Ligue 1

Soccer is one of the very few sports that boasts competitions where small, local sides are able to face off against the best teams in the country. These matchups capture the imagination while providing a sense of hope and magic to a small group of supporters.

Domestic cups have long provided smaller clubs with the opportunity to prove their mettle by facing nationally recognized sides, and while major upsets are rare, just the slightest hope of an improbable win is enough to cause local pandemonium and stir significant interest among neutral supporters.

Few things in sports are as difficult as predicting results of future games. According to Chris Anderson and David Sally, authors of The Numbers Game, soccer is 50 percent luck and 50 percent skill. Add in an overwhelming number of professional leagues and players and the low-scoring nature of matches, soccer is one of the most unpredictable sports. 

A goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Brest thanked his lucky stars on Wednesday after he almost scored one of the most humiliating own goals ever. Thankfully for him, people will instead be Googling “Gautier Larsonneur clearance” for years to come.

Larsonneur was happy as could be during his team’s match against OGC Nice. With ten minutes left before halftime, his team was up 2-0 and he had nothing to worry about. 

AS Monaco midfielder Aleksandr Golovin almost scored the fastest substitute goal that the sport of soccer has ever seen.

During Wednesday’s Ligue 1 match between Monaco and Lorient, Golovin was substituted onto the field in the 64th minute with the score tied a 1-1. It was the Russian’s first appearance for Monaco since Aug. 30 after suffering a severe hamstring injury. He would score in the 64th minute.

It took Golovin all of 10 SECONDS to find the back of the net and give Monaco the lead. Talk about instant impact.

Kylian Mbappé and LeBron James caused a stir on the internet Tuesday when the two sports superstars suddenly swapped profile pictures on Instagram. 

For a moment, fans speculated if the changing of pictures was foreshadowing an Mbappé transfer to Liverpool as James is part of the Reds’ ownership group. ESPN FC stirred the pot a little more by repeating the rumor on Twitter.

Supporters of Ligue 1 club Nantes discovered one of the highest echelons of pettiness that the Earth has ever seen on Wednesday. A band of rowdy supporters berated the team with insults and clown music during training as a means to voice their displeasure with the appointment of former France national team manager Raymond Domenech.