Big guns silencing French upstarts

The likes of AS Monaco FC and Olympique de Marseille are returning to the higher reaches of Ligue 1 after smaller names stole the headlines during the autumn.

Important result
Before Christmas, the likes of Valenciennes FC, AS Nancy-Lorraine and Le Mans UC 72 had emerged as the star performers in the league behind frontrunners Olympique Lyonnais and FC Girondins de Bordeaux. However, results since the winter break suggest that the minnows may not be so prosperous in the spring – with Marseille's 6-1 mauling of SM Caen at the weekend a sign of the changing times.

Monaco rising
With only 12 points separating third-placed Nancy and third-from-bottom AJ Auxerre, a few good results can go a long way in Ligue 1, as Monaco have found. A run of three wins in January, followed by a 1-0 defeat at Le Mans at the weekend, helped Monaco jump from ninth in the table to fifth, and like the other big guns who underperformed in the autumn, their hopes are rising.

Positive start
"We are starting to find a good pace," said coach Ricardo. "The Le Mans result could have been better but the start of the year has been positive and the team has played better together." With their first two home wins of the season coming in January, Paris Saint-Germain FC are also starting to look like long shots for a European place, rising from 16th to 12th since the start of 2008.

Confidence returning
PSG's first victims of 2008, RC Lens, were also showing relegation form in the latter part of 2007, but since technical director Daniel Leclercq was hired to help coach Jean-Pierre Papin midway through January, they have gone unbeaten in their last three games. "As with many other teams we have enough good players to come back," said Leclercq. "It was just a matter of them getting some confidence."

'Very tight'
Marseille's battering of Caen confirmed that they too may be getting their domestic house in order after some unpredictable form. Now ninth, coach Erik Gerets is even thinking about second place and a return to Europe's top club competition. "Snatching a UEFA Champions League berth like we did last season will be a difficult task but the league is very tight in France," he said.