Days of Russian soccer in France: “How Aleksandr Golovin and Daler Kuziaev light up in Ligue 1”.
The French top soccer division, Ligue 1, has become one of the most interesting foreign championships for Russian fans in the new season.
Last season, Ligue 1 was closely followed by fans of Russian Monaco midfielder Aleksandr Golovin, who had the most effective campaign of his career. Now the former CSKA Moscow midfielder has been joined in France’s top league by former Zenit player Daler Kuziaev, who moved to Le Havre in the summer. And Russian fans have even more reasons to follow the twists and turns in Ligue 1.
Golovin and Kuziaev are not just on the rosters of their French clubs, but are also prominent figures in the teams. It is particularly pleasing to see Kuziaev, who has not previously played at a high level abroad, show leadership qualities and now he has taken the burden of leadership on his shoulders at Le Havre. Daler has already managed to score two goals in four games for the newcomer to the French elite division, earning the French press a lot of laudatory epithets. Including headlines like “The Birth of a Tsar”.
Kuziaev is also helping Le Havre in the standings. If before the start of the season, the newcomer to Ligue 1 was considered a potential fighter for survival, but now the Russian team is already considered to be more of a group of “solid middles” of the championship. Analysts estimate Le Havre’s chances of survival in the elite division at more than 60% probability. Two weeks earlier, this figure was at 46%.
Now, when Kuziaev’s team is confidently positioned in the middle of the table and shows good quality soccer, betting experts can afford more optimistic forecasts for its tournament future.
Well, Aleksandr Golovin’s Monaco are being talked about in extremely enthusiastic tones. After four rounds, the Monegasques are leading the Ligue 1 table with 10 points and most importantly – scoring the most goals of all participants of the season. “Red and White” has already managed to hit the gates of opponents 13 times, and one of these goals – in the last round in the match against “Lance” (the second team of last season defeated with a score of 3:0) recorded on his account Golovin.
“Monaco” more and more confidently called the main competitor to the star, but still very unstable “Paris Saint-Germain” in the battle for the title in Ligue 1. And although the Parisians are still considered the clear favorite in this battle, including betting analysts, giving PSG more than 76% chance of winning the gold medal, Monaco is making great progress in all sorts of rankings this season. And in particular, compared to the start of the campaign, the team has made a big difference with their play to their win of the season quotes. While previously Golovin and his teammates were predicted to win the title with only a 5% chance, this figure has now risen to the 10% mark. And we can expect it to change for the better for the Monegasques in the future, as the team has a good calendar in the coming weeks.
A big plus for Monaco in the new season could be the absence of the European Cup. Of course, the fans would like their favorite soccer team to try their hand at the continental level, but in terms of expenditure of energy and concentration on the main goal – the fight in the championship, not getting into the European Cup can play into the hands of Golovin’s team.
The same PSG, which is unanimously called the main favorite in Ligue 1 in the new season, will have to be regularly distracted by the Champions League, where the team will face difficult opponents in the face of AC Milan, Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund. And while the Parisians will be “atomized” between two important tournaments and will surely lose points in the championship (because the Champions League has long been a priority for the club), “Monaco” will be able to get the opportunity to accumulate more points gap from the famous rival. And who knows – we may be talking about Russian Golovin’s team as the main contender for the title in the elite French division in the spring.
At the same time, of course, we should not forget about Kuziaev and his Le Havre team. Of course, this team has less ambitions for the season, and first of all, they will have to fulfill the main goal – to keep their place in the elite. However, judging by the starting rounds, in which the newcomer to the division has lost only once so far, collected 5 points and regularly scores in other people’s gates, soon the goals may be adjusted, and it is possible that “Le Havre” will be talked about as one of the contenders to win the championship. And it is the Russian midfielder Kuzyaev who is now considered to be one of the main factors in such a “transformation”.
By the way, the face-to-face confrontation between Daler and Aleksandr in the new championship promises to be extremely curious. The date of this “Russian date” in France is already known – on November 12 “Le Havre” will host “Monaco” at home stadium within the 12th round of Ligue 1. By then, a lot of things in the tournament position of the rivals may change, but the main thing is that both main objects of attention of Russian soccer fans in France were healthy and were able to show their maximum on the field.
For now, the start of the season can be considered, if not perfect, then extremely convincing for both Russian internationals in Ligue 1. And if Kuziaev and Golovin manage to continue in the same vein, and if their teammates manage to support their Russian teammates in a quality manner, the successes of Monaco and Le Havre will be talked about more often not only in France and Russia.
