Luke Entwistle

The lure of Champions League money has turned Ligue 1 clubs into gamblers Marseille’s big risk paid off. Lyon, on the other hand, may end up in Ligue 2 or banned from European competition

“The desperation shown by some of Ligue 1’s high rollers this season could become infectious, with the need for European football greater than ever. Inevitably, some clubs will leave the casino empty handed.”

✍️ on L1 sides gambling for Guardian x @GFFN

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Serious, precocious and unique: Désiré Doué is a player with no limits As PSG prepare for a Champions League semi-final against Arsenal, the winger’s coaches recall his rise to the top

Comparisons with Mbappé & Neymar are logical but Doué isn’t some pastiche of PSG past. As his former coaches, Julien Stéphan and Sylvain Letang told me, he embodies a different ethos entirely.

✍️ for @theguardian.com x @gffn.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Lyon and PSG have lessons to learn after careless performances in Europe Both clubs threw away convincing leads in England last week. They need to get their seasons back on track quickly

I made a trip back to the UK for a chaotic week of European football: 2 games, 14 goals, one elimination, one qualification.

✍️ on the respective lessons learned - or not - for PSG and Lyon for @theguardian.com x @gffn.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Michael Olise is filling an Antoine Griezmann-shaped hole for France The Bayern Munich forward scored and set up another as France beat Croatia to reach the Nations League semi-finals

“A few weeks after Paris handed the Olympic torch to Los Angeles, Olise received his first senior call-up from Deschamps and, unbeknown to almost everyone, there was another passing of the torch.”

✍️ On Griezmann’s heir for @theguardian.com x @gffn.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Lyon beat Nice in their first of many matches without Paulo Fonseca The Lyon manager began his nine-month touchline ban at the weekend. His assistant filled in brilliantly

“There was an unease in what felt like a near-reality, a sort of lucid dream in which the conditions of a real football match were being mimicked but not sufficiently to trick us into believing it was real.”

✍️ on an odd night in Nice for The Guardian x GFFN

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Monaco manager Adi Hütter: ‘I hate boring football. It should be inspiring’ Hütter discusses his style of management, his exciting youngsters and their Champions League tie against Benfica

A pleasure to spend an hour with an open and impassioned Adi Hütter talking all things #ASMonaco: from the uniqueness of Akliouche to an anecdote about 18-year-old Zakaria, with whom Hütter is working for a 3rd time.

✍️ latest for The Guardian x GFFN

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

A busy past month around the grounds topped by 6 games in 12 days at the end of the month!

📍 Stade Louis II, Monaco (x2)
📍 Allianz Riviera, Nice (x2)
📍 San Siro, Milan
📍 Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Cannes

Luis Henrique: the Brazilian lighting up Marseille under Roberto De Zerbi The young Brazilian forward has been sensational in Ligue 1 this season. Next step the Seleção and Premier League?

An interview with Marseille’s comeback-king Luis Henrique, who ranks among the most efficient Brazilian forwards in European football. I understand that his progress has not gone unnoticed by Premier League sides.

✍️ @theguardian.com x @gffn.bsky.social

Football Vision Podcast

🚨 NEW: Olympique Lyon - Where Did It All Go Wrong?

Great chatting with @lukeentwistle.bsky.social about Les Gones, who are facing issues aplenty.

🤯 Shock defeat to fifth division side
💥 Being threatened with relegation
🇺🇸 Turbulence under Textor ownership

Have a listen!

podfollow.com/1737070477

My latest on Lens & Will Still, who in spite of the imposition of an austere regime at the club & the sales of key players, including soon-to-be Man City CB Khusanov, is upholding RCL’s compromised sporting ambitions.

Haise working miracles at home but Europe a bridge too far for Nice | Luke Entwistle Franck Haise is helping Nice stay competitive in Ligue 1 but injuries and the diminished presence of INEOS have cost them in Europe

🗞️ | Today’s @theguardian.com x @gffn.bsky.social: Haise working miracles at home but Europe a bridge too far for Nice.

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

AS Monaco academy: Where future stars dream of emulating Thierry Henry & Kylian Mbappe - BBC Sport Inside Monaco's prestigious academy, where young stars dream of emulating Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappe.

