Ligue 1 Team of the Week

Ligue 1 signed off for its winter break in style, boasting no less than 33 goals as Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon and Marseille continue to lead the way.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side finished with a flourish, winning 3-0 in Brittany to see off Brest. Lyon, though, comprehensively beat former coach Claude Puel’s improving Nice side by the same scoreline.

Marseille’s victory was narrower, but there has been an impressive effort from both Remi Garde and Elie Baup’s men to keep the pace with PSG, who were expected to be clear at this point.

The race for the European spots heated up as well, with Rennes, Valenciennes and Lille all grabbing important victories.

Nancy, Troyes and Sochaux remain rooted to the foot of the table, while Ajaccio slipped closer to the drop zone following the sacking of Alex Dupont, and the league is now tantalisingly poised for when it recommences in January.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads the scoring charts with an astonishing 18 goals, but perhaps more surprising is that his closest rivals for the title of leading scorer are Lyon’s Bafetimbi Gomis and Nice’s Dario Cvitanich.

It has been an unpredictable start to the season, and PSG’s failure to lead by a clear margin has prompted criticism of the team from certain parts of the media.

However, the capital club’s form heading into the winter break was ominous to say the least, and a new year’s assault is expected in a bid to end a 19-year title drought in the capital.

Alexis Thebaux

Alexis Thebaux: Goalkeeper

The former Caen custodian made eight crucial saves to keep Brest in the match at times. There was nothing he could do about any of PSG's goals, who were inspired form and unlucky to concede three after a performance like that.

Running close by were Troyes' Yohann Thuram-Ulien and Lyon's Remy Vercoutre.

Thiago Silva

Thiago Silva: Defence

He had goal-line clearance and his fourth consecutive clean sheet. He brilliantly marshaled defence in an area previously a problem for Carlo Ancelotti's side.

At the other end, he was important too, forcing Alexis Thebaux into a clever save.

Rod Fanni

Rod Fanni: Defence

Elie Baup’s Marseille pulled level with PSG and Lyon at the top of the table thanks to Andre Ayew’s first-half header in the 1-0 win over Saint-Etienne, but it was oft-maligned defender Rod Fanni who perhaps made the biggest contribution.

Storming forward from right back, it was his cross that Ayew thumped home with his head. However, the 31-year-old’s most telling involvement came in front of his own goal, as he intercepted ASSE’s Gabonese danger man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with 16 minutes remaining.

Anthony Reveillere

 Anthony Reveillere: Defence

For a player who had not scored in Ligue 1 in five years before Lyon's clash with Nice, Reveillere could have been celebrating an unlikely brace.

The French international hit the post in the first half and took his goal in the second very well. He finished with a toe pick and ripped the Nice defence to shreds all afternoon with his foraging runs. Simply put, he has been brilliant in the first half of the season.

Christophe Jallet

Christophe Jallet: Defence

The PSG captain has had an impressive performance. Although the third goal will be credited as a Bernard Mendy own goal, Jallet provided two assists in a busy performance.

The French international laid on Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the capital club's opener before turning provider once again, albeit in different circumstances, for the third.

Moussa Sissoko

Moussa Sissoko: Midfield

This season has been a difficult one for Toulouse, and Sissoko in particular has struggled as the team’s excellent form at the start of the campaign tailed off and turned into a full-on nosedive.

The 23-year-old got back to his best against Sochaux though in TFC’s 2-0 win on Sunday, looking combative and authoritative in the midfield.

Sissoko demonstrated his tenacious qualities, and his distribution at times led the pink city side forward. Beleaguered boss Alain Casanova will need him to reproduce the same sort of showing regularly from now on.

Dimitri Payet

Dimitri Payet: Midfield

The in-form French winger looked impressive again in Lille's 4-1 win over defending champions Montpellier.

First, he teed up Nolan Roux's opener before netting the second himself. He had an arcing finish similar to the one he scored last week against Toulouse, which is becoming a bit of a trademark move.

More significantly, Payet has been involved in all of Les Dogues' last five league goals with three strikes and two assists since coach Rudi Garcia questioned his application to task.

Julien Feret

Julien Feret: Midfield

Amazingly in better form than even Payet is Rennes' Julien Feret. The former Nancy man bagged his seventh and eighth goals of the season in the 4-2 win over Ajaccio, and he has provided three goals and an assist in Frederic Antonetti's side the last two games. The 30-year old has accounted for 50 percent of Rennes' last 10 league goals.

Anthony Modeste

Anthony Modeste: Attack

A revelation this season following his loan move to Bastia from Bordeaux, Anthony Modeste took his Ligue 1 tally for the season to nine with a brace against Nancy. This season is quickly turning into Modeste's best to date, with nine goals and an assist in 18 appearances. His previous best in the top flight was 10 with Bordeaux in 2011.

It is ironic that the 24-year-old was shunted out of les Girondins' stable by Francis Gillot because of his inability to find the net on a regular basis.

Modeste now averages a goal every two games in Corsica, and Bordeaux have scored only three times in their last six games with the Aquitaine club drawing five consecutively.

Nolan Roux

Nolan Roux: Attack

Heading into Lille's clash with defending champions Montpellier, Nolan Roux had only scored once in seven outings. In a run of bad, les Dogues desperately needed him to step up against la Paillade—and step up he did.

Netting two goals en route to a 4-1 win, Roux's mid-season total now stands at six, which is still on the low side for a first-choice striker, but the 24-year-old was never the ideal candidate to fill the void left by Moussa Sow's departure last year.

Lisandro Lopez

Lisandro Lopez: Attack

Lisandro Lopez bagged his sixth goal of the season in Lyon's 3-0 win over former coach Claude Puel's Nice. Goalless in two matches prior to the encounter, he snapped up Bafetimbi Gomis' generous pass when shooting would have been the more selfish option.

The Argentine is not as prolific as in previous seasons, as he needs to sharpen up in front of goal in a season which has already included a scoreless streak of four games.