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Ligue 1 Team of the Season: August Edition
Ligue 1 has finished 4 weeks of action as the month of August comes to a close with PSG holding 1st place in the standings with a perfect record. The season so far has seen some crazy moments such as Lionel Messi’s debut, the Marseille vs. Nice fights and a couple crazy six goal games including a dramatic 3-3 draw between Clermont Foot and Lyon on matchday three. This is the first segment of the year where I will be looking to pick my Team of the Season based on the performances up to this point.
Goalkeeper: Paul Bernardoni - Angers
The Goalkeeper for Angers has been great so far as he has helped lead his team to a 3-1-0 while only conceding one goal. Bernardoni has also been given support from the National team as the 24 year old was used during the Olympic games for France. Honorable mentions for Goalkeeper in Ligue 1 are Paul Nardi from Lorient as the team have surrendered 26 shots on target in four games and he has only conceded 6 times and Walter Benitez from Nice as the goalkeeper has held a clean sheet in every game.
Defenders:
1. Jonathan Clauss - RC Lens
The Right back from RC Lens has been simply sensational to start the season as he has 1 goal and 2 assists in 4 games. The 28 year old is hoping to improve after a solid season last year with 3 goals and 7 assists in 34 games.
2. Achraf Hakimi - PSG
The 22 year old PSG defender was one of the star additions for the super club as he was brought over from Inter Milan with a 66 million dollar transfer fee. So far this season he has 1 goal and 2 assists in 4 games for PSG and I think the numbers will continue to increase with the addition of Lionel Messi into the PSG line-up.
3. Romain Thomas - Angers
The 33 year old Center-back from France has been one of the star players defensively as he has lead his team to a 3-1-0 record while only conceding one goal. He also added a goal in one of his appearances but it’s his defensive work that has earned him a spot in my team.
4. Dante - Nice
I didn’t include the Nice against Marseille game for tracking statistics and performance but Dante was solid in that game as well for Nice. The 37 year old Brazilian has done it all in his career but the former Bayern Munich player is really surprising a lot of fans with this strong early start. He was injured for 35 games last season and with his career nearing an end possibly, it’s nice to see him performing at such a high level.
Honorable Mentions: Youcef Atal - Nice , Abdou Diallo - PSG, Matthieu Udol - Metz and Nicolas Pallois - Nantes.
Midfielders:
1. Teji Savanier - Montpellier
The Captain of Montpellier has started off the season in great form as he has 1 goal and 1 assist in 3 games and he has done a great job controlling the midfield. He has been really key for this club since coming over in 2019 and he has started the season great.
2. Seko Fofana - RC Lens
The midfielder for Lens has already found the back of the net three times this season as he has passed his goal total from last season in just four games. The 26 year old has done it all for RC Lens to start the season and he has helped them pick up three draws and 1 victory to start the season.
3. Moreto Cassama - Stade Reims
The 23 year old midfielder has done well in the early parts of the season for Stade Reims as he has 2 goals in 3 games. He only had 1 goal in 29 appearances last season and Cassama might be a player that could breakout this season. He also has made 7 appearances for his international club Guinea-Bissau.
Honorable mentions: Idrissa Gueye - PSG, Hicham Boudaoui - Nice, Houssem Aouar - Lyon and Angelo Fulgini - Angers.
Forwards:
1. Kylian Mbappe - PSG
One of the most talented players in the world as Kylian Mbappe has a market value of 176 million dollars and the 22 year old was at the center of transfer rumours of heading to Real Madrid. Despite all the rumours he has 3 goals and 2 assists in 4 games to start the season and he is on track to have another sensational year.
2. Amine Gouiri - Nice
Nice have a really exciting prospect on their hands as 21 year old forward Amine Gouiri has 3 goals and 1 assist in 3 games to start the season. He had 12 goals and 7 assists in 34 games last year for Nice and he has the potential to be a major superstar in the future if he can continue this success.
3. Dimitri Payet - Marseille
The 34 year old French legend is still performing at such a high level for Marseille with 3 goals and 1 assist in 3 games to start the season. This is continuing the success he found last season with 7 goals and 10 assists in 33 games for Marseille.
Honorable mentions: Cengiz Under - Marseille, Mohamed Bayo - Clermont Foot, Andy Delort- Montpellier