Gauthier Hein netted a spectacular extra-time strike to assist boyhood membership Metz beat Reims 3-1 on Thursday, making amends for final yr’s play-off heartbreak as they secured a right away return to Ligue 1.
Metz had been relegated from the highest flight after dropping in further time to Saint-Etienne on the finish of the 2023-24 season.
However the roles have been reversed for the visiting second-tier aspect at Reims as they recovered from a objective right down to advance 4-2 on mixture, condemning their opponents to Ligue 2 simply days after that they had featured within the Coupe de France closing.
In contrast to in that one-sided defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Reims managed lengthy durations of this match and appeared to have eased the strain at Stade Auguste-Delaune with a belated breakthrough simply earlier than the hour mark.
Teenager Ange Tia swept in his first skilled objective after Junya Ito had managed a move into his path.
However substitute Mamadou Diakhon then handed up an enormous alternative to absolutely clinch victory, and Reims have been shortly punished by Metz captain Matthieu Udol’s deflected effort.
That strike levelled the tie and ensured further time once more, but this time Metz got here up with the valuable objective as Hein’s backheel teed up Alpha Toure to drive into the bottom-right nook.
And with Reims chasing an equaliser, goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf was caught out of place by an beautiful Hein lob from near the midway line to seal Metz’s return to Ligue 1.
Helped Auxerre promote to Ligue 1 final season
Got here again to his youngster membership to convey them again to prime flight soccerGauthier Hein, Metz’s promotion hero pic.twitter.com/oBv5g0hJQH
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) Might 29, 2025
Knowledge debrief: Play-off pattern continues
Metz may need been on the unsuitable aspect of this fixture final yr after ending sixteenth in Ligue 1, however the type guide favoured the lower-league opposition coming into this conflict.
Ligue 2 groups are actually unbeaten in seven play-off matches towards Ligue 1 sides, together with each legs of this tie and each legs when Saint-Etienne prevailed in 2024.
In the meantime, defeat made this the worst residence marketing campaign in Reims’ historical past, dropping 10 instances at residence in all competitions for the primary time to cap a very depressing week by which silverware evaded them towards PSG and relegation was confirmed on Thursday.
They solely had themselves in charge on this event, having allowed Metz to implement the extra interval regardless of making an attempt solely two photographs value a mixed 0.1 anticipated targets in regular time.