Narrowly beaten by Le Havre [1-2]

With just under a quarter of an hour left to play, Bordeaux were pushing forward in search of a winner. The Girondins had been dominant throughout this second half, and were determined to get the better of the league leaders on home soil. But then the visitors launched a lightning attack down the left flank, led by Kechta. The ball ended up at the feet of El Hajjam, 30 metres from goal. His sublime right-footed shot curled its way past Gaëtan Poussin and into the top corner (1-2, 78’). Silence in the stadium, broken only by the sound of the Le Havre players celebrating. Just when Bordeaux thought they had the upper hand... But it would be misleading to suggest that Le Havre stole this victory: this was a tight contest and Luka Elsner's side took their chances well. The visitors took an early lead with a well-placed counter-attack capped off by Casimir (0-1, 15’). Although things could have been very different indeed if Junior Mwanga had not hit the crossbar early on... (4’)

The rest of the first half was a closely-contested stalemate. Le Havre were well-organised and worked hard to shut down Bordeaux in midfield, while the Girondins produced some moments of great skill to create chances. Zuriko Davitashvili managed to pick out Malcom Bokele, whose headed effort was superbly blocked by HAC keeper Desmas (22’). Yoann Barbet also had a decent attempt from distance (45’). Things changed considerably in the second half, with David Guion bringing on Aliou Badji to shake up his attacking options. Bordeaux were now playing higher up the field, and getting the better of the midfield duels. They soon won a series of set pieces, and from one of these free kicks, won by Dilane Bakwa, Vital Nsimba slammed a left-footed shot under the bar and into the back of the net (1-1, 55’).

Cheered on by another massive home crowd, the Girondins were running riot. Nonetheless, Le Havre defended well. Zuriko Davitashvili (66’) and Josh Maja (69’) both tested Desmas, to no avail. The turning point finally came in the 78th minute, and it was bad news for the Girondins. This frustrating defeat is a real blow for Bordeaux, but let's not forget that there is still a long way to go between now and the end of the season. And the Girondins clearly deserved better tonight, with a performance that was worth a point at the very least. They would have had it too, had it not been for El Hajjam.