Naïr slammed with 4/10 rating after Metz's comeback stuns Saint-Étienne

Metz overturned a two-goal deficit to snatch a draw against AS Saint-Étienne, Friday evening, denying the Greens a victory that seemed assured and leaving them with just one point from their last two Ligue 2 outings.

After a remarkable start to the season, AS Saint-Étienne are going through a difficult spell. Beaten by Dunkerque the previous week (2-1), Ian Cathro’s side had nonetheless made a perfect start to the match, leading 2-0, before seeing Metz stage a comeback and erase their advantage.

At the centre of criticism is central defender Sohaib Naïr. Arriving this summer from Guingamp and recently called up to the Algeria national team, the Saint-Denis native had impressed until now. Against Metz, he delivered one of his worst performances since his arrival. The newspaper Le Progrès gave him a harsh 4/10, highlighting several individual errors even before Metz’s comeback: a poor touch in the 9th minute — saved by a free kick awarded by the referee as Fall was running through on goal — then a foul on Sarr at the edge of the box in the 12th minute, without the referee pointing to the penalty spot. “A match to forget,” the regional newspaper concludes, noting that this time it was Naïr who struggled, whereas it was Julien Le Cardinal who had a difficult outing at Dunkerque the previous week.

This defensive fragility is concerning. After long displaying remarkable solidity, AS Saint-Étienne have conceded four goals in their last two matches. In the standings, the Greens’ lead has shrunk considerably: they now hold just a two-point advantage over Red Star. On their return, Saint-Étienne will host Rodez on Saturday, October 10 with the imperative of returning to winning ways to preserve their place at the top.