TOPS
It was his glory day. Mahdi Camara was touched by grace this Saturday during the slap inflicted by Brest on Strasbourg (0-3) for the 23rd day of Ligue 1. In the 33rd minute, the former Stéphanois started the hostilities of a match rather originally soft. After recovering a blocked shot from Satriano, Camara surprised Bellaarouch with a dry strike, and started his evening. The double came at the end of an action well carried out by his teammates, and which he concluded perfectly. But, he still wasn’t satisfied and asked for more. In search of his hat-trick, he tried twice to increase the toll, and it was finally the goal that came to him from the penalty spot (58th). The midfielder walked away with the match ball as a reward for a meeting he will not soon forget.
For almost the entire 90 minutes, Brest gave a feeling of lightness on the pitch. It was almost too easy. Without forcing too much, the men in red slowly got into the swing of things, taking advantage of Strasbourg’s inactivity. When Madhi Camara opened the scoring, the game changed and everything became simpler in the Brest game. Hugo Magnetti suspended, Jonas Martin replaced him perfectly in a three-way environment, the heart and driving force of the collective. The passing patterns linked together brilliantly, like on the second goal, which started with an offensive touch. In the triangle, Lala combined with Satriano who led the attack to the untouchable Camara, in an amorphous defense. Brest was on a walk.
FLOPS
Short passing circuits, rotations, Mahdi Camara stealing a penalty from Romain Del Castillo, all in a silent stadium from the first goal, until the final whistle. Brest was like training this Saturday. As if Patrick Vieira’s men did not feel concerned by the match. Late in the duels, too soft defensively, Racing was completely overwhelmed by the intensity offered by Stade Brestois. In attack, it was not better. Emegha scored the first shot of the game for the locals in the 46th minute of play. And even when the Bretons took their foot off the gas, the RCSA did not cast the shadow of a revolt. Rare enough to note, the Strasbourg nightmare ended with the Bronca de la Meinau, annoyed by this pitiful performance.
Like the Strasbourg attack, Kévin Gameiro remained silent. Except that for him, the 100th goal in Ligue 1 is still waiting, since December. In addition to the average performance of number 9, the entire Strasbourg team was not satisfied. Whether it was 0-0, or when honor had to be saved at the end of the match. The Alsatians did not bring the slightest danger into the opposing area, as evidenced by their score of 0.21 for expected goals (probability that a shot will be converted into a goal). The lack of desire shown by Racing earned it the anger of its public, although renowned for its wisdom.
