Montpellier go top as Nancy and Sochaux claim first wins in tight Ligue 2 night | OneFootball

Montpellier moved top with a 1-0 win at Dunkerque on Friday in Ligue 2’s third round. Nancy and Sochaux also took their first victories of the season by the same score. According to L'Équipe, it was a low-scoring multiplex.

After finishing eighth last term post-relegation, Montpellier have begun their second straight season at this level smartly. Zoumana Camara’s side won through Nicolas Pays’ angled finish in the 54th minute. Having already won 1-0 at Nancy on 14 August, this is their first pair of away wins since March and April 2024, at Le Havre 2-0 and Reims 2-1.

At Bonal, 15,500 watched Sochaux record the night’s best attendance, after 19,003 against Les Verts on opening day. They beat Guingamp 1-0 as Boubacar Fofana scored on 14 minutes, outwitting Erwin Koffi with a stepover and a cut. Goalkeeper Mehdi Jeannin impressed.

Ligue 2 still plays without VAR, unlike Ligue 1, and disputes follow. At Boulogne-sur-Mer, Kévin Cabral set up Red Star team-mate Damien Durand on the offside limit in a match that finished 1-1, while Sochaux’s penalty for a possible Tom Ducrocq handball, missed by Samy Baghdadi, also drew protests. The English second tier lacks VAR as well, Norwich coach Philippe Clement lamented on Friday.

Five matches yielded seven goals, yet there was late drama. Brandon Bokangu struck on 87 minutes to give Nancy victory at Pau. At Clermont, Dijon led through Jordan Marié from a Julio Tavares assist before Jean-William Nyindong equalised on 90+2 from Adrien Hunou’s pass for 1-1.

Source: L'Équipe

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