Ligue 2: Nantes held by Reims (0-0), Red Star go top while the sale awaits the DNCG

FC Nantes let two points slip at the Beaujoire. Saturday’s 0-0 with Reims, on matchday 8 of Ligue 2, leaves them 13th. While Grégory Poirier’s side toil, the club is waiting for a verdict that weighs more than any scoreline: the DNCG’s ruling on its sale.

Nantes had the chances, not the finish

The home side had the openings to win it: Hachem as early as the fifth minute, Ganago just after the break, Corredor twice in the last quarter of an hour. Reims answered through Daramy in the first half. Nobody found the target. The draw suits the visitors, still unbeaten and fourth for now. Nantes stay three points off the fifth place Metz held before this matchday.

Red Star go top, Clermont sink

At the same time, Red Star won 3-2 at Clermont. Jovany Ikanga scored twice there (6th, 68th) and Damien Durand added the third (55th); Enzo Cantero (22nd) and a Florian Bianchini penalty (90th) were not enough for the Clermont side, 17th and still without a win. Red Star sit first, with Saint-Étienne against Rodez still to come on Saturday evening.

The sale awaits the DNCG, the stands are watching

The club is living through more than a table position. Waldemar Kita signed a compromise agreement on 29 September to sell to Paulo Tavares, founder of Phenix Sports Invest, for a sum close to €100 million, bonuses excluded. Nothing goes through without the DNCG. The Brigade Loire made that plain in a 1 October statement: “FC Nantes must change owner. But not at any price.” The club’s works council ruled against the project unanimously, warning of “unfair, serious and irreversible” consequences for jobs and the club’s future. On the touchline, Poirier calls himself “hermetic” to the affair: his project is promotion.

Promotion will not be decided by this match. Nantes keep the same squad until the winter window, and the DNCG’s ruling will shape what the club can do in it. At the Beaujoire, the team showed it can trouble an unbeaten side. Turning such evenings into three points is the next step.