PLAYER RATINGS | Le Havre 2-1 Strasbourg: Le Club Doyen school Gary O’Neil’s youthful Strasbourg | OneFootball

Ligue 1 McDonald’s, Round 21, 08/02/2026

After tasting their first defeat under Gary O’Neil’s management following last weekend’s loss to ten-man Paris Saint-Germain, RC Strasbourg Alsace were searching for an immediate response as they travelled to Le Havre AC. However, nothing would go to plan for Le Racing, as Le Havre stunned their guests with a well-earned 2-1 win. 

The Match

Le Havre started brightly, hitting Strasbourg with an intense press. Gary O’Neil’s side struggled to find their rhythm as the blue and white shirts swarmed them. The centre-back Arouna Sangante set the tempo with a powerful shot, forcing Mike Penders into an early save. 

Le Havre kept coming and found the opener in the 26th minute when Sofiane Boufal’s corner was powered home by the 17-year-old Stephan Zagadou. His header clattered off the crossbar before finding its way past the line. Minutes later, the afternoon would go from bad to worse for Strasbourg. 

Martial Godo played a terrible backpass towards his keeper from the halfway line. It was an invitation for Issa Soumaré to spring forward, and the striker was brought down just outside of the box by Ismaël Doukouré: an undebatable red card. Down to ten men, Strasbourg were able to level, with Godo making amends as he volleyed Zagadou’s poor clearance. 

Le Havre maintained their momentum into the second half, with Strasbourg forced to defend with ten men behind the ball. The host’s pressure paid off as Sangante roamed forward and slammed a pass towards Soumaré. The striker held off Lucas Høgsberg, spun around, and then fired as he slipped to the floor to retake the lead. 

Strasbourg struggled to lift the malaise that had taken hold from the first whistle, as Le Havre controlled the ball and dictated the tempo. Le Racing still held a threat; the talent within the club meant that no matter what, they had the individuals to turn this match on its head. However, the moment would never come. 

Strasbourg were left to rue a match that could have seen them leapfrog Lille OSC into fifth, but were instead left to taste a second consecutive defeat in the league, following last weekend’s loss to ten-man Paris Saint-Germain. Le Havre, on the other hand, would go nine points clear of the relegation zone. 

Strasbourg Player Ratings

Mike Penders, 7

It’s never a good sign when your goalkeeper is your best-performing player, and Mike Penders was certainly that for Le Racing. He was involved far more often than Gary O’Neil would have liked, as he made several acrobatic saves to keep the scoreline competitive despite the man disadvantage. 

Ben Chilwell, 4

Ismaël Doukouré, N/A

Lucas Høgsberg, 4

Junior Mwanga, N/A

Replaced by Andrew Omobamidele (6) in the 33rd minute.

Samir El Mourabet, 5

Valentín Barco, 5

Martial Godo, 5

The former Fulham man showed his threat in flashes this afternoon. When given the space, he was able to find the back of the net, but he didn’t often find that space because of his glaring error in the first half. His horror back pass set Ismaël Doukouré up for failure, and meant Strasbourg could never shrug off the sluggish start they made to the game as they were forced to defend deep within their own half for large stretches. 

Julio Enciso, 5

Diego Moreira, 4

Joaquín Panichelli, 4

Good work off the ball for the striker, but he struck an isolated figure for much of the game. 

Selected Le Havre Player Ratings

Stephan Zagadou, 6

Arouna Sangante, 7

Enzo Koffi, 6

Sofiane Boufal, 6

Issa Soumaré, 6

GFFN | Nick Hartland