Nuno Tavares gave a remarkable end to the regional derby between Montpellier and Olympique Marseille (1-2) on Monday evening. The 22-year-old left back, on loan from Arsenal to l’OM, got quite off track at the end of the match and kicked his opponent Arnaud Souquet hard. Remarkably enough, referee Ruddy Buquet then conjured up two red cards for Tavares.
Marseille took a comfortable 0-2 lead after the break, partly due to a goal from the same Tavares, but lost track with the final signal in sight. Tavares allowed himself to be put off the ball in the 87th minute and then deliberately handed out a hefty kick to Souguet. The referee observed the incident and immediately issued a yellow card for the left wing defender. That was his second and so a red print followed.
Dumb, dumb, ????????????..??
Nuno Tavares immediately gets a red card with a 2-0 lead after kicking Arnaud Souquet ??#ZiggoSport #Ligue1 #MHSCOM pic.twitter.com/dIwUD5pU4Q— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) January 2, 2023
Tavares made a provocative gesture to the home crowd when he walked away by depicting the score of 0-2 with his fingers. Just before he wanted to visit the catacombs, Souguet was informed by the VAR about the seriousness of the violation. The referee brought the Portuguese back to him and withdrew his previously given yellow card. This was followed by a direct red card. This has consequences for Tavares, who will therefore have to deal with the French disciplinary committee. A second yellow card would only result in an automatic suspension of one game, now it will probably be longer.
????????, nice sting from Nuno Tavares! ??
The wingback picks up the rebound, shortens a bit and shoots hard against the ropes with his lesser right hand??#ZiggoSport #Ligue1 #MHSCOM pic.twitter.com/Vl9WNovT78— Ziggo Sport Football (@ZS_Voetbal) January 2, 2023
Tavares’ misconduct is in stark contrast to the beautiful goal he scored just after the break. The emerging left wing defender picked up a rebound in the penalty area and, after a smart cut, fired with destruction: 0-1. An own goal from Maxime Esteve, who headed a corner behind his own keeper, doubled the score after an hour of play: 0-2. After Tavares was sent off, Marseille conceded a penalty in stoppage time, which was completed by Teji Savanier: 1-2 final score.
| No. | Team | m | W | G | v | +/- | Pnt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris Saint Germain | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 44 |
| 2 | RC Lens | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 18 | 40 |
| 3 | Olympic Marseille | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 36 |
| 4 | AS Monaco | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 33 |
| 5 | Stade Rennes | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 31 |
| 6 | Lorient | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 31 |
| 7 | Lille OSC | 17 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 30 |
| 8 | Olympic Lyon | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 24 |
| 9 | Clermont | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | -5 | 22 |
| 10 | OGC Nice | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | -2 | 21 |
| 11 | Reims | 17 | 4 | 9 | 4 | -3 | 21 |
| 12 | Toulouse | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | -10 | 19 |
| 13 | Troyes AC | 17 | 4 | 6 | 7 | -4 | 18 |
| 14 | Montpellier | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | -4 | 17 |
| 15 | Nantes | 17 | 3 | 8 | 6 | -6 | 17 |
| 16 | AC Ajaccio | 17 | 4 | 3 | 10 | -11 | 15 |
| 17 | Stadium Brest | 17 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -15 | 13 |
| 18 | A. J. Auxerre | 17 | 3 | 4 | 10 | -19 | 13 |
| 19 | Strasbourg | 17 | 1 | 8 | 8 | -11 | 11 |
| 20 | Angers | 17 | 2 | 2 | 13 | -21 | 8 |