GK, Matthieu Dreyer (Lorient) – A perennial understudy throughout his career, he inherited the number one jersey after Paul Nardi was dropped for poor form with Lorient unable to find a replacement in January. In this draw with Monaco, he was solid throughout and commanded his area well while adding two excellent second-half saves, most memorably with a foot from a Ben Yedder header.
FB, Dimitri Liénard (Strasbourg) – He seems to have won the battle over Anthony Caci at left-wing-back, despite it not being his natural role, and he again impressed for Strasbourg as the win at Angers kept RCSA in the top four.
CB, Léo Pétrot (Lorient) – As a reserve with Saint-Etienne, seeing few first-team opportunities, rarely did he look like becoming a Ligue 1 player – especially as part of a two-man centre-back set up, but here he handled Volland and Ben Yedder well in the draw with Monaco. An acrobatic clearance ahead of Ben Yedder late on was key.
CB, Castello Lukeba (Lyon) – Increasingly commanding and assured, Lukeba is quickly becoming the discovery of the Ligue 1 season and he marshalled the Lyon defence expertly in the win over Nice. With Jérôme Boateng’s status uneasy, he’s not far off becoming Lyon’s defensive leader.
FB, Facundo Medina (Lens) – He led his team in defensive actions with 13 in the 3-2 win over Bordeaux, which included a committed diving block on a powerful Elis shot before halftime. He can be erratic at times but here his all-action style worked in his favour.
DM, Maxence Caqueret (Lyon) – He was lucky to get away with being pickpocketed by Kluivert before halftime but that was his only error as OL impressive beat Nice. His varied and intelligent passing and precise dribbling pushed Lyon forward throughout and many of his side’s more dangerous attacks originated via an astute Caqueret ball deep in midfield.
CM, Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon) – He was clearly keen to impress upon his return to Parc OL for the win over Nice and played with a verve, confidence and intensity rarely seen since his departure. His clever reverse cross found Toko-Ekambi for the second and he could have had two more assists via a pair of intelligent through balls for Dembélé.
AM, Téji Savanier (Montpellier) – Despite the unfortunate loss to Lille, he was the central protagonist as usual and was a constant threat via some teasing crossing and sharp midfield interplay while being unlucky not to score due to a second-half volley being well blocked after Jardim’s smart near-post save before halftime.
WF, Frank Honorat (Brest) – It was he who pinched possession from Palmer-Brown to square for Satriano’s second in the 5-1 mauling of Troyes and he arrived late in support of a counter to fire home for 3-1 before clinically finishing off the fourth. Along with Jonathan Gradit of Lens, he remains Ligue 1’s most underrated player.
WF, Kylian Mbappé (PSG) – He rarely played with the intensity he’s capable of but was still PSG’s standout threat all night against Rennes with some jinking skill in midfield and a turn of pace on the flanks. It was he who won the game late on with a precise finish having effortlessly been the game’s best player.
ST, Martín Satriano (Brest) – His deft chest control and volleyed finish brilliantly opened the scoring as Brest beat Troyes 5-1, it may have been the goal of the weekend, and he made an alert run to tap home for 2-0. His movement and persistence were a threat throughout and he linked up astutely with Honorat.