FC Lorient were surprised at Laval on Saturday (2-0) but remain at the top of Ligue 2 after this 17th day, which saw Dunkerque climb to second place despite a draw at Guingamp. After the misadventures of Paris FC, defeated by the last Martigues 2-1 on Friday, Lorient did not take advantage of it and the race to climb is more uncertain than ever: five teams are held in three points.
Yet dominant, Lorient (1st, 33 pts) paid Laval for its lack of efficiency, like this missed header from Eli Kroupi, which seemed unmissable (42nd). Laval came back more determined in the second half and, after a free kick hit the post, Christ-Owen Kouassi followed perfectly to open the scoring and score his first goal in L2 at 21 (67th).
Dunkirk and Metz stall
Malik Tchokounté, after good work from Jordan Tell on an express counter, doubled the lead (86th). Laval (6th, 28 pts) remains in ambush behind the top 5. In the afternoon, Dunkirk conceded a draw to Guingamp (1-1). Although they missed the opportunity to take the lead, the Northerners (32 pts) nevertheless moved up to second place ahead of Paris FC (31 pts).
In a match that could have gone one way or the other until the last minute, the Dunkirk players thought they were making their task easier by opening the score, with a goal from midfielder Enzo Bardeli (56th). But the Guingampais reacted, trapping Dunkirk on a counter well concluded by Rayan Ghrieb (59th). They even thought about taking the advantage, before being denied a goal for offside (77th).
Despite this draw, Luis Castro's men, who extended at the end of December until 2027, finished the first leg in place of runner-up. Metz (4th, 30 pts) also had the possibility of getting on the podium by hosting Pau (8th) on Saturday, but never found the opportunity to open the score (0-0).
