Due to the arrival of the national team match day, the five major leagues are in the off-season, but Ligue 1 is still in progress. At 2:00 a.m. on January 27, in a make-up match in the 20th round, Batista Mendy swung himself, and Saint-Etienne beat Angers 1-0, ending the embarrassment of losing seven consecutive league games and igniting the hope of relegation.
In the 43rd minute, Saint-Etienne played a tacit match on the left side of the penalty area, and substitute Buanga 1V1 shook off the angle and crossed, Batista Mendy broke through the mistake and sent the ball into his own door.
With this goal, Saint-Etienne beat Angers 1-0 and broke out a small underdog. This 1-0, for Saint-Etienne, was like a long drought, ending the 7-game losing streak in the league.
The last time Saint-Etienne won in Ligue 1 was on 21 November last year, when they beat Troyes 1-0 to win two straight. After 67 days of waiting, Saint-Etienne finally regained the joy of victory. The final whistle blew and the Saint-Etienne security team celebrated wildly, rallying together to cheer up.
Saint-Etienne is a 102-year-old veteran team that has won the Ligue 1 title a total of 10 times, Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille 9 times, Monaco and Nantes 8 times, Lyon 7 times and Bordeaux 6 times, ranking first in history. But since the start of the 81/82 season, Saint-Etienne has been without a Ligue 1 title for a long time, with the league title being a 40-year drought.
In the 18/19 season, Saint-Etienne ended with a fourth-place finish in Ligue 1 and qualified for the Europa League, and no one expected to start sinking after that. In the 19/20 season, Saint-Etienne was relegated in a thrilling 4th-to-last round and 11th last season.
Saint-Etienne started the season without a win in 12 consecutive rounds, only to stop the decline in the 13th round with a 3-2 win over promoted Conamount. However, Saint-Etienne thus sat firmly at the bottom of the table, winning only 3 wins, 6 draws and 13 defeats after 22 rounds, ranking at the bottom with 15 points.
Despite ending a 67-day unbeatable circle, Saint-Etienne is still two points behind Lorient in front of him and continues to serve as a deputy squad leader in Ligue 1.
Of course, Saint-Etienne doesn't need to despair, as they are only five points from the relegation line and there is still time to redeem themselves considering there are 16 rounds left in the league.