2018–19 FC Metz season

The 2018–19 season was the 87th season in the existence of FC Metz and the club's first season back in the second division of French football. In addition to the domestic league, Metz participated in this season's editions of the Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue.

FC Metz

2018–19 season
Chairman	Bernard Serin
Manager	Frédéric Antonetti
Stadium	Stade Saint-Symphorien
Ligue 2	1st (promoted)
Coupe de France	Round of 16
Coupe de la Ligue	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Habib Diallo (26) All: Habib Diallo (26)
Biggest win	5–1 vs Orléans
Home colours Away colours Third colours

The club was crowned as champions of the campaign with two games to spare and promoted to the top flight after only one year.[1]

Players

First-team squad

As of 5 March 2019.[2]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FRA Paul Delecroix 3 DF  FRA Matthieu Udol 5 MF  CIV Victorien Angban (on loan from Chelsea) 6 DF  MLI Mamadou Fofana 7 FW  SEN Ibrahima Niane 8 MF  FRA Gauthier Hein 10 MF  FRA Marvin Gakpa 11 FW  SEN Opa Nguette 12 MF  SEN Cheikh Tidiane Sabaly 13 DF  ZAM Stoppila Sunzu 14 MF  GAM Ablie Jallow 16 GK  ALG Alexandre Oukidja

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 DF  FRA Thomas Delaine 19 MF  CIV Habib Maïga (on loan from St-Étienne) 20 FW  SEN Habib Diallo 21 DF  GHA John Boye 23 FW  SEN Amadou Dia Ndiaye 24 MF  FRA Renaud Cohade (captain) 25 DF  ALB Iván Balliu 27 MF  ALG Farid Boulaya 28 DF  FRA Jonathan Rivierez 29 FW  FRA Emmanuel Rivière 30 GK  FRA Guillaume Dietsch 31 DF  LUX Laurent Jans

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  FRA Oumar Gonzalez (on loan to Villefranche) — DF  FRA Nicolas Basin (on loan to Avranches) — MF  POR Cafú (on loan to Legia Warsaw) — MF  FRA Youssef Maziz (on loan to Avranches)

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 MF  CPV Jamiro Monteiro (on loan to Philadelphia Union) — MF  ARG Gerónimo Poblete (on loan to San Lorenzo) — MF  LUX Vincent Thill (on loan to Pau) 9 FW  MLI Adama Traoré (on loan to Orléans)

Pre-season and friendlies

  Win   Draw   Loss

3 July 2018 Friendly	Metz	3–1	Jeunesse Esch	Homécourt, France
17:30 CEST (UTC+2)				Stadium: Stade Yvan Tepus

6 July 2018 Friendly	SV Sandhausen	1–0	Metz	Forbach, France
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)				Stadium: Schlossberg Stadium

10 July 2018 Friendly	Troyes	2–3	Metz	Verdun, France
17:30 CEST (UTC+2)				Stadium: Stade du Parc de Londres

13 July 2018 Friendly	Metz	0–0	Auxerre	Saint-Dizier, France
17:45 CEST (UTC+2)				Stadium: Stade Marcel Jacquin

21 July 2018 Friendly	Kortrijk	1–2	Metz	Kortrijk, France
18:00 CEST (UTC+2)				Stadium: Guldensporen Stadion

25 July 2018 Friendly	Metz	2–0	Racing	Homécourt, France
19:00 CEST (UTC+2)				Stadium: Stade Yvan Tepus

Competitions

Overview

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
					Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Ligue 2	30 July 2018	17 May 2019	Matchday 1	Winners	38	24	9	5	60	23	+37	063.16
Coupe de France	18 November 2018	5 February 2019	Seventh round	Round of 16	5	3	1	1	7	4	+3	060.00
Coupe de la Ligue	14 August 2018	31 October 2018	First round	Third round	3	1	1	1	4	4	+0	033.33
Total					46	28	11	7	71	31	+40	060.87

Source: Soccerway

Ligue 2

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or Relegation
1	Metz (C, P)	38	24	9	5	60	23	+37	81	Promotion to Ligue 1
2	Brest (P)	38	21	11	6	64	35	+29	74
3	Troyes	38	21	8	9	51	28	+23	71	Qualification to promotion play-offs semi-final
4	Paris FC	38	17	14	7	36	22	+14	65	Qualification to promotion play-offs quarter-final
5	Lens	38	18	9	11	49	28	+21	63

Source: Ligue 2
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Fair play points
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	24	9	5	60	23	+37	81	13	3	3	34	11	+23	11	6	2	26	12	+14

Source: Ligue 2

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	L	L	W	W	D	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	L	D	D	D	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	W	W	D	W	W	L	W
Position	5	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Source: Ligue 2
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Notes: Match 19 versus Nancy was postponed until 29 January 2019 and therefore should appear between matches 22 & 23.

Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 7 June 2018.[3]

30 July 2018 1	Brest	0–1	Metz	Brest
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Niane  13'	Stadium: Stade Francis-Le Blé Referee: Eric Wattellier

3 August 2018 2	Metz	5–1	Orléans	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Boulaya  19' Diallo  33', 47', 57', 90'	Report	Tell  50'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Aurélien Petit

11 August 2018 3	Clermont	2–3	Metz	Clermont-Ferrand
15:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Pereira Lage  7' Ayé  59'	Report	Niane  61' Diallo  76' Boulaya  88'	Stadium: Stade Gabriel Montpied Referee: Pierre Gaillouste

20 August 2018 4	Metz	3–1	Ajaccio	Metz
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Diallo  43', 71' (pen.) Niane  83'	Report	Gimbert  76'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Hakim Ben El Hadj

24 August 2018 5	Troyes	0–1	Metz	Troyes
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Angban  40'	Stadium: Stade de l'Aube Referee: Ruddy Buquet

1 September 2018 6	Metz	2–0	Lens	Metz
15:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Diallo  48' Niane  90'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Florent Batta

17 September 2018 7	Béziers	1–3	Metz	Béziers
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Raoul-Barrière Referee: Mikael Lesage

22 September 2018 8	Paris FC	2–1	Metz	Paris
15:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Sébastien Charléty Referee: Pierre Gaillouste

29 September 2018 9	Metz	0–1	Le Havre	Metz
15:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Bartolomeu Varela

8 October 2018 10	Sochaux	1–2	Metz	Montbéliard
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Auguste Bonal Referee: Romain Lissorgue

19 October 2018 11	Metz	3–0	Niort	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Jérémie Pignard

26 October 2018 12	Lorient	0–0	Metz	Lorient
20:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade du Moustoir Referee: Mikael Lesage

5 November 2018 13	Metz	0–1	Auxerre	Metz
20:45 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Mehdi Mokhtari

9 November 2018 14	Châteauroux	1–2	Metz	Châteauroux
20:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Gaston Petit Referee: Faouzi Benchabane

26 November 2018 15	Metz	1–0	Gazélec Ajaccio	Metz
20:45 CET (UTC+1)	Diallo  22' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Stéphanie Frappart

1 December 2018 16	Grenoble	1–1	Metz	Grenoble
14:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade des Alpes Referee: Mikael Lesage

4 December 2018 17	Metz	2–0	Red Star	Metz
21:00 CET (UTC+1)	Diallo  54', 77' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Sylvain Palhies

17 December 2018 18	Valenciennes	0–2	Metz	Valenciennes
20:45 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade du Hainaut Referee: Yohann Rouinsard

11 January 2019 20	Orléans	0–1	Metz	Orléans
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade de la Source

18 January 2019 21	Metz	1–2	Clermont	Metz
20:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Alexandre Perreau Niel

25 January 2019 22	Ajaccio	0–0	Metz	Ajaccio
20:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade François Coty Referee: Sylvain Palhies

29 January 2019 19	Metz	3–0	Nancy	Metz
19:00 CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Olivier Thual

1 February 2019 23	Metz	1–1	Troyes	Metz
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien

9 February 2019 24	Lens	0–0	Metz	Lens
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Bollaert-Delelis

18 February 2019 25	Metz	1–0	Béziers	Metz
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien

22 February 2019 26	Metz	2–0	Paris FC	Metz
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien

4 March 2019 27	Le Havre	2–2	Metz	Le Havre
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Océane

11 March 2019 28	Metz	1–1	Sochaux	Metz
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien

15 March 2019 29	Niort	0–3	Metz	Niort
CET (UTC+1)		Report		Stadium: Stade René Gaillard

31 March 2019 30	Metz	2–1	Lorient	Metz
CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien

6 April 2019 31	Auxerre	0–0	Metz	Auxerre
CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Abbé-Deschamps

12 April 2019 32	Metz	2–1	Châteauroux	Metz
CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien

19 April 2019 33	Gazélec Ajaccio	0–2	Metz	Ajaccio
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report	Boye  54' Niane  76'	Stadium: Stade Ange Casanova Referee: Sylvain Palhies

