Claudio Ranieri’s dismissal from Leicester City in February was one of the more prominent examples of English football’s cyclical and impatient nature. The Italian was sacked just nine months after the unlikeliest of titles. Leicester were hovering just above the relegation zone and had struggled without N’Golo Kanté but Ranieri had also cruised through the Champions League group stage with just one goal conceded in Leicester’s first five matches. He hasn’t quite replicated the success of his first season at Leicester in his new job at Nantes but he has lost none of his defensive nous.

Historically, Nantes are one of France’s most successful clubs (eight titles, although none since 2000-01), but they have fallen on harder times of late. They have jumped between Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 since winning that title but, when in the top flight, their style was often dire, particularly under Michel der Zakarian, a fiery presence who is currently in charge at Montpellier. Der Zakarian earned the club promotion from Ligue 2 in the 2012-13 season and kept them there until his combative relationship with club president Waldemar Kita came to a head last summer and he was replaced by René Girard.

After an even dourer six months under Girard, Nantes looked to former Portugal international Sergio Conceição, who took over as manager and delivered a hugely impressive set of results that, extrapolated over an entire season, would have taken his side into the European places. Conceição was an unqualified success at the Stade de la Beaujoire, but the opportunity to take the reins at Porto proved too tempting. His departure this summer brought the arrival of Ranieri. The move from the Champions League to a club of below-average means in Ligue 1 looked like a humbling experience for Ranieri but his inventive outlook has proved a boon to a side that didn’t spend much over the summer.

The €10m sale of Amine Harit, who had clashed repeatedly with Conceição and was sold before Ranieri’s arrival, helped the club bring in goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu, defender Nicolas Pallois, midfielder Andrei Girotto and striker Kalifa Coulibaly. Tatarusanu has been an unqualified success in goal, despite some nervy moments in their 1-1 draw against Bordeaux on Sunday. Pallois has struggled with injury but seems to be a capable if temperamental presence at the back. Girotto may have lost his place to a combination of academy product Valentin Rongier and Granada loanee Rene Krhin but he also appears to be adequate back-up.

Coulibaly has been poorer – he is yet to score in four appearances – but, despite his early form, Nantes have emerged as the league’s surprise package, having eschewed Conceição’s direct, attacking football and adopted Ranieri’s more prosaic style. The Italian continues to chop and change, as per his “tinkerman” moniker, but his choices seem logical and based on making the most of his players’ unheralded or under-utilised gifts. He has tried to create versatility and a variety of options, a necessary quality for a side lacking depth and financial might.

Ranieri started the season with an orthodox 4-4-2, the system Conceição had deployed to such great effect, but it was torn to shreds by Marcelo Bielsa’s Lille on the opening weekend. Nantes returned with a 5-3-2 at home to Marseille the following weekend. Despite losing 1-0, they looked much more solid. This has continued to be the case, with Ranieri generally going for a 4-2-3-1 but using players in wildly different roles. Sometimes these experiments stutter – his idea of playing left-back Lucas Lima as a right-sided wing-back against Bordeaux yesterday didn’t work – but more often than not they have come off brilliantly, with Abdoulaye Touré, Adrien Thomasson and Valentin Rongier among the most prominent beneficiaries of Ranieri’s tinkering.

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Thomasson, still just 23 despite having made his Ligue 1 debut in 2012, has been somewhat frustrating since arriving from Evian in 2015. Undoubtedly a skilled player and never one to shy from his defensive duties, he has shown a new work ethic under Ranieri and become the attacking centrepiece of the side, having started each of the last seven matches. Touré, too, is another young player who continues to blossom, having already played more minutes this season than last. A big, lanky presence, he had generally been used either as a defensive midfielder, or even as a centre-back, but he showed his attacking ability this weekend. In the build up to Préjuce Nakoulma’s opening goal, he strode forward to receive a throw-in before deftly avoiding a pair of Bordeaux defenders and slipping the ball to Thomasson, whose cross picked out Léo Dubois at the far post.

Rongier is another academy product who had, at times, failed to live up to his promise. He had a hugely impressive start to the 2015-16 campaign but a knee injury ended his season prematurely and he struggled to find a similar rhythm under Conceição. Under Ranieri, he has, like Touré, been pushed further up the pitch, playing closer to striker Nakoulma and operating a pressing game. This approach has allowed Nakoulma to operate on his own, rather than with a partner, giving Ranieri more options. Emiliano Sala, last season’s leading scorer, has been out with injury and his return may alter this dynamic, but Rongier, Nakoulma and Thomasson consistently harassed Bordeaux’s defenders on Sunday, with Théo Pellenard and Younousse Sankharé in particular wilting under pressure.

Ranieri’s desire for flexibility has led to more competition for places and made his players more versatile. Nantes have now chalked up with five wins and two draws in their last seven matches, a record bettered only by Paris Saint-Germain. Those wins haven’t exactly come against the toughest set of opponents – Strasbourg, Metz, Caen, Montpellier and Troyes are all below Nantes in the table – but Bordeaux, whose only defeat of the season so far came against Paris Saint-Germain, required a moment of brilliance from the in-form Malcom to earn a draw against their energetic opponents.

