Ligue 1: in full doubt and barrage, the MHSC is experiencing a winter in reverse

Akor Adams et les Pailladins peinent à se relever et sont au beau milieu d’une spirale négative. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

Au bout d’un mois de février gâché, Montpellier plonge à la place de barragiste et inquiète pour son maintien en Ligue 1.

The old curmudgeons preserve the thread of unity. Sunday, under the deluge of the Mosson, Téji Savanier, the captain, and Jordan Ferri, his eternal accomplice, talk with the Ultras de la Butte.

Also read: MHSC – Strasbourg: Nordin decisive, Ferri in the oven and in the mill, Sagnan in the tough, the notes of the Montpellier residents

The two thirty-year-olds cope with the opposite feelings, after a very annoying draw in front of Strasbourg (2-2), and preserve the fragile sacred union with their faithful supporters, just as bruised by this fall to the place of play-off player .
Savanier and Ferri keep their heads cool after a topsy-turvy winter. They face the storm and want to let the storm pass.

"We had a good match, we managed to score twice. We had to not give up points today, it was a very important match not to lose", tempers into the microphone of Prime video, the playmaker, who prefers to retain the point of an eighth draw at Mosson. With ten days to go, they are perhaps looking ahead to spring (Le Havre, Lorient, Clermont, Reims, Nantes, Toulouse), the last cartridge to chase away a hold that is hanging by a thread.

Also read: MHSC had not been in the bottom three of Ligue 1 since February 2016

A year ago, the day after a second reshuffle on the bench with the return of Michel Der Zakarian in place of Romain Pitau, Montpellier seized the opportunity of a favorable schedule to rotate the wheel of misfortune. With ten points ahead of three direct competitors for retention (Brest, Troyes and Angers) and a candidate for the title: Lens).

MHSC continues to slide

There, Montpellier has just wasted the same opportunity to get its head above water. In this old Mosson stadium, which shelters neither rain nor the flight of success, Michel Der Zakarian's team only took four points ahead of Lyon (1-2 ), Metz (3-0) and therefore Strasbourg, poorly classified in poor form.

And in the meantime, she sank in Marseille (4-1), "convalescent", put back on her feet by her first success of the calendar year in Ligue 1.

⚽️⚽️ 𝑳𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆́ 𝒅𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏 face à Strasbourg ⚡️

🔥 2️⃣ 𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒒𝒖𝒆́𝒔 = ➕5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣€ pour l’Association "𝑮𝒆́𝒏𝒆́𝒓'𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑺𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒆" : lutte contre le harcèlement scolaire#JouonsLaCollectif @FondsOrangeBleu 🧡 pic.twitter.com/fqNYxVaRjW

— MHSC (@MontpellierHSC) March 4, 2024

Before challenging Nice, which fell from the podium, and post-Mbappé PSG, Montpellier is not moving forward. Or rather he retreats to a position as roadblocker, which he has not held since February 6, 2016. Meanwhile, others: Lyon, Lorient and Toulouse, in particular, are coming to the surface . And with a successful transfer window, they are blowing on the embers of hope. And, Metz, one of the two relegated with Clermont, no longer has the head of a condemned man.

Also read:MHSC – Strasbourg: 'It's impossible to defend like that,' regrets Michel Der Zakarian on the two goals conceded

At the end of the African and Asian Nations Cup, but also the transfer window, Montpellier makes an observation, as bitter as it is new. If the partners of the returning Arnaud Nordin (3 goals) score a little more, and not only on set pieces, they concede a lot of goals. With a five or four defense, with or without Falaye Sacko, scapegoat for the rout in Marseille, they have just conceded eight goals. Including two penalties, signs of frayed nerves.

"We must avoid both goals. We didn’t defend well on those shots. We concede a penalty thirty seconds of play after the break. We must avoid these errors if we want to win matches ", points out the Montpellier coach, who hopes to recover another grunt: Christopher Jullien to consolidate the central hinge against Nice .

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