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A second-half strike from Brazilian midfielder Fernando Menegazzo handed third-placed Bordeaux a slender victory over Metz on Saturday, ensuring that Les Girondins remain in contention at the top of the table.
Metz had enjoyed the better of the first half but after failing to score, the Ligue 1’s basement club fell behind just 40 seconds after the interval.
As Jean-Claude Darcheville romped free down the right, the home defence seemed to have gone to sleep, allowing the striker to roll the ball across for the unmarked Fernando to score.
Bottom of the table with just four points to their name, Metz were soon flagging. They had started the game in promising fashion, however, with Ludovic Obraniak setting up Sébastien Renouard from a sixth-minute corner, only for the midfielder to fire high over the bar when well placed.
For all their good build up play and the occasional spell of sustained pressure, Metz failed to create any more clear openings in the first period.
Once Fernando had scored, Joel Muller’s side were facing an uphill struggle, made all the more difficult when defender Mehdi Meniri was sent off on 63 minutes. Bordeaux should have wrapped up the points long before the final whistle, but Denilson’s free kick came back off the post, while Darcheville and Lilian Laslandes both missed chances.
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