Nantes face a run of favourable fixtures in the next three weeks – home matches against Guingamp and Toulouse sandwiched around a trip to Dijon – before they travel to the Parc des Princes to face Paris Saint-Germain. Given how easily the leaders dispatched then-unbeaten Bordeaux, it would be folly to suggest that Nantes stand much of a chance in Paris, but Montpellier have already shown that a defensively sound and tactically flexible side can enjoy success against the leaders. In the meantime, though, we should enjoy another surprising side constructed by Ranieri, whose intelligence and, yes, tinkering, appear to be bringing the best out of another unheralded group of players.

Ligue 1 talking points

• Whether Bruno Génésio is truly the manager to take Lyon forward remains in doubt but their 3-2 win over Monaco on Friday night seems to have bought him a little more time. After a promising start to the year with a new look side following the sales of Alexandre Lacazette, Maxime Gonalons and Corentin Tolisso, this young Lyon team have begun to show their naivety in recent weeks, surrendering leads to Dijon and Angers to draw 3-3 on both occasions. Whereas their experienced spine previously guided them through these sorts of encounters, controlling proceedings and killing off games, this season’s injection of over-exuberance often leaves space to be exploited and offers opponents a way back into games. Despite their flair, Mariano Diaz and Bertrand Traoré remain frustratingly inconsistent; Memphis Depay is currently unable to influence games; and 20-year-old midfield pair Tanuy Ndombele and Lucas Tousart lack the nous to dominate centrally without assistance, which is often not provided by the attack-minded Nabil Fékir. Génésio has quality at his disposal but he is yet to mould it into an astute outfit capable of managing matches. Lyon started the weekend in mid-table, so a heavy defeat from the visiting champions would have put the manager under severe strain. But Fékir’s 96th-minute winner gave them a crucial victory over an admittedly under-strength Monaco. Nevertheless, Lyon still lack direction, a genuine identity and any consistency. Génésio has a talented squad but his ability to improve their erratic form will define their season and determine if he remains at Parc OL for much longer.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thomas Meunier celebrates after scoring for PSG against Dijon. Photograph: Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

• When Thomas Meunier arrived at Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2016, little was expected of him. Despite being Belgium’s starting right-back at Euro 2016, the €7m signing from Club Brugge was slated to be little more than Serge Aurier’s understudy. However, with Aurier’s poor attitude and even worse form, Meunier took the chances inevitably offered him by Unai Emery’s rotation throughout PSG’s hectic season. By the spring he was the club’s first choice full-back. He was a better defender than expected and also proved dangerous in forward areas thanks to his crossing ability and capacity for the occasional goal, his volleyed winner at Basel being a highlight. When Dani Alves arrived this summer, Meunier was pushed back into the shadows at right-back, but Emery’s tendency to use Alves in midfield has given the Belgian with moments to shine and he has grabbed his chances with both hands. A brace, which included an injury-time winner, against Dijon on Saturday lunchtime helped PSG solidify their position at the top of Ligue 1 after Monaco’s defeat at Lyon on Friday evening. Once again Meunier proved he can play an important part for PSG. Although bigger names understandably continue to claim much of the attention, both Meunier and Alves started the game in Dijon on the right, a more pragmatic approach Emery often uses in bigger games, meaning Meunier could be given more chances than seemed likely in the summer. He will be a valuable option for Emery in the busy winter period.

• When Brighton agreed a €10m fee with Angers this summer, Karl Toko Ekambi had a chance to dramatically increase his wages, but the Cameroon international decided to stay. It’s easy to see why he has been tracked by a number of clubs. The rangy winger has the pace and skill to worry any full-back and his eye for goal has made him a key player for Stéphane Moulin. After signing from Sochaux last summer and consistently impressing with his direct and intense attacking play, he looked likely to join the trend of breakout players from mid-table French sides who hop across the channel at the earliest opportunity. However, the failures of the likes of Didier Ndong and Henri Saivet, who both arrived in the Premier League still very much works in progress, may have given Ekambi reason to pause. Staying put has helped him develop. He has kicked on this season and taken on more attacking responsibilities in a central role; a goal and an assist in the 2-0 win at in-form Caen on Saturday night made it four goals in six games for Ekambi this season. Ekambi, who says he is happy to commit to Angers for now and keep improving, will hopefully be the first of many to make a more sensible decision and wait for the right move when he is ready.

Ligue 1 results

Dijon 1-2 Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon 3-2 Monaco, St Étienne 3-1 Metz, Strasbourg 3-3 Marseille, Bordeaux 1-1 Nantes, Caen 0-2 Angers, Guingamp 2-0 Rennes, Montpellier 2-0 Nice, Lille 2-2 Troyes, Toulouse 1-0 Amiens

Ligue 1 table