French Football Weekly

Game 1 is done! Kris, Jez and Phil analyse France 1 - 0 Germany - the selection, the system, the silkiness... Also Hungary's crumble against Portugal in the other Group F game, Phil's boss, and how TV dealt with Christian Eriksen's collapse.

The season is over and the Euros are about to begin! Kris, Jez and Phil look backwards, forwards and sideways at the standings, managerial changes, transfer market and France's chances as they face Germany, Hungary and Portugal in the group stages.

After a chaotic final day, Kris, Jez and Phil round up the final standings - Lille win their first title since 2011, PSG are pushed to second place, Nantes have a play-off to contend with, nobody really understands the Europa Conference League, *all* the managers are moving around, and who were the nicest team this season...

Kris and Jez are joined by a special guest for a very special pod - Angus Torode joins the lads to discuss his career. They also look at the France team that will go to the Euros, and the final of the Coupe de France.

As the season burns to a close, Kris, Jez and Phil look back over PSG's exit from the Champions' League, complications in Ligue 1, promotions from Ligue 2, and the upcoming Coupe de France semi-finals.

It's been a very busy week, and Kris, Jez and Phil have a special guest to talk about PSG's performances in both domestic and European competition - Matt Gooding aka @PSGTourist. Lyon beat Monaco to probably screw up the principality's hopes of the title, PSG struggled more than you'd think against Lens, Lille beat ten men who didn't get a shot off (Nice), and that's before you look at the Champions' League.

Quiet weekend, wasn't it? Kris and Phil look back over a sometimes baffling week, in which both PSGs can thank the away goals rule for their progression to the Champions League semi-finals - the men after a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich at the Parc des Prince, the women after knocking out seven-time trophy winners Lyon with a 2-1 away win. As well as that there were a couple of five-goal thrillers featuring very late winners in Ligue 1, as Kris' Lorient succumbed to OM at the Velodrome 3-2 with a double from Pol Lirola cancelling out ditto from Terem Moffi, and PSG v Saint-Etienne being probably the most exciting last 15 minutes of the season ending in a 96th minute winner from Mauro Icardi as the hosts also won 3-2. We have a midweek Coupe de France round for the quarter-finals and an interesting weekend coming up which finishes with Lyon v Lille in a key game for the title race. Also - yes, we went there - the recently announced 'European Super League' (other super leagues are available) causes sadness, anger, confusion, and Phil talking about EU corporate law, even though no French teams are involved in it...yet.

PSG beat Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champion's League Quarter Finals, all the top four won, we have two fourth-tier teams in the Coupe de France Quarter Finals, and it turns out the French women's team are fine without most of the OL contingent. Kris, Jez and Phil round up a week of interesting developments across multiple competitions.

We had a little international / Easter break of our own, so Kris, Jez and Phil have a lot to round up this week. France drew with Ukraine and beat Kazakhstan and Bosnia-Herzogovina in World Cup qualifying, and the U21s lost to Denmark and beat Russia and Iceland to progress to the quarter-finals of the Euros. Then we had a key set of games on Saturday in Ligue 1 as Lille beat PSG, Monaco beat Metz and Lyon drew at Lens to throw the top of the table into a spin, and elsewhere there were concussions, penalties, red cards and much more besides.

Game 30 of Ligue 1 saw some movement at the top, as Lille lost unexpectedly to Nimes, and PSG won away at Lyon. With the top and bottom of the table (barring Dijon) as tight as ever, Kris, Jez and Phil look back at all the weekend's action, an unexpectedly early Coupe de France quarter final, and the upcoming international break.

Oh ho ho ho ho. When OL drew at Reims and Monaco and Lille played out a goalless draw (sorry about that everyone) it looked like PSG were in the box seat to take top spot in Ligue 1. It didn't go according to plan. Kris, Jez and Phil look back over a chaotic weekend that ended with a twist that nobody saw coming. Features Champions League, Haribo, Twitter bugs, and more.

It was enjoyably chaotic in the 16emes of the Coupe de France with late goals, penalty shoot-outs, cupsets, smoke-bombs, red cards and Kylian Mbappe scoring a pub-team goal. Phil and John Mainland discuss the magic of the Coupe, the impact of Covid, and when exactly the draw for the next round will be...

Julien Stephan has resigned from Rennes, Jacques-Henri Eyraud has left Marseille, Jorge Sampaoli is coming in, Bordeaux could be up for sale and their captain Laurent Koscielny has had some strong words about the state of the club - there's a lot going on in Ligue 1. Kris, Jez and Phil work their way through the comings and goings, the form and the title race (still on, at time of writing), before a midweek round that could be crucial for the standings, and a weekend of Coupe de France action to come.

France's European teams had differing fortunes, as the title race looks ever more like a four-way fight. Kris, Jez and Phil review PSG's comprehensive win over Barcelona and Lille's defeat against Ajax, before returning to home territory for goalkeeping ricks, catch-up games, the managerial merry-go-round, and Kris' attempts to pronounce the teams in the draw for the Coupe de France 16emes.

