Blanc subdued as Bordeaux run dry

"I knew we had to lose one of these days," concluded coach Laurent Blanc as French champions FC Girondins de Bordeaux's run of 21 competitive games without defeat ended at AS Saint-Étienne on Saturday.

Weakened side
Forced to make eight changes from his usual starting lineup, the 43-year-old watched on as goals from of Fernandez Augusto (9) and Ilan (28) left his side 2-0 down at the break. Fernando Cavanghi, Wendel and Marouane Chamakh came on, but while Jussiê – back after flu – pulled one back, Dimitri Payet's chip over Cédric Carrasso on the counterattack ended a famous golden period for Bordeaux.

Dazzling run
Since losing 3-0 to Toulouse FC on 7 March, Les Girondins had one 17 out of 18 in Ligue 1 (drawing the other), the French League Cup final and two UEFA Champions League matches – including last Wednesday's 1-0 victory at home to Maccabi Haifa FC. They came unstuck at the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, where 97-times capped France sweeper Blanc played from 1993 to 1995.

'No excuse'
"I knew we had to lose one of these days," said the former FC Barcelona, Olympique de Marseille, Manchester United FC and FC Internazionale Milano defender. "St-Étienne deserved to win, especially in the first half. The Haifa game and the previous ones made us tired, but there's no excuse. We have the international break to recover, but when you recover you shouldn't work while we have several players going into key games with their national teams."

Gourcuff sidelined
Defeat saw Bordeaux slip behind unbeaten Olympique Lyonnais in the standings, with the absence of the talismanic Yoann Gourcuff – who sustained a hamstring injury against Haifa – possibly significant. The playmaker played 55 competitive games last season and was Ligue 1 Player of the Season. "Yoann will be rested until the end of the international break," Blanc said." Bordeaux can only hope he is back to his best at AJ Auxerre on 17 October as they look to start another unbeaten run.