Victory in Metz ! [1-2]

What a start for Metz! When they won a corner in the 2nd minute, Vincent Pajot floated it towards the edge of the box where Niane timed his run just right to smash a volley past the helpless Benoît Costil. Metz were 1-0 up already. But things took another dramatic turn in the 8th minute: as Enock Kwateng sought to clear the ball, Pajot (who had set up the goal just 5 minutes earlier) hacked him down with a dangerous lunging tackle. After consulting the VAR, referee François Letexier had no choice but to issue a straight red card. The Girondins may have been 1-0 down, but they now had 80 minutes to play against 10 men. The Girondins understandably began to see more of the ball. In the 18th minute Nicolas De Préville stole the ball from John Boye on the edge of the box and fired in a low-flying cross for Jimmy Briand. With Oukidja already off his line, Jimmy was all alone in front of an open goal... but he couldn't quite control the ball and managed to fire his shot over the bar. Having battled on after the dangerous challenge, Enock Kwateng was eventually forced to limp off. Rémi Oudin took his place in the 20th minute. Paulo Sousa decided to switch up his tactics, playing three across the back. But chances on goal were hard to come by in this tense first half, and the score remained 1-0 Metz at the break. The Girondins de Bordeaux returned for the second half with a renewed sense of urgency, and Otavio soon fired in the first shot. It was Toma Basic who got the equalizer, with a beautifully-placed shot from the edge of the box, taking a deflection off John Boye to give Toma his first goal in Ligue 1 (1-1, 56").   Paulo Sousa decided it was time for a change, bringing on Youssouf Sabaly for Ui-Jo Hwang and Ruben Pardo for Yacine Adli and reverting to a four-man defence. Ruben Pardo brought some much-needed stability to the midfield, while Sabaly's speed and physical presence made themselves felt immediately as he started peppering the box with crosses. In the 69th minute one such cross found Jimmy Briand waiting at the front post, but his shot rebounded off the woodwork. Bordeaux kept on pushing, and their reward finally came in the 84th minute!!! Otavio played a lovely through ball for Rémi Oudin, who fired off a superb first-time shot to score his first goal for the Girondins (1-2). A man down for most of the game, Metz suffered throughout the second period and failed to create any real chances. This victory gives the Girondins a welcome boost in the league standings, bumping Bordeaux up to 6th place in Ligue 1.