Olympique Marseille and RC Lens produce a goalscoring epic and, Paris-Saint Germain extends their winning streak to eight games.
Goals from Amine Gouiri, Calvin Stengs and Andy Delort helped OGC Nice kick off Matchday 8 with a 3-0 away win over AS Saint-Etienne.
Meanwhile, LOSC Lille won their second consecutive game, overcoming RC Strasbourg, 2-1 at the Meinau Stadium.
Hours later, Olympique Lyonnais overcame an early red card to Emerson Palmieri and salvaged a 1-1 draw against FC Lorient at home.
To complete Saturday’s matches, PSG continued their perfect start to the season with a comfortable 2-0 win over Montpellier HSC.
Although they were without superstar striker Lionel Messi, Idrissa Gueye’s and Julian Draxler’s goals were enough to give the Parisians three valuable points.
Sunday’s opening game saw Girondins Bordeaux’s earn a 1-1 draw on their home turf against Stade Rennais. Edson Andre Sitoe’s 88th-minute equaliser gave the hosts a much needed late point.
During Sunday afternoon’s games, FC Metz defeated Stade Brest 2-1 on the road and, ESTAC Troyes drew 1-1 with Angers SCO after being denied a goal by VAR in the final moments of the game.
Also, Stade de Reims claimed a 3-1 home win against FC Nantes while AS Monaco beat Clermont Foot by the same margin at Stade Gabriel Montpeid.
Game of the Week: Olympique Marseille vs RC Lens
Going into the final game of Matchday 8, Marseille were looking to solidify their spot in second place with a win over fellow top-four contenders, Lens.
However, Lens took an early 1-0 lead at the Orange Velodrome when Pape Gueye’s handball inside the 18-yard box allowed Florian Sotoca to convert from the penalty spot.
Inside half an hour, Lens doubled their advantage after Przemyslaw Frankowski’s curling shot found the back of the net.
Knowing that the game was slowly slipping away from his side, Marseille captain Dimitri Payet stepped up to score an iconic free-kick and calmly slot away a penalty to tie the match at 2-2 before the halftime whistle.
Even though Payet’s brilliance allowed the hosts to build momentum heading into the second half, super-sub Wesley Said’s header in the 71st-minute was the decisive goal, giving Lens an upset 3-2 victory over Marseille.
Player of the Week: Hugo Ekitike
Reims’ 19-year old winger was superb on the weekend, scoring a brace in eight minutes against Nantes despite starting the game on the bench.
Ekitike’s mixture of height, speed and power has helped him develop into one of the emerging stars of Ligue 1.
Following Matchday 8, PSG remains on top of the Ligue 1 standings (24 points, eight games played).
Lens ( 5 points, eight games played), Marseille (14 points, seven games played) and, Nice (13 points, seven games played) round out the top four.
