are on top, but 10mins of pressure is soaked up and on 55 minutes Clichy bounds forward to release Malouda who…shoots over. Side note: If Ribéry can ever get healthy and regain his top level, Malouda will drop to the bench.
The pressure is ON though, and Rémy—you beauty! Separates himself in the 6 yard box and meets Martin’s corner with a one time backheel against the crossbar! I think Bravo, the Chilean keeper, was as stunned as anyone! He had no chance. Saved by the bar.
THERE IT WAS! That was it, chance to go 2 up and put the game away. 62nd minute, Benzema slicing through, but he takes maybe 1 dribble too many and his shot goes straight at Bravo who parries it away. The move deserved a goal and so did Benzema for his overall play…but he’s got to put those away. Rémy did put the rebound in the back of the net but he was offside. Never mind…
68th minute, cue triple substitution. Gameiro, Ménez, Cabaye all on, Benzema, Nasri, Malouda all off.
75th minute. There is lots of space now, Chile are completely stretched. All of a sudden the pitch opens up for M’Vlia, who after picking up a pass in his own half, bursts forward (side note: I have a man-crush on M’Vlia. That is all.). Gameiro is ahead in space, the lone defender out of position to cover him—surely M’Vlia sees him?! *crunch* Beausejour with the professional foul from behind on M’Vlia. Yellow card. No goal chance. Gutted.
That’s followed by another disallowed goal—this time it’s dodgy. The ball definitely comes off backwards from a Chilean defender and then Gameiro pounces and takes an early shot from the top of the box—right by Bravo. Great goal! But no, it’s offside. Was he though when the initial pass was made? To be honest I don’t know.
Obvisouly, Chile then go up and score. Nifty passing down the left and Sanchez whips it in the box and Cordova places it beyond Lloris. It was a really nice move and you just hope he either stuffs the shot or Lloris channels the power of Stretch Armstrong. Neither happened. 77th minute.
Martin off, Matuidi on, so now there really is no chance we will snatch something from ‘nothing’. At this point, I’m sulking, the girlfriend is asking what the score is, well it should be 3-1, really.
The game ends with France camping in front of the Chile goal, but it’s Arsenal-type stuff and no one really threatens.
Thoughts
So, that’s 11 in a row for Les Bleus *yay* but there are a few draws starting to pepper that streak.
I’m not expecting miracles out there so the start/stop nature of our fluidity is understandable. It was a friendly, with friendly-type substitutions, but while that can excuse the lack of goals, it doesn’t excuse conceding that late. It’s a shame. To top it off, it was Sanchez who made the goal, the only player who really threatened us. Why didn’t have someone shadow him the minute he came on?
I’m not fretting over the following qualifiers, even though they are away from home—France actually seem to play better away. And the main ingredients are there. At some point, though we need to kick it up a gear.
Player ratings and musings
Lloris: Strangely I haven’t been as impressed with him the last few times out. He seems a bit less confident than usual. He didn’t have a lot to do in this game. There was a half save or 2 and then the disappointing goal, but he’s not really to blame there. However, his distribution was poor. 5/10
Sagna: This is getting to be a broken record. He defended very well, but offered nothing going forward. Oh, slide tackle was too late on the Cordova goal 5.5/10
Abidal: Solid, very calm on the ball. Walkabout on the Cordova goal? 6/10
Kaboul: He’s big and mean looking, which is rare for Les Bleus. Threw his body around and was well positioned to deal with speedy players like Sanchez. Late getting to Cordova. 6/10
Clichy: I cringed when I saw him in the starting line-up. But he didn’t have any “Clichy moments”! And he got forward every now and then, including a nice little run to set up Malouda. 6.5/10
M’Vlia: The boy runs his socks off. Physical, yet not as clumsy in his challenges as Diarra. He did the business defending and was OK in his distribution. 6/10
Martin: Clearly, Blanc wants to see if he can establish himself in the team. He’s got bags of talent and provided some delightful passes and crosses. Gets pushed around a bit though, needs to get stronger like Nasri has. Big upcoming season for him. 6/10
Nasri: Started the goal scoring move with a pass to Benzema. Didn’t do a lot else. That’s a few average games in a row for him. At times held on to the ball for ages without creating anything. Blanc was quoted post-game as saying he was disappointed in him (but still confident in him)—you won’t hear Wenger say stuff like that! Still, he’s our diamond going forward. 6.5/10
Malouda: That’s 70 caps now. 70. Not even a goal every 10 games! He’s brilliant for Chelsea but average for France. The play tended to go through Rémy all night. Skied his one shot. I get the feeling he’s in there as a ‘veteran’ to balance out some of the youth in the squad. Be interesting to compare his season vs Ribs. 4/10
Rémy: Rémy, Rémy, Rémy…will you be a new Thierry Henry? Or a Carlton Cole? The jury is definitely still deliberating. Devastating pace all night, very good positioning for his goal and the backheel/crossbar attempt. Poor touches and ugly 1 on 1s. Interesting to see he played the whole game, I’d start him vs Albania. 6.5/10
Benzema: Star of the night and he only played 60 odd minutes. Always moving and making himself available. Perfect cross for the goal. A few shots on target including the disappointing finish before he came off. Seems super confident. 7/10
Subs: Nothing stands out really. The game became very disjointed with the 5 subs. Gameiro was lively and unlucky on his ‘goal’ (he’s adamant he was onside). I really wanted him to score because France are desperate for a 2nd striker to step up. Menez was running all over the place, without going anywhere. Matuidi offered nothing. Cabaye had no influence on the game. Reveillere actually got more forward than Sagna but then we were camping out by then.
Coaching: No great masterstroke from Blanc this time, but then he played his wild card (Martin) from the start. Organised defence was crucial. 6/10
–Stéphane F.
It might be interesting:
http://www.2012.de.nu