23 April 2019 34	Metz	1–1	Grenoble	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Niane  9'	Report	Sotoca  20'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Pierre Gaillouste

26 April 2019 35	Red Star	1–2	Metz	Beauvais
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)		Report		Stadium: Stade Pierre Brisson

3 May 2019 36	Metz	3–0	Valenciennes	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Nguette  17' Diallo  25', 30' (pen.)	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Benjamin Lepaysant

10 May 2019 37	Nancy	1–0	Metz	Tomblaine
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Bassi  34'	Report		Stadium: Stade Marcel Picot Referee: Willy Delajod

17 May 2019 38	Metz	1–0	Brest	Metz
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Diallo  17'	Report		Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Referee: Yohann Rouinsard

Coupe de France

18 November 2018 Seventh round	Sarreguemines FC	1–1 (a.e.t.) (1–4 p)	Metz	Sarreguemines
13:30 CET (UTC+1)	Simpara  64'		Niane  45+1' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade de la Blies Attendance: 2,307 Referee: Mickaël Leleu

9 December 2018 Eighth round	CMS Oissel	0–1	Metz	Oissel
13:30 CET (UTC+1)			Gakpa  31'	Stadium: Stade Marcel Billard Attendance: 677 Referee: Marc Michout

5 January 2019 Round of 64	Olympique Saint-Quentin	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Metz	Saint-Quentin
18:00 CET (UTC+1)	Cambrone  50'		Cohade  45' Balliu  101'	Stadium: Stade Paul Débrésie Attendance: 3,844 Referee: Mikaël Lesage

22 January 2019 Round of 32	Monaco	1–3	Metz	Monaco
20:55 CET (UTC+1)	Falcao  40'		Hein  32' Gakpa  62' Niane  74'	Stadium: Stade Louis II Attendance: 600 Referee: Antony Gautier

5 February 2019 Round of 16	Metz	0–1	Orléans	Metz
18:30 CET (UTC+1)			Lecoeuche  20' (pen.)	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 3,200 Referee: Hakim Ben El Hadj

Coupe de la Ligue

14 August 2018 First round	Metz	2–1	Grenoble	Metz
20:00 CEST (UTC+2)	Niane  71' (pen.), 90+5' (pen.)		Chergui  17'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 9,494 Referee: Mehdi Mokhtari

28 October 2018 Second round	Lens	1–1 (3–5 p)	Metz	Lens
20:45 CEST (UTC+2)	Ba  86'		Jallow  45'	Stadium: Stade Bollaert-Delelis Attendance: 14,963 Referee: Olivier Thual
	Penalties
	Ba Fortuné Chouiar Gomis		Niane Gakpa Balliu Rivierez Diallo

31 October 2018 Third round	Metz	1–2	Amiens	Metz
21:05 CEST (UTC+2)	Rivière  70'		Niane  5' (o.g.) Otero  72'	Stadium: Stade Saint-Symphorien Attendance: 5,220 Referee: Nicolas Rainville

Statistics

Goalscorers

As of 17 May 2019

Rank	No.	Pos	Nat	Name	Ligue 1	Coupe de France	Coupe de la Ligue	Total
1	20	FW		Habib Diallo	26	0	0	26
2	7	FW		Ibrahima Niane	10	2	2	14
3	11	FW		Opa Nguette	7	0	0	7
	27	MF		Farid Boulaya	7	0	0	7
5	10	MF		Marvin Gakpa	2	2	0	4
6	29	FW		Emmanuel Rivière	2	0	1	3
7	13	DF		Stoppila Sunzu	2	0	0	2
	19	MF		Habib Maïga	2	0	0	2
9	24	MF		Renaud Cohade	0	1	0	1
	21	DF		John Boye	1	0	0	1
	25	DF		Iván Balliu	0	1	0	1
	5	MF		Victorien Angban	1	0	0	1
	14	MF		Ablie Jallow	0	0	1	1
	8	MF		Gauthier Hein	0	1	0	1
Totals					60	7	4	71

References

1. "Metz promoted back to top flight as champions". Ligue1. 4 May 2019.
2. "Effectif et staff". FC Metz. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
3. "Découvrez le calendrier de la Ligue 2 saison 2018-2019". France Football.

External links

• Official website