Ligue 1 Review | Metz fury as collapse closes door on late escape from bottom three

“ I don’t know whether to scream, cry, or laugh .” The anger was palpable as Laszlo Bölöni took to the mic to field questions from the press. FC Metz had seen their chances of escaping the bottom three go up in smoke after a contentious penalty and a harsh red card on talismanic forward Georges Mikautadze saw them collapse to a 3-2 defeat at home to Stade Rennais. 

The press conference was white hot as the manager exploded with a stinging critique of the referee’s performance. “ These judgements, ” he began, “ wouldn’t even pass in amateur football. It’s not easy to referee and usually, when they make a decision it’s understandable. But when someone is blind – and I’m not referring to anyone specifically – they have a white cane. If we have VAR, use it! ” 

This was hardly the first time that the Metz manager had lost his temper in recent weeks as signs that the pressure of attempting to guide the club away from the drop was beginning to take its toll on the experienced head. Only last weekend, Bölöni’s ire was focused on Paris Saint-Germain fielding a weakened team against their relegation rivals, Le Havre AC. 

The manager admitted to being annoyed by Luis Enrique’s decisions believing that it had helped Le Havre pick up an important point at the Parc des Princes something that would only damage Metz’s chances of survival. “ How can I express myself? Who can talk about it? Maybe it’s intelligent if I shut up ,” Bölöni vented. 

This weekend Le Havre had won just a few hours before Metz took to the field meaning that there was an imperative for Bölöni’s side not to drop any more points. A victory would only have allowed Les Grenats to draw level with Le Havre, and while they would not have escaped the bottom three,