Ligue 1: Against Monaco, Saint-Étienne wants to keep alive its hopes of staying up
Victorious in the derby against OL but defeated 3-1 by Strasbourg last weekend, the Greens have three matches to confirm their survival in Ligue 1, or at least secure a play-off place.
There are matches like this where nothing goes right. A double missed opportunity in the second minute, a header hitting the bar, a missed left-footed shot, and a total of 15 lost balls out of 43 played... Irvin Cardona missed just about everything he attempted last Saturday against Strasbourg at the Meinau, to the point of being pointed at more or less explicitly by his teammates and his coach. This clumsiness, coupled with the inability of the Saint-Étienne defense to avoid conceding a goal, allowed the Alsatians to take three decisive points in the race for Europe.
A race that Irvin Cardona and the Greens are not competing in this year. The Nîmes player, who was instrumental in the club's return to the top flight last season, returned on loan this winter from Augsburg with a clear mission: to ensure survival.17th, 1 point behind Le Havre, the relegation spot, and 3 behind Angers , ASSE does not have its destiny in its own hands with three games remaining in the season. There are still some reasons to believe, however, with two home matches looming, including the next one this Saturday at 9:05 p.m. against AS Monaco.
Ligue 1's second-highest scorer in 2025 with eleven goals scored, just behind Ousmane Dembélé (13 goals), Belgian Lucas Stassin is out this weekend due to a muscle problem he's been carrying around for weeks. This is a huge setback that Eirik Horneland and his men will have to overcome collectively in front of their home crowd. This is fortunate, as Cardona seems much more comfortable in the Chaudron since his return (4 goals, 2 assists), and he will be supported by the other great satisfaction of the summer transfer window: Zuriko Davitashvili. The Georgian, hyperactive against Racing, has 8 goals and 7 assists for his first season in the top flight.
Behind them, another player is poking his nose out of the window at the end of the season: Pierre Ekwah. The native of Massy, in the Paris region, is positioning himself as the hub and a staunch force in ASSE's midfield. Having left early for Chelsea before joining Sunderland in the Championship, he has become this season, at 23, a mature player with a technical profile that appeals to Eirik Horneland. Standing at 1m87, he's also not stingy with effort. He has played 26 Championship matches this season, all as a starter. His purchase option is set at €7 million and will only be activated if the club remains in Ligue 1.
A pressure that the Greens have had on their shoulders since the beginning of the season but that the club's new owner, Larry Tanenbaum, does not see as an end in itself: "Ligue 2? It would be a setback, but it wouldn't change our project. It's not about a one-year investment, but about building a generation capable of fighting for titles. What we have to do is continue to build, to plan for the future. Whether it requires more money or more time, it's part of our plan," he confided to L'Équipe before the derby against Lyon on Sunday, April 20. Certainly, Ekwah could be part of it. But the time has not yet come for all these considerations.
On the other hand, the context surrounding this Monaco trip to Forez could benefit ASSE. Dominant but ineffective against Strasbourg (0-0) then Le Havre (1-1), Adi Hütter's men are now fourth and begin a perilous final sprint which will then see them face Olympique Lyonnais at Louis II before a final meeting at Bollaert against RC Lens. Last Tuesday, L'Équipe reported that AS Monaco owner Dimitri Rybolovlev went to the club's performance center in La Turbie to "meet the sporting management, the staff and several executives (Denis Zakaria, Thilo Kehrer, Breel Embolo and Aleksandr Golovin)" .
The Monaco squad has been criticized for a lack of investment, particularly against lower-table teams, and some players for already having their minds set on the summer transfer window. Has the message been received by the players? The answer will be given on Saturday in a Cauldron that should once again be boiling. It is not certain, however, that Geoffroy-Guichard's fervor will be an advantage for long. Indeed, it could quickly be extinguished by the decision of the LFP disciplinary committee on the incidents that marred the derby against OL. It will be handed down on May 7. It is a safe bet that a partial or total closed-door match could be decided on the last day of L1 against Toulouse (Saturday, May 17) for "not having ensured the safety of those involved in the match," according to a point in the disciplinary regulations of the Professional Football League.
lefigaro