Decrypting the success of AS Monaco’s prestigious ‘La Diagonale’ academy with input from CEO Thiago Scuro, Academy Director Sébastien Muet, and Academy Manager Djimi Traoré. ⬇️

✍️ for BBC Sport

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

FEATURE | Monaco & Arsenal - masters of their craft - Get French Football News There is a shared history between AS Monaco and Arsenal. It is a former Monaco manager, Arsène Wenger, and a former Monégasque academy product, in the form of

FEATURE | Monaco & Arsenal - masters of their craft.

🖋️ @lukeentwistle.bsky.social
reporting from London

www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2024/feature...

Luis Enrique can no longer hide behind ‘The Project’ – PSG need wins | Luke Entwistle Coach keeps talking about potential but conservatism and unrest are holding his team back, and they are getting worse

“When Luis Enrique speaks, there is an increasing sense of separation between discourse and reality […] there is only so much longer that the PSG manager can hide behind vague notions of project building & “optimism”.

✍️ for @theguardian.com x @gffn.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

An atmospheric morning in La Turbie ahead of tomorrow’s #UCL encounter against Benfica. AS Monaco almost back to full strength with Folarin Balogun potentially making his return. Krépin Diatta the only major absentee for Les Monégasques.

FEATURE | 'Golden Boy' Maghnes Akliouche knocking on Didier Deschamps' door - Get French Football News There is the ability to show moments of technical brilliance but being able to do so repeatedly is what separates the good from the great. Maghnes Akliouche

FEATURE | "Golden Boy" Maghnes Akliouche (22) knocking on Didier Deschamps' door.

🖊️ @lukeentwistle.bsky.social

www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2024/feature...

Eric Roy evokes Brest Ligue 1 relegation fears - Get French Football News Stade Brestois may be riding high in the UEFA Champions League, with Eric Roy's side still unbeaten and fourth in the table with four points, but the same

Brest are flying high in the Champions League but that certainly isn’t the case in Ligue 1 with Eric Roy even evoking the need to stave off relegation after a 3-2 defeat to AS Monaco.

✍️ @lukeentwistle.bsky.social reporting from Monaco. ⬇️

www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2024/eric-ro...

FEATURE | Sofiane Diop making a 'fresh start' at OGC Nice after injury hell - Get French Football News November 26th, 2023 - that is the date of Sofiane Diop's (24) last start in Ligue 1. It has been a long road back for the Morocco international.

FEATURE | Sofiane Diop (24) making a "fresh start" at OGC Nice after injury hell.

✍️ @lukeentwistle.bsky.social reporting from Nice.

www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2024/feature...

Brest’s Grégory Lorenzi is the latest name to be linked to the soon-to-be vacant sporting director role @ Arsenal.

For Arsenal fans looking for background, you can read my interview with Lorenzi, the orchestrator of Les Pirates’ meteoric rise, from last season ⬇️

amp.theguardian.com/football/202...

Three things we learned as France pip Italy in Nations League - Get French Football News France took revenge for their 3-1 defeat to Italy at the Parc des Princes in September, beating the Nazionale 3-1 at the San Siro to top their UEFA Nations

Three things we learned as France pip Italy in the Nations League

🔥 Lucas Digne - digne de sa place
💪 A midfield balance re-discovered
❓ Papering over the cracks?

🖋️ @lukeentwistle.bsky.social

www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2024/three-t...

Great to join @philcosta.bsky.social again to chat all things Ben Seghir: who he is, where he came from and where he’s going.

👀 Two L’Équipe references in two days.

🗞️ Franck Haise’s response to my question on his tactical flexibility was the subject of a piece on OGC Nice yesterday and a reference to my piece in The Guardian on Auxerre’s hot form today.

Auxerre take a leaf out of Allardyce’s playbook to turn up heat on De Zerbi Giantkillers Auxerre are flying high after a shock 3-1 victory over touted title challengers Marseille at the Vélodrome

Salut ! Like many, I’m migrating over to this site.

I’m a freelance journalist, based in Nice. I cover Ligue 1 as editor-in-chief at @gffn.bsky.social and my coverage can also be found on @guardian.extwitter.link and World Soccer Mag.

✍️ For a little taster, here is my latest for The Guardian ⬇️