Ligue 1 fans are given unprecedented TV access – but only to old storylines | Ligue 1

An elaborate exercise in window dressing is perhaps how to best describe the return of Ligue 1 football. With the league-owned Ligue 1+ taking over broadcasting duties and with a desperate need to “add value” to the “product”, there was a sweeping range of innovations for the return of top-flight football.

Viewers were treated to France World Cup winner Djibril Sidibé dialling in from the Toulouse dressing room following their win over Nice; Nantes manager Luís Castro providing a mid-match tactical overview during their defeat to PSG; images of raucous dressing room celebrations, of pre-match preparations, team talks, you name it. Stadiums become panopticon prisons, and omnipresent cameras erode any mystery that remains in the relationship between those who play the sport and those who watch it.

The “innovations”, by and large, have been well received, and the viewer experience has never felt more privileged, even if some players are unsure. Nice defender Jonathan Clauss warned against the potential invasiveness. “It’s still our dressing room. You have to find a happy middle ground,” said the France international. But, above all, these measures have been introduced out of necessity. In a league so dominated by one team, it can be argued that they are a replacement for, rather than a complement to, the sporting spectacle.

The new season, only one week old, is already repurposing the old storylines. PSG and their purported closest challengers, Marseille, both played very much to type. The European champions, with just two weeks of pre-season under their belts following their tardy finish to last season, were heavily rotated for their visit to Nantes. Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Marquinhos and Willian Pacho were all on the bench.

They huffed and puffed, but finally got over the line thanks to a fortuitously deflected Vitinha effort. Even physically diminished, Luis Enrique’s side find a way in Ligue 1. With their attention on more tantalising trophies, rotation will be the norm for PSG unless pressure can be applied by their rivals, and there are doubts there.

Marseille, having finished second last season, and having strengthened with the likes of Angel Gomes, Facundo Medina and Igor Paixão – the most expensive summer signing by any French club bar PSG this summer – are the most likely to contest the champions’ supremacy. But they, too, struck some familiar chords in their opener.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side dominated possession but did little with it despite Rennes going down to 10 men on the half-hour mark. Marseille had their first shot on target in the 66th minute and their lack of cutting edge came back to bite them in stoppage time. Ludovic Blas, off the bench, beat Marseille’s high line and slotted past Geronimo Rulli one-on-one. “We should never be in a position to concede a goal like that,” said De Zerbi, who, according to reports in the local press, saved his harsher words for the dressing down, one of the rare moments occluded from mass viewership.

With tensions reportedly arising between Adrien Rabiot and England youth international Jonathan Rowe in the Marseille dressing room, De Zerbi intervened. “The others beat us on the pitch, and we come in here and fight among ourselves. You know what that means? That we have small balls. In Marseille, we need to have big ones. This is the last time this will happen,” the Italian could be heard saying in a speech that pierced through the walls of Roazhon Park.

The tendency to explode is ingrained at Marseille, even embraced. A few years ago the club named their magma-influenced third kit “volcanic population” – a reference to the hostile atmosphere at the club’s stadium, the Vélodrome. However, these internal eruptions are inconducive to the stability and consistency needed to sustain a real title challenge.

Threats to quit, week-long retreats in Rome and reported tensions within the squad defined De Zerbi’s tumultuous if ultimately successful first season at Marseille. But there are degrees of success, and the contrast to the unity and serenity that characterised PSG’s fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title only goes to highlight what Marseille lack in this regard. Juggling European football won’t help their efforts to dethrone PSG either, not that the objective has been set to do so.

Beyond Marseille, there is Monaco, whose unconvincing 3-1 win against Le Havre was one of only two games that produced more than a single goal. “We cannot be satisfied with the performance. We can do much better,” said Adi Hütter. His team looks competitive once again but the potential departure of captain Denis Zakaria, a target for Al-Ahli, would represent a big blow to their ambitions.

Lille look weaker, as evidenced in their 3-3 draw against Brest, while Nice look to be in a spot of bother. They lost 1-0 to Toulouse and were also dumped out of Champions League qualifying after a 4-0 loss to Benfica. Franck Haise has complained that his squad is not good enough for the dual tasks of competing in the Europa League this season while also trying to finish in the European places. That much was obvious at the weekend.

Once the novelty of the innovations and unprecedented access available on Ligue 1+ wears off – and it will – the need for fresh storylines will become apparent. Few were provided on the opening weekend.

Talking points

Paris FC arrive in Ligue 1 with lofty ambitions, but they were brought quickly crashing back down to earth in their opener. Esteban Lepaul, the major reason Angers defied the odds to remain in the top flight last season, scored the only goal within the opening 10 minutes. Not even a red card for Angers’ Louis Mouton offered Paris FC a route back in what was, by manager Stéphane Gilli’s own admission, a “timid” return to the top flight.

Unlike fellow promoted sides, Lorient and Metz, who also suffered narrow losses on the opening day, Paris FC will be able to turn to the transfer market to remedy the issues laid bare. Gilli has said there will be more arrivals, including Willem Geubbels, who was touted as the next big thing when he came through at Lyon. Now 24, he has joined from St Gallen and should improve a forward line that clearly lacks a bit of bite.

Strasbourg enjoyed a winning start, beating local rivals Metz 1-0. They did so by becoming the first team in Europe’s top five leagues to field a starting XI of players born in 2000 or later. The extremities of BlueCo’s youth-centric recruitment strategy are being tested once again this summer. The club’s ultras have protested against the club’s “absurd” transfer dealings. Continued on-pitch success, however, continues to dampen the voices of discontent around the Meinau.

This is an article by Get French Football News