Kris, Jez and Phil round up the Ligue trouser of the Coupe de France 32emes where there were three 'upsets', before moving on to the weekend's Ligue 1 action which saw PSG win 2-1 against Nice but the rest of the top four all drop points. A turning point in the title race, or a coincidence that lends more weight to individually understandable results?

After some surprising results, 2/3 of the team are giddy with glee - Kris, Jez and Phil focus on the bottom of the table, Lorient's shock win against PSG, the worrying events at Marseille, and the ongoing omnishambles that is the TV coverage of the French leagues.

Game 21 saw some big scores, including in the derby as Lyon won 5-0 away at Saint-Etienne. Birthday boy Kris is joined by Jez and Phil to round up all the action including Marseille continuing to be awkward on several levels, PSG and Lille doing the necessary, and Bordeaux showing their style in attack and defence as they beat Angers 2-1.

The 'season-opening' Trophee des Champions saw PSG beat OM on a cold and foggy January evening, and game 20 saw some interesting table developments. Kris, Jez and Phil round up all the happenings including numerous shanked penalties, a missing game, Benoit Costil's clean-sheet exploits and OM's current difficulties.

Tuchel out and Poch in at PSG, Domenech in at Nantes - Kris, Jez and Phil look back at the managerial changes over Christmas and the current table standings. Also features a small quiz about Olivier Giroud.

Kris, Jez and Phil look back over a really busy week. We've lost Gerard Houillier, seen PSG follow Basaksehir off the field in response to racist language from an official, discuss the ongoing failure of French teams to go deep in Europe, wonder if there will be a title race this year, and whether or not we'll be able to watch any matches after Christmas.

Kris, Jez and Phil look back over game 5 in Europe and the 13th round of Ligue 1, including Vieira's departure, some other potential departures, fog, red cards, an actual title battle, and France's 2022 World Cup qualifying group.

Kris, Jez and Phil look back over a worrying 4th game in Europe with the French teams not massively impressing, and a confusing round 12 in Ligue 1. Dijon have finally won a game, OL look like they might be looking up, OM have two games in hand, and there's some managers coming under increasing pressure. Rumours abound that the Coupe de France is under threat, and the issues with the French Women's team continue.

Kris, Jez and Phil round up a confusing weekend of results, with Monaco coming from 2-0 down to beat PSG, Brest adding to Saint-Etienne's woes, a goalfest at Mosson, and Lille looking good. Round 4 of the European competitions is coming up and Rennes and Marseille are probably looking for Europa League places after Christmas.

Kris, Jez and Phil review the international break, with the men's senior team getting through to the final four of the Nations' League, the U21s topping their Euro qualifying group, and the women's team continuing to have off the pitch issues.

After ten games of Ligue 1 - more or less - Kris, Jez and Phil round up the weekend's action, the quality you can see even at the bottom of the table, and look forward to the international break where France will play Finland, Portugal and Sweden.

Kris and Jez are on their own this week to discuss a fairly problematic Champion's League round, as well as the Europa League, Ligue 1, and the recent announcement of the French squad for the next international break.

A newly Twitterless Kris is joined by Jez and Phil to look back at the second round of the Champions' League, the weekend's league action, contrasting fortunes in the Europa league, and how the newly announced lockdown in France will affect French football.

The Champions League started badly for the French contingent, so Kris, Jez and Phil look back over 1 point from 3 matches and some late goals that did for PSG and OM. We also look at the weekend's games, lots of goals, two teams going down to nine men, whether we need to talk about Saint-Etienne, and if Lille might make a race of this.

Kris, Jez and Phil look back over the international break, including two Nations' League games, and discuss Giroud's 100th cap, formation changes, and Kylian Mbappe's job. We also look forward to the weekend's schedule featuring several matches between closely placed teams, and give a nod to the start of European club competition.

Kris, Jez and Phil round up game 6 of Ligue 1 including PSG's 6-1 win against Angers, the FFW derby as Metz won 3-1 against Lorient, and a slightly strange Olimpico. There's also some transfer news, Stephane Moulin's bad optics, the sad death of Eddie van Halen, and teams scoring with their only shot on target. Enjoy the international break!

We missed last week because reasons, so are back to round up game 5, what Lyon and PSG are up to, the Champions League draw, French team announcement, and various discinplinary issues.

It's been a quiet week, so Kris, Jez and Phil try to think of things to talk about. This includes the card-laden stramash with occasional football that was le Classique which saw Marseille winning 1-0 at the Parc des Princes, Lyon's woes, the current location of Houssem Aouar, Montpellier's up-and-at-'em style, and Irvin Cardona putting his name in early for the Puskás Award.

After an international break that saw France beat Sweden and Croatia in the Nations League, Kris, Jez and Phil look back at les Bleus' performances, the new defensive set-up, the U21s, how many players PSG actually have available, and some mild transfer chat.

We've had Day 2 of the new season (PSG notwithstanding) and roll into the first international break this weekend as France play Sweden and Croatia, but OL have also finally put an end to last season with their win in the Women's Champions League. Kris, Jez and Phil try to work out what day it actually is.

