Rosenior driving Strasbourg’s Champions League bid in France

By Canadian Press on April 16, 2025.

PARIS (AP) — Strasbourg’s push for a Champions League place is peaking at the right time under English coach Liam Rosenior.

The Alsace-based club is unbeaten in nine games ahead of Saturday’s trip to Monaco, which is second in Ligue 1. A victory for sixth-place Strasbourg would move it level on points with Monaco. The top three teams in the France league earn an automatic place in Europe’s elite club competition while the side finishing fourth enters qualifying for the Champions League.

“I’ve felt for a while that this group has something,” special, Rosenior said Wednesday.

Strasbourg’s rise in the standings reflects Rosenior’s ability to produce a balanced and dynamic lineup.

The attack is led by Dutch striker Emanuel Emegha, whose 13 league goals are as many as Paris Saint-Germain forward Bradley Barcola ’s total, while influential Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos has scored nine times for Strasbourg.

Strasbourg’s well-organized defense has kept six clean sheets in the past nine games — including a run of five straight games without conceding a goal.

Monaco firing again

Rosenior is ready for the latest challenge.

“We know Monaco is a team which likes to play. We’re keeping the same course, we’re not changing anything,” Rosenior said. Strasbourg “has lost only one (league) match in 2025.”

Strasbourg goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović will be tested at Stade Louis II by a Monaco attack which is firing again.

Mika Biereth has 12 goals in 12 games for Monaco and is particularly strong at home, where he has three hattricks. He is combining well with Switzerland striker Breel Embolo and Japan’s Takumi Minamino. Attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche has shown his creative ability with eight assists so far — the second-best tally in the league behind Barcola.

If Monaco drops points against Strasbourg, Marseille could reclaim second place with a home win against last-place Montpellier, which has lost its last 10 league games.

Football family

It has been a remarkable first season for 40-year-old Rosenior, who played in the Premier League for Fulham, Reading and Hull as a defender. His father Leroy Rosenior was a bustling striker with Fulham and West Ham in the 1980s.

Rosenior’s coaching career started three years ago with a brief stint at English club Derby and he then took charge of Hull. He was among the nominees last season for manager of the year in England’s second-tier Championship.

Few observers gave him a chance of doing so well in his first season in charge in France, especially as he only had two weeks to prepare with his players.

“Pre-season preparation was short, some players arrived late,” Rosenior said. “We never really had all the players together.”

Lille, Nice poised to profit

Fifth-place Lille and seventh-place Nice are also in contention for a Champions League spot and poised to profit if the front-runners drop points.

Both play on Sunday, with Lille facing mid-table Auxerre and Nice hosting struggling Angers.

Unbeaten champion PSG faces a Le Havre side in 16th place — the relegation-playoff spot — on Saturday.

Saint-Etienne is three points behind Le Havre and can move level on points if it beats bitter local rival Lyon on Sunday and Le Havre loses. But Lyon is a clear favorite, sitting in fourth place after winning five of its last six league games.

Georgia on their minds

Saint-Etienne vs. Lyon will see two Georgia teammates face each other — and both are in good form.

Saint-Etienne’s Zuriko Davitashvili has scored seven goals and provided seven assists despite being in a struggling team. The fleet-footed Georges Mikautadze has nine goals for Lyon and has set up five.

While Saint-Etienne’s defense is poor, with 67 goals conceded in the league so far this season, the attack is dangerous.

Davitashvili is well supported by Lucas Stassin and the skillful Irvin Cardona, who scored twice last weekend in a 3-3 draw against Brest with a header and a deft lob.

“We’ll need everyone for this battle until the end,” Cardona said of the relegation fight.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Jerome Pugmire, The Associated Press

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