Just an intimate twosome this week as Kris and Jez review Matchday 1 of the new Ligue 1 season, picking out all the teams who seem to be missing a goalscorer and spotting the team who have found one! We also discuss the rights and wrongs of the Lens vs PSG postponement. And we end with a look at Didier Deschamps' latest squad announcement, which includes some exciting new call-ups, some interesting recalls ... and the inevitable Boring Benzema Brigade Backlash.

In our Champions League final review special, Kris and Jeremy are joined by PSG fan (and Jeremy Menez fetishist) Matthew Gooding to look back on where the final was won and lost. We analyse the match, PSG's Champions League campaign and whether or not the future is bright for les Parisiens. We also discuss whether Ligue 1's reputation has been enhanced, and touch on whether or not PSG are unfairly treated in the media.

After the Champions League semi-finals, Kris, Jez and Phil regret Lyon's loss to Bayern and review PSG's win over Leipzig. They look forward to the final on Sunday, and try to work out when and how Ligue 1 is going to restart.

After the mildly unexpected victory of Lyon over Manchester City in the last of the Champions' League quarter-finals, Kris, Jez and Phil convene for a short bonus pod in which we all try to work out what the heck happened, who was (ir)responsible, who shone, who didn't, and what might happen as the semi-finals heave into view.

It's been a busy week as the 2019/20 season hits the business end(TM) - Kris, Jez and Phil review PSG's last-minute comeback against Atalanta, Lyon progressing against Juventus, and the Coupe de France Feminine final, where OL beat PSG on penalties after an unexpected goalless draw. In the Champions' League, Lyon will play Manchester City on Saturday, and we nervously consider how that could pan out, as well as discussing PSG's chances against their yet-to-be-confirmed opponent (Atletico Madrid or RB Leipzig). In the women's game, both OL and PSG will be off to Bilbao for the final stages of the WCL, to face Bayern Munich and Arsenal respectively.

The French football season is over, as PSG beat Lyon on penalties in the last ever Coupe de la Ligue final. Kris, Jez and Phil are here to look at that, Lyon's upcoming game against Juventus, the transfer market, COVID, and more besides.

We're back! Ligue 1 may have died a death in March, but we've just had the Coupe de France final, and are awaiting the Coupe de la Ligue Final on Friday and the Portugal-based 'lads on tour' Champions League thingy in August. Thus, Kris, Jez and Phil get the band back together to round up what the hell has been happening. Features promotions, relegations, transfers, stats, Loic Perrin and occasional friendlies.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Kris, Rich and Phil round up PSG's win over Dortmund in the Champions' League, the Ligue 1 action last weekend, the Ligue 1 action we hope will happen this weekend, and how the burgeoning global pandemic may affect football more generally. Stay safe everyone.

Kris, Jez, Phil and Rich round up PSG's 5-1 win over a ten-man Lyon, the Rhone derby, Rayan Cherki, why Rich doesn't like Mark Hughes and whether Alan Curbishley will ever manage in Ligue 1.

Kris, Rich and Phil are here to talk Lyon, after their impressive win over Juventus in the Champions League and with some tricky matches on the way. The gang also look back at the weekend's results, and some red cards that will be important in upcoming games, a brief look at the Ligue 2 standings, and what's coming up next week.

PSG have had a hell of a week, from a 6-1 hammering of Dijon in the Coupe de France, through a chaotic 4-4 draw in the Ligue to 19th placed Amiens, to a 2-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League knock-out stages. Kris, Jez and Phil are here to look at what happened, how, why, by whom and wherever. They also round up the weekend's Ligue results as Saint Etienne continue to suffer and Nimes have something approaching a bounce, and look forward to a slightly underwhelming next round of fixtures.

Amidst a confusing midweek round, Kris, Jez, Rich and Phil try to keep up with what's going on after PSG won 5-0 against Montpellier, Mbappe threw a strop, Nimes are playing well, and a Depay-less Lyon have had trouble. Rich sings Camavinga's praises in our new French Football Futures section, and Jez has hope for Metz.

We're back! After an extended winter break, Kris, Phil, Rich and Jez are joined by Coupe correspondent John Mainland to look back at the post-Christmas action, including many cupsets in the Coupe de France, one of which happens as we are recording. Along with the Ligue 1 positions and Coupe de la Ligue, we will be starting our series 'French Football Future' in the coming weeks, so if there are any players you are anxious to hear about, let us know in the comments or on Twitter.

It's party time - except in Ligue 1 where there were only 15 goals in the last round of games - so Kris and Phil are here to round up all the action, the Coupe de la Ligue (ongoing), the Champion's League draw, and look particularly at Lyon and Monaco as 2019 draws to a close.

There were 35 goals over the weekend, and Kris, Jez and Phil are here to try to keep up. We've also seen a bunch of cupsets in the Coupe de France, and some serious handbags in the Champions' League.

We're ten games into Ligue 1 and three games into the European competitions, so Kris, Jez and Phil are here to cover all the action, including Garcia's awkward start at Lyon, Angel di Maria, late goals, WCL success, and more.